IRISH GARDENING 



'73 



«..c;iiunia acaulis. 



l!y lliM Ui.wn. UlaiuUroil, AbboyU'ix. 



III.W'IC been .iskeil to wrile of Cieiitiiuis, and will 

 briefly deseiibe the lieauiieni tbat we jc've Ibeni 

 liere, which is totally at variiince from bot^k-law. 

 October and November are the nionlbs to plant Clen- 

 tiana acaiilis. The tfrourul should be dug out three 

 feel deep, and a fi>ot cti' drain;iij^e put in at the bottom, 

 I lull two feet of I he best virgin soil and leaf-mould. 

 We use rotten scutch or couch grass two parts, and 

 leaf-mould one part. .Ml this should be well stampeil 

 down. Then plant tlu' (lenlians in clumps of Iwi'Ke 

 c I" o w n s, six 

 inches distant 

 each w;iy, ziy- 

 za g. D o n I 

 t*xpcct g r e ;i i 

 things the fii'^i 

 year in the wax 

 of bloom, hill 

 don't forget i,' 

 cut o ft" t h c 

 bloom before 

 seeding. Sa\> 

 worr\' by plani 

 ing in lull SUM 

 only. WcIkim- 

 Illeni in cdj^ini;^ 

 1)\' the inik'. 

 .iiid yon can 

 see the scarcii\ 

 of bloom wheri 

 even a primrcsi- 

 shadows i h c 

 Gentian. WcclI 

 them and keep 

 them clean 

 ;ilw;t)'s, and in 

 the second year 

 they will repay, 

 and in the third 

 year will re- 



ioice you. .\t four years thc\ will be touching each 

 other, and the fifth year you must tear them up and 

 start again. I have told scores of people how we grow 

 them, but I know that they give them gravel to feed on, 

 jump on them and roll them, lo make the poor things 

 believe that they are under glaciers. Unbelievers, 

 come and see them here on the loth of May, igi3, and 

 afterwards roll them and starve them at your peril. 

 To my gardener is the credit. In the past twenty 

 years these miles of Gentians have sprung trom a few 

 plants. Each year I groan at the carting away of three 

 feet of soil, and the bringing back of virgin good food. 

 Towards the end of one year 1 struck, and replanted 

 the last lot in the old soil. They were quite a failure, 

 whereas their brothers and sisters flowered in great 

 beauty. .My gardener did not let me down lightly — 

 ■' I told you so, " quoth he. How I hate being " told so. " 

 [Whether book law or not, the results Mr. Hum 

 Rlantl gets from his Gentians are a smprise lo all 

 visitors. — En. 1 



Some Pretty Veronicas. 



VERONIC.X IHLKE.A.NA is one of the most 

 beauiilnl oi all our dwarf evergreen shrubs, 



ERONICA 



il of 

 bill u il'jrari itoly not thoroughly hardy ; never- 

 theless it is far hardier than many suppose, and one 

 meets with many flourishing plants even in the north of 

 Ireland. In cold places it is well worth a sunny wall 

 or a sheltered corner in the rockery, and is also 

 pleasing when grown as a pot plan; for the cool con- 

 servatory. In pots it is inclined to become rather 

 straggly, and the points of the shoots should be nipped 

 out to promote a bushy growth. If kept free from 

 insect attacks there is no difliculty in its culture. 



T his \'e ro- 

 ll i c a w as a 

 great favourite 

 with the late 

 F. W. Hurbidge, 

 and he planted 

 it largely in the 

 Trinity College 

 Gardens, Dub- 

 lin. .Allthe\'er- 

 onicas seem to 

 thrive excepti- 

 onally w'ell by 

 the seaside, and 

 g r o w V e r y 

 quickly. O u r 

 photo gives an 

 example of this, 

 and illustrates a 

 plant of \'er- 

 oiiica Hulkeana 

 in Sir Edward 

 X'erner's gar- 

 den, Corke 

 .\bbey, Bray, 

 which has only 

 been planted a 

 year and a few- 

 months, and 

 w a s covered 

 stems a foot lo 



X'kkomi A I il I Ki \\ A. 

 - I-Mw.ird Vurner's (iiirtltu at Uray. 



w-itli beautiful pale lilac flowers 

 eighteen inches long. 



X'eronica Lavaudiana is a native of the Canterbury 

 Plains of New Zealand, and although discovered in 

 1S40 is by no means a common plant. .\t Glasnevin il 

 has passed through a fairly severe winter quite well, 

 whisle everal other New Zealand Veronicas and other 

 plants were severely injured. In all gardens it is not 

 a success, but in Mr. L. Meredith's garden at Bray the 

 plant grows on the rockery in full sun. and forms a pro- 

 cumbent bush about a yard across, covered with 

 numerous flower heads, making a beautiful rockery 

 plant. 



This species is one of the most distinct of the shrubby 

 Veronicas, the leaves are roundish, with a crenate 

 margin, edged with red. The inflorescence is flat 

 and corymb-like, two or three inches across, composed 

 of numerous small, white flowers. The flower buds 

 are a deep pink. These with the open flower have a 

 most pleasing appearance. 



