H 



IRISH GARDENING 



The Month's Work. 



Flower Garden and Pleasure Grounds. 



By A. Campbeii, Gardener to Lord 

 St. .Anna's. Clonlarf. 



,\rdil.'uin. 



J»' 



FEW, indeed, of the many plants which 

 occupy the flower garden bloom 

 during- this cold and dreary month. 

 Were it not for the beautiful and fraifi.int 

 Chimonanthus, Jasniiniun nudiflorum, 

 Daphne blagayana, D. hybrida, and I.oni- 

 cera frag:rantissima this depai'tment would 

 he uninteresting- just now. A clean and 

 tii.I\- .'ippearance should be maintiiined 

 liv sweeping grass edging and cleaning 

 walks, stirring the surface of beds and 

 liorders; at the same time make good any 

 clumps or plants that require renewal. 

 Protect by adding a layer of dry sifted 

 soil or ashes to any tender clumps of bulbs 

 or plants that may require it. Carefully 

 look over all Alpine plants ; a little top- 

 diessing may be given, it will protect 

 tlieir surface roots and greatly help them 

 later on. All newly planted roses, shrubs 

 or trees shc-iuld have a good mulching of 

 manure or other light material to prevent 

 frost entering the loosened soil and injur- 

 ing their roots. Any of the tender shrubs 

 on walls or borders should also be mulched 

 and protected by spruce or other branches, 

 to guard against frost and cold winds, 

 which often cripple the bloom buds, which 

 would give a fine display later on. Should any altera- 

 tions require to be made which necessitate bringing or 

 removing any heavy material, frosty weather should be 

 taken adv;nitage of, when the walks are hard and firm, 

 and would not tlierefore be cut up or injured during the 

 operation. 



A careful inspection of the plants requiicLl for summer 

 display should now be made, and any deficiency made 

 good by propagating. Seeds of .Antirrhinums, tall and 

 intermediate. East Lothian and intermediate stocks. 

 Nicotiana of sorts, should now be sown in a warm pit 

 or greenhouse, as these require longer time than most 

 annuals to reach the flowering stage. All the above can 

 be pricked off into frames when ready, and thev all 

 transplant well. 



All the strong-growing .sections of roses can now be 

 well thinned out by removing all dead and weak wood, 

 retaining all the strong growths made the previous 

 year J those can be trained as required, whether on 

 walls, trees, arches, banks, or pergolas. The following 

 sorts require no pruning further than stated above : — 

 Ayershircs, K. sempervirens, fine for banks ; Wichuri- 

 anas. Polyantha grandiflora, Kuphrosyne, and many 

 others. They will be greatly benefited by a good 

 dressing of t>ld cow manure worked in at the roots, 

 which will add much to their profusion of bloom early 

 in June, and help their- smnmer- gnnvth. 



The Fruit Garden. 



By L. CHn.r)S, Gardener to the Earl of Meath, 

 Kilruddery, Bray. 



PEACHES UNDER GLASS. — If your early peach 

 trees are not already cleaned and tied, it will be 

 w ise to take advantage of the first opportunity to 

 get them in order. Those who require peaches for the 

 beginning of July should commence starting the trees 

 without delay. Make sure that all borders are properly 

 drained, and the roots in healthy condition, also see 

 that the shoots and every part oflhe house is thoroughly 

 washed with some insecticide. When pruning and 

 tying it is ver)' important that you should have a 

 regular distribution of nicelj'-trained, well-ripened 

 wood. Then on no account allow them to become dry 

 at the roots. Open top ventilators dui-ing fine mornings, 

 and spray os'erhead about one o'clock. Only a little 

 fire is required for a time. 



Apples amj Peaks. — By the end of January all 

 planting operations should be completed. Those who 

 are behind with this work must push forward with all 

 possible dispatch. At the same time see that it is done 

 carefully ; unsatisfactory results can invariably be 

 traced to the careless way trees are planted. Always 

 aim at growing the best, and remember that badly 

 formed, small fruit are of little use either for market or 

 home consumption. Good specimen apples of Bramley's 

 Seedling and Cox's Orange Pippin are now fetching is. 

 to 2s. 6d. per dozen in Dublin. All growers should include 

 Rival in their collection, if they have not already done 

 so. Rival is a richly-coloured dessert apple, in season 

 from November to January, and crops freely. It may 

 not be necessai-y, or even desirable, to have a large 

 number of varieties, but rather to ascertain which are 

 suited to particidar districts, and encoin-age their 

 growth. 



Pears. — There are man\* \-arieties of this luscious 

 fruit, but I have no hesitation in stating that Doyenne 

 du Cornice is one of the best dessert pears in cultiva- 

 tion. Finish priming at }-our eai'liest convenience, and 

 do not neglect to examine all old ties, and leave plenty 

 of room for the young growth to swell when relying 

 trees to walls. 



Gi.NERAt. Remarks. — When planting, never forget the 

 importance of, first, providing perfect drainage, and, 

 second, of giving plenty of room in the holes for full 

 extension of roots. 



Japanese Wineherry. — I seldom meet with this 

 plant in my travels, although I have grown it for 

 several years, and can speak highly of its excellence, 

 both for the fruit and decorative purposes. It is very 

 useful for covering pillars and pergolas, or treated in 

 the same way as raspberries trained in rows on wires. 

 The underside of the leaves are of a beautiful silvery 

 colour, and this, combined with the redness oft he wood, 

 especially during winter mouths, give it a very 

 picturesque appeai'ance. 



The Loganberry is not such an ornamental plant as 

 the Wineberry, hut gives a heavier return of fruit. 

 The fruit has a mingling of the Blackberry and Rasp- 

 berry, but it is larger than either. The fruiting canes 

 should be cut right out after they have produced their 

 crop. 



