38 



IRISH GARDENING 



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onal 



Pclaru;oniiims. 



Hy William n.winsoN, The 1\-11 c;.iidoiis. I-:ii.i;K lii-Kl 

 C'ltei'ii, Siiirey. 



Tl 1 !•■ crimsons, scarlets, pinks, salmons, 

 ami all the intermediate shades of these 

 plants formed a may^nificent display on 

 Messrs. Cannell's stand at the Crystal Palace 

 on November 3rd, 1909. The collection came 

 in for a good share of attention, and one is apt 

 to think that the gferaniums are not so largely 

 grown as their merits indicate. Nothing could 

 surpass the brilliancy of a group of well grown 

 plants, the dazzling colours being all the more 

 effective in the dark days of winter. 



Their value as winter-flowering plants cannot 

 be over estimated, while their culture is very 

 simple. The difference between success and 

 failure lies in attention being paid to small 

 details. In order to cultivate and bloom this 

 class of plants in the winter months it is necessary 

 to observe some simple conditions. A low 

 span-roofed house, facing north and south, 

 provides good quarters for flowering the plants. 

 They require a temperature ranging from 50 

 degrees to 55 degrees during the day, and at 

 night from 45 degrees to 50 degrees will prove 

 sufficient. Low staging should be provided so 

 that the plants can be looked down upon, other- 

 wise much of their fine appearance is lost. 

 Damp proves very destructive to geraniums. 

 During the winter months the atmosphere in 

 the house must be kept dry. The cuttings 

 should be taken during the latter part of 

 February or early in March. Each cutting 

 should be placed in a small pot in sandy com- 

 post, then placed in a gentle heat as near the 

 glass as possible. When rooted pot into three- 

 inch pots and grow on shelves. The young 

 plants must have abundance of light. When 

 the plants have made about four inches of 

 growth it is advisable to pinch out the leading 

 bud. By the beginning of June the plants may 

 be removed to a cold frame until all danger of 

 frost is over, then the pots may be plunged in 

 ashes and the plants exposed to all the sun and 

 air possible. During the summer attention 

 must be paid to repotting and watering, also 

 stopping of branches. The flower buds must be 

 removed until the end of August. Growth 

 must be made steadily, and no check should be 

 given The wood must be well ripened by 



CNposuro to tho sun. This ensures the growth 

 being well matured and sliort-jointed. 



The potting soil at all stages should consist 

 of good loam, with the addition of one-fourth 

 well decayed cow manure, with enough sand to 

 keep the compost open. Pots not larger than 

 5 inch or 6 inch should be used for final potting. 

 If the plants become pot-bound, watering with 

 artificial manure will prove beneficial, b'irm 

 potting is necessary at all times. 



Conspicuous at the Crystal Palace were the 

 following single flowered zonal pelargoniums : — 

 Goodwood, white ; Caledonia, blush pink ; 

 Bombay, rosy red ; Dublin, rosy magenta ; 

 Lisbon, purple ; Mr. J. A. Bell, white and pink ; 

 Lady Warwick, white with pink picotee edge ; 

 Paris, white and deep pink ; Sydney, light rosy 

 pink ; Naples, deep scarlet ; and London, 

 crimson. Three good semi-double varieties 

 were Chavarri Ilermanos, scarlet; King of 

 Denmark, salmon ; and Lucie Guichard, pink. 



The Evolution of a Flower Plot 



By \'ekonka. 



IT was oriijinally a grass plot about 30 feet square, 

 in reality an extension of the lawn, and separated 

 from Ihe west liable of the house by a wide 

 gravelled path. This path conthiued along the north 

 side and across a rustic bridge that spanned a stream 

 which ran behind the law^n hedge on the west. On the 

 south side of the plot a short walk led to a summer- 

 house, and here the lawn hedge ended, and its place was 

 taken by tall privet and a fine spreading elder tree, 

 which made a good background for the summer house. 



Later on there were several young apple trees 

 planted, notably a half standard in the centre. Perhaps 

 it was the mulching necessary to the wellbeing of the 

 trees that made the grass grow rank and weedy ; at 

 all events, it was rather an eyesore to me, and I made 

 up my mind to try and improve its appearance. I 

 marked off a border two feet wide on the south side, 

 and after a liberal addition of road grit (obtained from 

 the road-side banks, where it had lain for many years) 

 and manure, planted it with various choice herbaceous 

 and Alpine plants. This partially hid the plot, and 

 soon after I obtained permission to extend my borders 

 along past the west gable, and very well, indeed, they 

 looked. But the encroaching grass behind grew apace, 

 and one species in particular made serious inroads 

 among the flowers. I enquired the name of this (my 

 enemy), as I had never seen such an uncivilised sort of 

 grass before, and was told that it was "couch grass." 



Perhaps it was seeing how the flowers grew and 

 flourished, and how really pretty the borders looked, 

 that the owner of the apple trees sometimes cast an 

 appreciative and relenting eye on them. I only know 



