IRISH GARDENING 



69 



ri.int. in fact, for (.'aptaiii Riall to have trcateJ 

 us to an armlul ol the piorusely-lUnvcroil 

 branches, coniparoi.! with which iniportod 

 sprays then comini; to Dulilin iVom ihc l\i\icr;i 

 were poor W'e thinl< the chinalic char.icter 

 oi Old Conna is pretty well suinnieti up in that 

 maijiiiticent Mimosa wliich, cortcctl\ speakinj,'', 

 ofcoiM-se is not a Mimosa, liut Acacia tlealbala, 

 the Australian Wattle, a tender jjfreenhouse 

 subject in most gardens, but exuberantly happy 

 in the open at Old Conna. But the ifardens 

 ol OKI L'onna ari- 

 jfardens with a his- 

 tory, and eloquent 

 o( it in i.|iiaint old- 

 world pleasainices 

 divided by massive 

 \'ew heds;es, the 

 most conspicuous 

 feature of one divi- 

 sion beiny the first 

 Cordyline australis 

 planted out in Ire- 

 land — a healthy, 

 hvdra - headed, old 

 warrior, well on for 

 forty feet hii;h, with 

 a stem tjirthiny: 

 over six feet near 

 the ground. But, as 

 most wanderers in 

 Wicklow are aware, 

 it is a Cordyline 

 countrx, many speci- 

 mens here beintj but 

 little less in size and 

 also providint; the 

 dominant feature in 

 Lord Plunkett's pic- 

 turestjue demesne, 



at hand. Our visit to Old C'cinna was in June, 

 just in time to miss the full finsh of Rhododen- 

 drons in quantity, of which some of the Hima- 

 lavan species had been very fine. But we w-ere 

 right for an enormous bush o( .Andre's broom 

 in all its glory of red and t;old. and which 

 swept to extinction anything previously seen of 

 its kind, and then there was a wealth of Roses 

 on the walls, including a veteran old yellow 

 Banksian. Magnolia Watsoni, too, was regal 

 in its creamy white blooms, seven inches 

 across, with the reverse of its guard petals in 

 tawnv huff, but for interest and characteristic 



.Acacia ni 



.*\ Spray from the Tree t;rowin 



be.iuly we ga\e the p.ilm lo ;i big bush of 

 C'rinodendron Hookeri, glowing with :i mass of 

 its rich, red, pendant Howers. Comparisons, 

 however, may here be invidious, for on the 

 walls and elsewhere we founil I labri>thamiuis 

 fasciculatus. Swainsonias, Jasminun primu- 

 linnm, DenJromecon rigidum, anil among 

 lesser things X'eronica Lavaudiana, lieranium 

 Lowii, Calceolaria violaeea, and a colony ot 

 Primula japonica, the latter in a semi-wild 

 spot with a great clump of the palmate Bamboo. 



grown almost out 

 o( knowledge in its 

 eight feet height, 

 and just at that 

 time big bushes of 

 Abutilon vitil'olium 

 were decked with its 

 soft, lavender-blue 

 blossoms. Other 

 things of that order 

 we couki mention 

 galore, but candidlv 

 conlessing to a 

 strong weakness 

 for trees the collec- 

 tion here was re- 

 sponsible for a good 

 deal of attention. 

 .Among the Coni- 

 fer.e, the .Mexican 

 Pine. P. .\Iontezum;v, 

 was probably the 

 most distinguished, 

 but .Abies Morinda, 

 the graceful Hima- 

 layan spruce, in 

 quantity claimed 

 special attention, 

 as well as giants of 

 that ilk in Abies .Alberliana and canadensis, 

 Cupressus erecta viridis ; a d.varl kind being 

 worthily .-epresented by Prumnopitys elegans. 

 .All, and more also as we saw them, made 

 unimpeachable testimony to the kindly clim.ite 

 of Bray ; and if more was wanted we found it in 

 a hale and hearty specimen of our own species, 

 yclopt one McGarry, a respected servant >^f the 

 family, who, whilst admitting to ninety-one 

 years of age, seemed happy in giving the infor- 

 mation that his father lived to one hundred and 

 four, so he was looking ahead, and we hope is 

 still. 



■:.\LBATA. 



li ill CaptaiTi Riall's Oarden. 



