APRIL 



IRISH GARDENING. 



53 



Flowering Trees and Shrubs. 



By J. H. Gumming, Royal Dublin Society. Ballsbridg-e. 



WITHIN a comparatively recent period one of the 

 weak points in the education of g-ardeners was 

 the failure to appreciate the importance of 

 arborescent vegetation in the creation of garden 

 scenery, and to obtain a practical acquaintance with 

 the more distinct and beautiful forms. As a result, 

 many fine old gardens now lack the beauty and interest 

 they should possess, and are stocked with trees that are 

 plentiful in the hedgerow 

 and woodland, instead of 

 those of more moderate 

 stature and remarkable 

 for the beauty of their 

 flowers or foliage or 

 elegant growth. Looking 

 back for twenty-five or 

 thirty years, little im- 

 portance was then at- 

 tached to the posso,-,sion 

 of a knowledge of flower- 

 ing trees or shrubs. 

 With owners of gardens 

 indifferent about trees it 

 was not surprising gar- 

 deners were not so in- 

 terested in them as they 

 should have been, and 

 their knowledge gener- 

 ally did not extend much 

 beyond the commoner 

 kinds. They certainlv 

 were seldom encouraged 

 to introduce to gardens 

 under their charge the 

 more rare and expensive 

 kinds. It is in the garden 

 of limited dimensions 

 rather than in the park 

 that trees of special in- 

 terest and beauty are 

 most wanted. In medium 

 sized places we require 

 individual beauties and a 



diversity of form and colouring, and therefore trees 

 and shrubs of moderate growth and remarkable for 

 the beauty of their flowers and foliage are especially 

 valuable. 



Of late years, with the marked decline in the cultiva- 

 tion of coniferous trees, many of which are ill-adapted 

 for the climate of this country, the interest in our lovely 

 flowering trees and shrubs has been greatly revived. 

 This fact is well exemplified in the numerous enquiries 

 after these subjects and the space devoted to their 

 description and cultivation in the horticultural 

 press. 



In turning to the trees and shrubs remarkable for the 

 beauty of their flowers, for the purpose of directing 

 attention to those most worthy of general cultivation in 

 gardens, I find myself beset with difficulties. The 

 number of really beautiful kinds is so large as to render 



Phnto'byq [C. F. Ball 



PiCEA PUNGENS GlAICA IN BOTANIC GARDENS. GlASNEVIN 



it impossible to draw up a short list without leaving 

 some unnoticed that are of great beauty. On the other 

 hand, were I to mention all that were deserving of 

 general cultivation the planter with a limited acquaint- 

 ance with trees and shrubs would be perplexed by the 

 wealth of material at his command. I would in this 

 connection suggest the importance of planters con- 

 stantly keeping in view the fact that in private gardens 

 of moderate dimensions the selections should be strictly 

 limited to kinds of exceptional excellence. When this 

 is done it would be found an easy matter to add a few- 

 additional kinds that come under notice and appear to 

 to be specially adapted to 

 beautifying the positions 

 available. Planting of 

 flowering shrubs may be 

 made so as to give special 

 effects. For instance, 

 we may plant with the 

 object of getting a 

 strong effect in the 

 spring, in summer, in 

 autumn or in winter ; or 

 in a large bed it is quite 

 possible to so combine 

 plantings as to secure 

 something of inteiest in 

 it at all times of the year. 

 It is very easy to secure 

 bright, spring effects 

 since most of our plants 

 flower in the spring and 

 early summer. It is much 

 more difficult, however, 

 to secure good effects 

 from summer planting, 

 while autumn is scarcer 

 still. Good winter effects 

 are obtained by using 

 plants that have ever- 

 green foliage and striking 

 colours in bark or fruit. 

 The observant culti- 

 vator will understand the 

 reasons for this. The 

 greatest profusion of 

 flowers was during the 

 spring and summer, the kinds giving off" their wealth 

 of beauty in the first of the two seasons being the most 

 numerous. Nature gives the tree or shrub its flowers 

 to enable it to bear seeds and reproduce its kind, and 

 she in her wisdom so arranges the seasons of flowering 

 as to allow the seeds in each case sufficient time for 

 attaining their full maturity. In reference to the prun- 

 ing of flowering shrubs, the best and safest time is 

 immediately after flowering, or when they have siied 

 their leaves. Shrubs give the finest blooms on the 

 well ripened wood of the previous year. Cut out all 

 thin and weak wood, and so encourage a strong and 

 vigorous growth. Shortening back shoots that seem 

 unduly strong is preferable to the clipping all over that 

 some people consider pruning. Where branches are 

 very crowded remove two or three, and this will assist 

 those left to perfect the flower buds. When grown on 



