90 



IRISH GARDENING 



JINK 



" Siha tiadolica." I Jo not tliink tlioso 

 quotations would be irrele\ant. Ikisii (\.\k- 

 DENINC. exists, not only to further tlic i.ulli\ atioii 

 of beautiful nature, but to further the culti\alion 

 of our minds with rej^ard to such beaut\. And 

 those who saw w ith lo\e a pieee of wild nature 

 are at one witli those who cultivate their 

 g-arden with the seeing- eye and tlic feeliiii,'- 

 heart. Caelte, the companion ol l>"ionn, knew 

 a well in some wild place and lie broke into 

 poetry wheti he told Saint Patrick ol' it : — 



O ! Well of Traig-h Da bhean, beautiful thy cresses, 

 luxurious-branching:, are ! Since thy produce is 

 neg;lected on thee, \.hy foth/crht \^ not sufiFerd to jifiou . 

 Forth from thy banks thy trout are to be seen. 

 Lovely the colour of thy purling- streams, O ! thou [that 

 thyself art] azure hued and again green witli selections 

 of surrounding- copse-wood. 



Whitethorns in a City Square. 



THE aberrations of modern planting- might 

 afTord the theme for a series of papers, 

 but fault finding- makes unpleasant read- 

 ing. One might descant on the monotonous 

 plantations of sombre, lumpy "evergreens"; 

 on the hotch-potch shrubbery, where variegated 

 aucubas jostle golden privet, laurestinus, and 

 Berberis Darwinii with endless reiteration ; or 

 on the later fashion, which consists in getting 

 tog'ether a menagerie of the vegetable world, 

 and planting them in colonies of a dozen or 

 more of a species, shoulder to shoulder, in 

 unending- and monotonous regularity like stalls 

 at an international exhibition. 



How different the effect of a more primitive 

 school, as illustrated by the example of planting 

 in Rutland Square, in the city of Dublin. Here 

 one of our native trees, the whitethorn, is the 

 principal ing^redient. Interspersed are a few 

 lilacs and laburnums, and here and there in the 

 middle distance, as if for perspective, we have 

 a stately ash or elm. These latter serve to 

 break the outline and carry the eye to the more 

 distant background — clouds and sky. Trees, 

 shrubs, and sky are each only part of the 

 picture, and yet so intimately so as to afford no 

 suggestion of divorce or line of separation. 



In early summer, when the whitethorns, 

 which g-ive the dominant note, are in the first 

 flush of their new foliage, we have a picture of 

 such brilliancy as would be difficult to surpass 

 by any combination. Following- quickly on 

 this is the period of blossom, when the white 



sprays ol" the tliorn are contrasted witli the lilac 

 of the Syringa and the " golden chains " of the 

 laiinrnnni. In late summer and autumn, when 

 the greens gi\e place to browns, the pictiu'e 

 is equally pleasing ; and, as day by day they 

 assume more russet tones, the poetry of the 

 autumnal woods is realised by the dweller in 

 the city, and more particularly in the evenings, 

 when the western sky is flushed with red, he 

 has a picture that recalls, yet far surpasses, the 

 linest efi'orts of the greatest masters of the 

 brush — early or modern ; and in winter, when 

 all the branches are bare, the eye of the towns- 

 man may follow with delight the rich tracery of 

 their branch systems set in sharp relief against 

 the ever-changing face of the heavens. Can the 

 same be said of much of our present day plant- 

 ing, when simplicity and congruity give place 

 to an intricate riot of aliens drawn from every 

 clime and altitude under the sun ? 



VV. B. B. 



Advice to the Amateur. 



THESE are a few cardinal points in gardening that 

 ougfht to be remembered by the amateur : — 

 Grow no plant that does not personally appeal 

 to you. Do not attempt to grow a lot of different kinds. 

 Those you finally select upon, study closely their natural 

 requirements, so that you can grow them well. 



Treat the soil so that it will yield you its hig-hest 

 possibilities. See to drainag-e. Dig^ deep and cultivate 

 thoroug-hly. Think in terms of cubic dimensions, and 

 not merely in terms of superficial area. 



Manure as well as you know how, and keep the hoe 

 g-oing all the summer through. If seedling weeds ap- 

 pear let the fact at once remind you of your neglect of 

 duty. The hoe is more useful than the watering can. 



Do not overcrowd your plants. When planting make 

 the hole big enough to take the outspread root system. 

 Water well, then make loose the surface with a hoe. 



Use only the best seed and buy only the best plants. 



In vegetable culture use intelligence in arranging 

 rotation of crops. 



In your flower garden refrain from making silly little 

 beds and stupid walks, and in planting avoid dottiness; 

 go in for bold clumps of individual species, as nature 

 always does at her best. 



Be individual in your gardening ; let the garden 

 express your own idea of beauty. Observe and learn 

 from other folks' efforts by all means, but use your own 

 brains. 



^w c^^ t^^ 



" The greatest joy which a garden can yield is a feel- 

 ing of restfulness and peace, a feeling which no garden 

 of starting beds and ostentatious splendour can afford, 

 but which is yielded — as by nothing else in the world — 

 by a garden of happy, homely, old-fashioned flowers, " 



