IRISH GARDENING. 



39 



that one blissful day he suddenly said to me — "Would 

 you like this whole plot of ground for your flowers ? " 

 Would I like? when I had simply been longfing- for 

 more territory to conquer. I joyfully accepted the 

 proposal, and not even the somewhat alarming- con- 

 dition that the central apple tree must remain had 

 power to damp my enthusiasm. 



How we planned — and, indeed, that uncompromising 

 square seemed to take more planning than all the rest 

 of the garden put together. When we first took pos- 

 session of the place there were many changes to be 

 made, but they seemed naturally to suggest themselves, 

 and we had only to fall into line with them. The plot 

 was not large enough for devious walks and undulating 

 borders, so it was decided to take the obnoxious 

 apple tree as the 

 "point of sight," 

 and work up to 

 and around it as 

 simply as pos- 

 sible. 



But I was not 

 blind to the pos- 

 sibilities of the 

 place, for was 

 there not a 

 picturesque 

 summer-house 

 standing at the 

 south-west cor- 

 ner, and the high 

 background of 

 elder and privet, 

 with the brook 

 running merrily 

 behind it, while 

 on the north side 

 the path that led 

 to the bridge 

 was bounded by 

 a low, close- 

 cropped privet 



hedge that shut off the view of the kitchen garden and 

 ended abruptly at the hand-rail of the bridge. The 

 latter was just the width of the path, so that the left 

 hand-rail was on a line with the edge of the plot. The 

 branches of the elder overhung the bridge and clasped 

 hands across the stream with an accommodating 

 laburnum on the other side, while a little farther along 

 a splendid specimen of a lime tree stood. 



At the top of the bank, which dropped steeply down 

 to the stream, I had — years before— planted periwinkle, 

 both the green and the variegated sorts, and these now 

 trailed down to the water, while the ground ivy rambled 

 about at will and essayed to climb the trunks of the 

 gnarled old elder. 



In the stream i^ a never-failing supply of water even 

 in the hottest and driest summer, and a waterfall above 

 the bridge made music for listening ears, while in winter 

 at times the stream became a raging torrent. So if 

 my new garden was somewhat limited in space and 

 development I could not complain of the lack of the 

 picturesque in its surroundings. 



The removal of the apple trees was the first operation, 



A Corner 



and was directed by a wiser head than mine. And 

 then began the task of clearing off the grass and deeply 

 digging the ground. 



I haunted that plot all the time of its preparation 

 so as to be ready to pounce on my enemy the "couch 

 grass," lest perchance a root should escape eyes less 

 vigilant than mine and disturb my future peace. And 

 indeed, in spite of all, during the first year of the 

 completed flower beds the grass did come up here and 

 there, and everywhere except in the hard and well- 

 made paths, only to be triumphantly uprooted, for 

 conquer it I must— and did. The soil, being stiffish, was 

 liberally mixed with road grit (of the kind before 

 mentioned) and loam. 



The next step was to make a large circular bed round 



the apple tree, 

 andoutsidethis a 

 walk was made, 

 about two feet 

 wide, and four 

 short paths led 

 outwards at 

 points facing 

 each other, thus 

 dividing the re- 

 maining space 

 into four irreg- 

 ular corner beds. 

 All these walks 

 were thoroughly 

 prepared, the 

 soil being re- 

 moved to the 

 depth of about a 

 foot, a lajer of 

 stones placed in 

 the bottom, then 

 cinders trodden 

 down onitop, and 

 lastly, a covering 

 of fine gravel, 

 not round gravel, 

 which wasunobtainable, but merely very fine road gravel. 

 The beds were edged with stones from a neighbouring 

 quarry, and were raised a little higher than the paths. 

 The first made borders along the south and east had a 

 wood edging which, being pretty well covered by this 

 time with masses of Alpines and creejiing plants, was 

 allowed to remain for the present, save only where it 

 was cut for the intersecting paths. 



And then came the fascinating part — arranging and 

 planting the flowers — more difficult than it looked at 

 first sight, as there was neither back nor front to the 

 beds, except at the west side with the trees behind. So 

 the taller plants were kept well to the centre of the 

 beds, not formally planted, however, and the lower- 

 growing and choice creeping plants occupied positions 

 nearer the edges, and drooped over the stones. To 

 give the circular bed the effect of a centre piece I had a 

 thick border of the white-leaved cerastium, as it keeps 

 its looks even in winter when planted in sandy soil but 

 the other edgings were merely clumps and masses 

 grown in quite irregular fashion. Such plants as the 

 sedums and saxifrages, Lysimachia aurea, ajugas of 



N June 



