IRISH GARDENING 



>/ 



Tl 



K- Rock Garden. 



\:\ K. A. \l M i;s. 



Nl.)\\ lli.il \M' .in- ill lli>- iniiMli- ol M.iiili Wf ;iiv 

 able to appri-iiatf how tci'iiiinj; willi life is 

 overv part of the Alpine garden. Each day 

 from I'eliruary onsvard lias seen an increasing amoiini 

 of flower mantling the varied aspects of the )4arilen 

 anil telling iis of still greater beauties to come. 



One of the prettiest Saxifragas which is in blossom 

 now is Saxifra^'a Klizabellwe — the flowers are of a 

 really f^ood yellow supported on crimson stalks, risinj," 

 from a dense cushion of hedgehog lilce foilage, are very 

 welcome and attractive. 



Some glowers tiiul this Saxifraga somewhat irregular 

 ill its flowering — 

 sometimes doing 

 fairly a n d a i 

 others being com- 

 paratively shy. 

 With mc, how- 

 ever, it does not 

 show this tend- 

 ency, anti usualh 

 gives me a good 

 display. 



It seems u- 

 appreciate \' e r \- 

 i^rilty soil, and I 

 grow it in a S. K. 

 aspect in the fol- 

 lowing compost: 

 Three p.'irls of 

 broken brii*l< ov 

 s.'tniistone chips, 

 one part cich oi' 

 loam, le.if-moiikl, 

 mortar rubbish, 

 and sand, the 

 whole bed bein!.; 

 not less th.'tn i sin. 

 ileep .-ind well 

 firmctl. 



.Now, too, is the 

 rtiuvering time of 



l^ulbocotllum \'ernum, that pretty rosy purple spring 

 meadow safl'ron. Its colour makes :i welcome change 

 to the prevailing blue of the C'hionodoxas, and Scilla 

 bifolia and .S. sibirica. 



This Hulbocodium is, I tliiiik, al its best plaulcil in 

 irregular shaped drifts in lh<' rock garilen, while here 

 and there small chnnps look well under the lea of a 

 stone, where (he sharp March wimls will lU'^I whip ihcni 

 ;ind so destroy the dainty flowers. 



.\ny ordinary well-drained soil, such as we find in 

 most .Alpine gjirdens, seems to suit this little plant, 

 provided the sitnation is a sunny one, and I find the 

 b\ilbs increase fairly rapidly. It is astonishing how 

 very soon after its dark bron/y point of growth 

 appears Ihrouyh the soil, the flowers open, comini; 

 ilirect from the sheath withovit .'my foliage. 



Just now, too, the greyish green rosettes of Primula 

 f.irinosa are opening their shell-like growth .ind show- 



niMc'Urii"! Ill ' \ AUKANTI.X'A. 

 .S«-e |»age 54. 



ing lip their farina-covered stalks, teriiiiiiating in a 

 whorl of rosy flowers — especially such plants as are on 

 the shellereil side of some bay, where in semi-bog soil 

 they c.ilcli the sunshine. 



Krom the dark tufts of last years foliage the 

 Kdelweiss is pushing out its silvery points of new 

 growth, giving us quite a study in black and while. 

 It is strange that this little plant should be thought 

 so much of, particularly as it is more curious than 

 beautiful, and cpiite easy to grow in our lowland 

 gardens. 



Like most silvery foliage plants, it appreciates a 

 sunny position and .1 limy soil with an abundance of 

 grit in it, and looks well projecting from some crevice 

 between two stones. When in June the white flowers 



of a flannel - like 

 texture appear (or 

 to speak more 

 exactly, the yel- 

 low groundsel- 

 like flowers, en- 

 veloped and sur- 

 rounded by whit- 

 ish bracts), it is 

 quite an inter- 

 esting plant, 

 especially to visi- 

 tors, who seem to 

 be under the im- 

 pression that pre- 

 cipitous cliffs at a 

 great elevation 

 are necessary for 

 its successful cul- 

 tivation. 



At this time 

 relatives of the 

 Edelweiss — viz., 

 .\niennaria t o- 

 mentosa anil .\. 

 dioica rosea — are 

 showing the 

 silvery points of 

 their new growth, 

 protruding from 

 the rosettes of somewhat dirty leaves which have with- 

 stood the storm and stress of winter. 



These, too, are both excellent plants for a position 

 near the steps, or stepping-stones, in the rock garden, 

 since they are close growing, and do not greatlv 

 object to be trodden on now and then, while in 

 the summer the da/zling silvery carpet they make, 

 especially when surmounted by the pretty pink 

 flowers in the case of .\. dioic.i rosea, is very attrac- 

 tive. 



The steep slopes seem to suit the .Vntennaria best, 

 where they can creep over sun-baked stones, there- 

 by keeping their silvery growth away from the soil, 

 which in winter seems liable to cause decay. Provided 

 the soil is gritty, they do not seem particular as to its 

 composit ion. 



On the moraine, or in moist gritty soil. Sax. oppositi. 

 folia is a sheet of rosy purple, now that ils large 



[Sutton 



