IRISH GARDENING 



\"oi,rMi-: \-|i. 



No. 7S 



A MONlllLV JOLRN AI. I)K\()1-KI) lO Till-: 



ADVANCF.MEN'I- Ol' IIORTICULTURi: AND 



ARBORICUI.TI KF IN IRELAND 



AI'C.l'ST 



1912 



Castle \v c I la n , 



Hv 11. \km\ 1 \i,i- Miimkf. 



LIBRARY 

 NEW YORK 

 BOTANICAL 



OARDBN 



HOW'FX'liR la\i.sli naturo nia\' have been 

 to Castlewellaii in its uniixalled scenic 

 attractions, no one who has seen the 

 place will deny that the hand of man has very 

 materially assisted in the completion of a work 

 of exceptional beauty and interest. Here, on 

 richly-wooded slopes bounded bv a mile-lony 

 lake, and backed by hills one thousand feet 

 hiijh commanding majjnificent views to the 

 south and east of mountain and sea, a rare 

 collection of trees and shrubs has been effect- 

 ively placed to add a permanent horticultural 

 interest to a scene of great natural beauty. 



.\ liner setting could scarcely be imagined 

 and from soil and slope as from aspect and 

 elevation the place was admirably designed as 

 the site tor the monument of horticidture which 

 has been so effectually raised there. By happy 

 chance its permanent adornment fell to tlie lot 

 o( two men most singularly fitted for the task, 

 the late Hugh, 5th Earl Annesiey, and his 

 gardener, Thomas Ryan. Neither, alas, is here 

 to-day to \iew the hillside where for more than 

 thirty years they co-operated so untiringly in an 

 achievement which now stands as a fitting 

 memorial of their united skill and good taste. 

 One eminent authority has described the 

 gardens at Castlewellan as a "gallery oi 

 exotics," and one may add a gallery of i/wi'ir 

 ^^^.exotics, for the principle carefull\- followed here 

 %— has been one of selection rather than collection. 

 < — The object has ne\er been merely to build up a 

 catalogue, comprehensive as the one in question 

 undoubtedly is, but to exercise the discrimina- 

 tion acquired bv experience. The wheat has 

 been judiciouslj sifted from the chaff, and no 



plant has tound :i perm;ment foothold in the 

 grounds until the suitability tor its position has 

 been critically tested during years of nurserv 

 growth. The late Lord .Annesiey furnished 

 his g.irden as the connoisseur furnishes his 

 apartments. He picked out his pieces with a 

 discerning eye ; he sp.ared no pains to obtain 

 the best plants to suit his purpose ; he culti- 

 vated iliem with care, and above all he had the 

 •' landscape eye" to permanently place them to 

 the utmost advantage. 



.\s a consequence the visitor to Castlewellan 

 to-day is no less impressed with the size and 

 s\ nimetry of the specimens than with the suita- 

 bility of their surroundings. There is nothing 

 h.iphazard in the pre\ ailing harmony of colour 

 in widely-varying tree and shrub, so tastefulh 

 grouped on grassy slops and hollow. The 

 whole has been softly blended together ; no in- 

 dividLial plant obtrudes, yet each contributes to 

 the restful, natural effect produced, « hich time 

 alone will tend to intensify. In all this there is 

 art, and, above all, the art that conceals art, 

 and when, as at Castlewellan, ai t and nature are 

 so happily united the result can lead to iti^ dis- 

 appointment. The soil here, to which the 

 vigorous growth and brilliant colouring of so 

 many varying species are mainly due, consists 

 of a fair depth of light fertile loam overlying a 

 gravelly subsoil, sloping somewhat sharpiy to 

 the south and east, and providing an efficient 

 natural drainage. .A towering hill-top to the 

 west and a surrounding growth of forest limber 

 shelter the main gardens, and a four-mile prox- 

 imity to the sea tempers the winter climate 

 from the visitation oi severe frosts. Under 



