IRISH GARDENING 



23 



Uv 



"The Strawbcrrv Tree" — 

 Arbutus. 



|. W. Br.sANi. Royal Hot.iiili- Gai-tlons, Glasneviii. 

 RIU'Tl'S l'XI*"DO, commonly known as 



lime, the Arbulu.s llourishcs et|ual!y well whether 

 the soil be calcareous or not. This indifference 

 lo lime is pointed out by Mr. Praef»'er in his 

 instructive notes on .Arbutus in its native habitat 

 about Killarney. .\t Glasnevin, too, where a 



AKIU II S I'M'JIJU, commonly known as hiri^e part of the g-ard,;n is composed of an arid, 

 tlK- .Strawberry Tree, is one of the dry, limestone gravel, the common '• Strawberry 

 handsomest evergreen winter-flowering Tree" is the most conspicuous evergreen shrub 

 sliiubs amenable to out-door cultivation. .\1- in the collections. Many large specimens are 



a feature in 

 the older part 

 of the garden, 

 while several 

 loreign spe- 

 c i e s take 

 ecjually well 

 to the same 

 conditions. 



The typical 

 plant, large 

 specimens of 

 which, eigh- 

 teen to twenty 

 feet high and 

 a s m u c h 

 through, 

 a d o r n the 

 grounds, has 

 narrowly ob- 

 long, finely- 

 toothed leaves 

 and usualh' 

 g r e e n i s h 

 white flowers, 

 though in 

 some speci- 

 mens the flow- 

 ers are of a 

 delicate pink 

 hue. 



There are 

 n u ni e r o u s 

 varieties cul- 



tliough speci- 

 mens up to 

 t w e n t y feet 

 high are to he 

 met with in 

 gardens, the 

 habit is strictly 

 that of a large 

 shrub. Xumer- 

 o us s t [• o n g 

 b r a n e h e s 

 spring from 

 near the base, 

 maintaining a 

 fairly equal 

 rate of growth, 

 and branching 

 again as 

 growth pro- 

 ceeds. The 

 final result is 

 a r o u n d e d, 

 billowy mass of 

 great beauty, 

 p a r t i c u 1 a rly 

 when in winter 

 the branches 

 are thickly fur- 

 nished with 

 pendant clus- 

 ters of green- 

 ish white, pale 

 pink or rosy 

 red, b e 1 1 - 

 shaped flowers. 



ARBUTL'S MiLLERl 



A hjbrid roin A. Andrachne x A. Unedo. Photographed at 



GlasneN-in, December 20th, 1911. 



Often, too, the clusters of tivated in gardens varying from the type in 



bright red fruits, product of the previous year's habit, size and incision of the leaves and in the 



flowers, intermingle with the current season's colour of the flowers. 



blossoms, adding a quite unusual charm. Not A. U. compacta, of dense, close habit, is well 



content with beauty of foliage, flower and fruit, described in the varietal name. .A. U. integer- 



the .\rbutus adds yet another in its attractive rima (often called .\. rotundifolia) has rather 



ruddy brown branches ; this feature is, per- rounded leaves, not toothed. A. U. microphylla 



haps, more marked in some exotic species. has leaves shaped and toothed like the type, 



-Although a member of the Erica or Heath but very much smaller. -A. U. quercifolia, as 



family, which, with some few exceptions, detest the name implies, has leaves bearing some 



