IRISH GARDENMNG 



11 



I.iUiKI IAS. -Lil'l .'iiiil iliviili' tlio lu-rb.u-iroiis kinds. 

 Tlio-e ;iiv usually bought IVoiii tin- mirsi-iics in piMs 

 wliioli cm III- planli'il-oiii imiiu'tlialoly. 



IJiKNMAl.s. such JIN Swerl Williams, Canti'ibiiry Bi-lls. 

 Honesiy, Koxglovos, Columbims, ami Walldowoi s m.iy 

 all be sown in tlio open jjuniiul towaiils llu' end ol'llif 

 month (or next spjinj; ,iikI suniinei- flowirinjj. 11' 

 Sweet Williams, .Anlin hinuins anil other biennials li;i\e 

 been raised In bo.\es or pans, these may be planted out 

 iit their lowering' ipiarters, and where possible plant in 

 clumps and not in straight lines. 



SiiKi lis that rtower on the previous year's jfrowlh 

 should be gone over, and where necessary pruneil, as 

 soon as they go out of flower. By doing this the 

 plants can be kept in shape, willioul losing any of the 

 floweiing wood, .\mong the many flowering shrubs for 

 spring may be nienliiMuil Spira-a .irgnl.i. one of the 

 most be.iutil'ul, free flowering, and easily grown hardy 

 shrubs. The flowers are pure white, borne in close 

 clusters on graceful branches. The plant is not fas- 

 tidious as to position or soil, but il well repays liberal 

 treatment. I*"orsythia suspensa anil !•'. intermedia ;tri' 

 two more spring shrubs no garden is complete without. 



RosKS.— During cold wind and hoi sun roses quickly 

 becoine infested with greeiiH\' ; this especiidly applies 

 to those on ;i hot sunnv wall. Spra\' willi Ouassia 

 Extract, which can be had very leasonably Ironi all 

 seedsmen, wiih full directions lor use. h'ollow these 

 directions carefully, and do not use the Extract any 

 stronger than advised, as this will injure the foli.'igi-. 

 If .1 sprayer is not .available an orilinary garden sjringe 

 may be used. 



.STRAWIiKRKlI-s. — I'ork between the rows and remove 

 all weeds. dive a dressing of well-decayed manure, 

 and over this place some clean straw close round tile 

 plants. The manure will be beneficial to the plants and 

 the straw keeps the flowers, and later on the fruit, 

 from nnid stains. R. \1. Poi.i.chk. 



Royal Horticultural Society ot 

 Ireland. 



.Si'j^im; Siun\, .Vi^rii. 17 .wn iiS. 



Hi.^\\' it is we have been editorially cajoled inui 

 giving our impressions of the Spring Show we 

 hardly know, especially as the diplomatic 

 attack was, we thought, successfully parried with a 

 withering No ! Hut gardening Editors are a cool 

 species, not easily withered, and a don'l-say-no-ifyou'd- 

 rather-not kind of counter-thrust committed us to it — 

 to giving our impression.s, concerning which, kind 

 reader, wlietlur you were of the judges or thejudgeil, 

 please under.stand that naught here is set down in malice. 

 Flace AIX Damks. — Eleven fair entrants competing 

 in the decorated dinnnertable class made, we think, 

 a record for Dublin. We cannot accuse the ladies 

 of over elaboration ; most of the schemes worked 

 out could, in fact, have had the floral and 

 foli.'ige material liuplicated without exceeding in 

 this direction, even .Mrs. Claude Cane's first prize table 

 arrangement of Harberton Daisies could have done 

 with more light trailing .Smilax and .Asparagus sprays 

 to emphasise the eftect, which was good. By the way. 

 Carnations are common enough now for use in this 

 class of work, and we were surprised at not finding 

 them used. Soft pink Carnations liberally but lightly 



displayed in clear glass \ases with gi.'iceful foliage 

 ni.ike a charming scheme on a dead white cloth. The 

 second prize table, put up by Mrs. 11. M. Ross, appeared 

 to us a iiille— just a "leetle" lumpy and daring, 

 decidedly daring ; as for the rest, blue flowers for this 

 particular purpose should be tabooed. We should like 

 to see the evident interest displayed in this year's com- 

 petition sustained by a challenge cup; we beliexe the 

 class is worth it, and lady members of the society might 

 take the hint and present ^^n^i. .Seveti competing for 

 the Daflodil basket made :i f.iir show, and we heard no 

 cavilling at the awards made to Mrs. Claude Cane, Miss 

 Murphy, and .Miss .\hern, respectively. 



I\i>si-;s. — Nine Pot Roses ;ilways appeared to us a big 

 order for County Dublin gardens, although Lord 

 .Ardilaun's challenge cup is .i capital fertiliser for 

 growers. This show saw it won out by Mr. 

 H. S. Guinness, Burton Hall, Stillorgan, with 

 a capital nine — a walk over in fact, having no 

 one against him, the winner having first captured 

 this cup in 1907 and again last year, thus com- 

 pleting the conditions. Cut Roses were a treat, .Alder- 

 man Bewley's 24 fine in form and colour, his Druscltkis 

 being supberb and all as fresh when clearing away as 

 when staged. As for Marechal Niel in the following 

 class the least said, perhaps, the better, beyond that 

 ihey were of no merit, save apparently in the Judge's 

 eyes, who gave the only stand set up a first. This 

 advisedly ; we are comparing them with the grand old 

 Marechals of other days, so splendidly shown in 

 Dublin, and now as defunct as the iJodo. and the 

 sooner it is eliminated from the schedule the better. 



Dai'fodiI-S ami Hvacinths. — Figuratively the flower 

 which comes before the swallow dares was "oft, " it had 

 waxed a fortnight before the show and waned till 

 nought, but the residue remained, of which all credit to 

 those who bravely made the best of it. We compliment 

 Captain O'Callaghan on capturing the President's 

 Perpetual Challenge Cup in the big class of 50 varieties 

 from that doughty champion Mr. C. .M. Doyne, who 

 took his defeat in the true sporting manner. This was 

 .lass 35, and the remainder of the section, extending to 

 class 45, calls for no comment beyond the eft'orts made 

 by entrants to fill the space allotted to them under 

 adverse circumstances beyond their control. But 

 what — what happened to the Hyacinths '■ Honestly 

 we do not know, especially with the glamour of the fine 

 beds in the People's Gardens, Pluenix Park, fresh in our 

 eves. Those shown in the premier class, u distinct, 

 were, to say the least, of no merit, and why the prizes 

 were awarded we could not understand. It is but right 

 to add, nevertheless, that the best of the triplets (three 

 in a pot) were not as bad. Pot Daffodils, in view of the 

 season, were excusable ; pot Tulips, fair to good, 

 although opening most immodestly flat. 



.AiPiNKs AND H\Riiv KiiiWHRs. - But oiie competitor 

 for the Tully Cup and substantial cash prizes ofl"ered 

 for the .Alpine table is a drop we did not expect. How- 

 ever, Mrs. fJeorge Mitchell, who, with her gardener, 

 Wm. Baker, built up a whole landscape on the 8 x 4 ft. 

 table, fully deserved the premier award for her labours. 

 Entering the garden gate (with our eye), we roamed 

 round the road cut in the cliffs to the Chinese pagoda 

 towering up, and then hied us back to climb the 



