54 



IRISH GARDENING 



walls Home arc not ainonaMi- lo very ifslriotoii or 

 forninl lri«aliiuMil, and it is host to allow ilie shoots to 

 stand out perhaps lo or u iiu-hi-s whoii the flowers are 

 earlier ami more readily seen. 



Where suckers are allowed to i^row too freely— say 

 in the oase of lilacs — no ifood purpose is served, as 

 they seldom flower and are very exhaustinif to the soil. 

 This brink's me to say a little about feeding- shrubs. 

 .All deep diir^rinjr amonirst their roots should be avoided; 

 but a top dressinir of decayed leaves or a little manure 

 slijfhtly pointed into the surface of the j?round. after 

 they have been planted for some years, is of great 

 advanta,^e. Where time can be spared, during- the 

 summer months give some good doses of weak liquid 

 manure, doing- this after heavy rain or after the plants 

 have been well watered. Never gfive manure water 

 when the soil is dry. The benefit of sucii treatment will 

 be seen in the fine trusses of bloom the following year. 



Some may question the wisdom of this for peat-loving 

 plants ; but where it is done judiciously and weak 

 enough the improvement will quickly be seen. 



.Again, the aim is generally to have shrubs and trees 

 as hardy as possible. In the case of tender shrubs a 

 good winter protection is a mulch of leaves, straw, or 

 similar litter, perhaps six inches deep, which will hold the 

 snow and prevent severe freezing. Some shrubs that are 

 stiff in habit are best drawn together and tied in place 

 with soft string, and then wrapped with a covering of 

 hay or straw. Newly transplanted shrubs are often 

 injured the first winter, and special attention should be 

 taken to protect any that show signs of distress. 

 Shrubbery borders as a rule benefit largely with a 

 mulching in winter. Man}* shrubs that are not killed 

 by a severe winter may be so severely injured and 

 weakened by it that they do not do their best after- 

 wards. 



Passing now to the best time to plant, various 

 circumstances must be taken into consideration. Some 

 people recommend buying in autumn and " heeling 

 in " over winter and planting in spring. This is a 

 good plan if the "heeling in" work for winter is 

 well done. If poorly done, there may be great 

 loss under such conditions. Our hardiest shrubs may 

 be transplanted in autumn to good advantage, but 

 those that are somewhat tender should be left until 

 spring. 



For the beginner the best time for planting work is 

 early in the spring, although there are quite a large 

 number of plants that do best if moved in autumn, but 

 on account of the poor planting that is liable to be done 

 b\- those who have not had experience, spring is gene- 

 rally considered the safest time for this work. 



In passing under review the species and varieties and 

 directing attention to those especially desirable for 

 gardens in which space can be found for a few of the 

 best only, I shall give only these that are of easy 

 cultivation, moderate in price, and likely to grow and 

 do well in this district. 



Arbutus.— There are several very beautiful varieties, 

 notably A. Menstesii, which is worthy of cultivation for 

 the large panicles of deliciously scented white flowers 

 and peculiar metallic green leaves. Then we have 

 Unedo Croomei, with large foliage and reddish pink 

 flowers. A. Unedo itself is the well-known strawberry 



tree of Irelaiul. This is a beautiful evergreen shrub. The 

 bright scarlet fruit, resembling a strawberry, is highly 

 ornamental. Generally speaking, the arbutus is hardy, 

 .-illhough in inland situations it is sometimes killed to the 

 groiiiul in severe winters, but springing freely from the 

 root the plant soon becomes re-established, and when it 

 gets a few feet high the chances of injury are greatly 

 minimised. Deep, light loam and a fairly warm and 

 sheltered situation would seem to suit the arbutus best. 

 Anyone who has an eastern wall lo cover cannot do 

 better than plant Asara micmphylla. This variety is the 

 only recognised hardy species, and probably the best 

 from an ornamental point of view. It is suitable in 

 mild seaside districts as a standard, but generally it is 

 cultivated as a wall plant, and for which it is peculiarly 

 suitable. The small, dark green, glossy leaves are 

 thicklv arranged on nearly straight br;inches, while the 

 flowers are very fragrant. The azaras are not parti- 

 cular about the quality of soil, and succeed w-ell even in 

 stiffish loam or clay. 



Rerbkris Aquifolium justly ranks as one of the 

 handsomest, most useful, and easily cultivated of all 

 hardy shrubs. The variety is large, and I shall only 

 mention the most popular. Perhaps the best known 

 and most ornamental of the family is Darwinii, which 

 flowers in April and May, and often again in the autumn. 



B. SriCNopHYLLA is one of the handsomest forms 

 in cultivation, the wealth of golden yellow flowers 

 being remarkable, as is also the dark purple berries. 

 It is also very hardy and of the freest growth, 



B. Wallichiana is very pretty both in foliage and fruit. 



B. Thumbergii is beautiful in late autumn with its 

 crimson foliage. Indeed all the berberis in their 

 autumn colouring are really beautiful and make 

 splendid vase decoration when cut. They will grow 

 almost anywhere and in any class of soil, though pre- 

 ferring a fairly rich loam. 



BuDDLEiA GLOBOSA is the variety we see most of in 

 this country. Where it thrives it must be ranked 

 amongst the most beautiful of flowering shrubs. They 

 succeed well in rich moist loam. Some varieties of 

 ceanothus are very beautiful as wall plants. Azures, 

 though not hardy enough for every situation, is yet 

 sufficiently so to stand unharmed as a wall plant. The 

 flowers, which are borne in large panicles, are bright 

 blue, and produced in July and the following months. 

 In a light dry soil and sunny position this shrub does 

 well and is most ornamental. The variety Verrucosus 

 has small glossy foliage with dense clusters of rich blue 

 flowers and a neat habit of growth. It is very beautiful, 

 and a fine example of its suitability as a wall plant may 

 be seen on the east porch of Booterstown church. 



A beautiful and distinct shrub that succeeds well in 

 this country is Choisya ternata. The evergreen leaves 

 are always fresh and beautiful, while the sweetly- 

 fragrant flowers are produced freely on the apices of 

 last year's wood. On the Continent it is commonly 

 grown as a substitute for the orange. The plant 

 succeeds well in any light, rich soil, and soon grows into 

 a goodly-sized shrub of four or five feet in height. 



Among cotoneasters the variety Simonsii is generally 

 considered the best for garden purposes. Frigida 

 forms a large shrub with large clusters of white flowers, 

 which are followed by scarlet berries in September. 



