5* 



IRISH GARDENING 



Hints to Amateurs. 



By R. ftl. Pollock. 



Annuals. — Another sowing may be made, 

 following the directions given in the March 

 number. This sowing will succeed that made 

 last month. If the March sown seeds are up, 

 see that they are protected from slugs ; a 

 sprinkling of soot is good, but soot and lime 

 equally mixed is also good. Cats are one of 

 the worst troubles that beset owners of small 

 gardens. Freshly-worked soil seems so have a 

 charm for them, and the seeds are no sooner 

 sown, and everything left clean and tidy, than 

 the cats are there cutting capers on them. 

 Seed protectors made from netting can be pur- 

 chased, but circles of cheap rabbit netting, 

 raised slightly on pegs, answer the purpose. 

 \s soon as the seedlings are lit to handle, thin 

 them out if too thickly sown. If the ground 

 in which they are growing has been properly 

 prepared, and provided the seed was good, the 

 seedlings will go ahead quickly and well till 

 the spaces allotted to them. Attend carefully 

 to watering when required. 



Annuals that were raised in the hotbed will 

 require very careful hardening off. They will, 

 of course, be very tender coming out of the 

 heat, and if there is a greenhouse available 

 with a little heat at night, they might be put 

 there on shelves, otherwise a frame in a sunny 

 position will have to be requisitioned. 



Biennials, which include Wallflowers, Canter- 

 bury Bells, Foxgloves, Iceland Poppies, Sweet 

 Williams, Hollyhocks and others, may towards 

 tin- end of the month be sown out of doors in 

 lines. Open a shallow line about 2 or 3 inches 

 deep, which can be easily done with the end 

 of a garden rake; sow the seeds thinly, and 

 cover. Remember to put some mark as to 

 where the seed is ami how far it extends, and 

 il is also interesting to date sowings. Some 

 seed germinates much faster than others, and 

 it is also often useful to know how long plants 

 take from the time of sowing to reach the 

 flowering si age. 



Newly erected arches, while tile perni.'llient 



occupants such as Moses, Clematis, &c, are 

 still small, can be made to look less Ugly by 

 sowing quick- climbing annuals and other 

 plant.-, which will cover them for the lirst 



season. Some of the ornamental Gourds look 

 very handsome, but the seed must be sown 

 singly in pots, ami planted out when about 

 S or 1 "J inches high. Slugs have ;i particular 



liking for these seedlings, as presumably they 

 are soft and luscious. 



The Canary Creeper and Convolvulus are two 

 quick-growing annuals which can be sown 

 direct in the ground. Tropaeolum tuberosum 

 makes a very pretty climber, but the tubers 



of this must be planted as far- from the per- 

 manent plants as possible, so that when lifting 

 in the autumn the other roots will not be 

 dist urbed. 



Hoses not already pruned should lie done at 

 once. If some of the fust leaves come curled, 

 look carefully into them : a small grub is usually 

 the cause, and death by squeezing i« the only 

 sure method of ridding the garden of this pest. 



DAHLIAS. — As stated in a previous issue, there 

 is a method by which Dahlias can be increased 



when no frame or greenhouse is available. 

 This can be done by dividing the old tubers. 

 It must be remembered that it is only at the 

 juncture of the old stem and the tuber that the 

 eyes are found from which growth will start. 

 and when dividing there must be a few of these 

 eyes attached to the piece taken off. it is very 

 risky to leave only one, as something might 

 happen to the one shoot, and that would be a 

 distinct loss. The portion taken off, which 

 should be done with a sharp instrument, may 

 be immediately planted out in well-manured 

 ground, but a good covering, say 1 to inches 

 of soil, should be over them, as otherwise the 

 soft young shoots might be induced to push 

 up above the ground too soon, and be injured 

 by late frosts. 



Towards the end of the month Violets which 

 have done flowering may be lifted, divided and 

 replanted. Plant them in semi-shade, ami give 

 the ground a good manuring. There is little 

 use attempting to grow Violets where the soil 

 is light and where the plants are liable to sutler 

 from drought. In this kind of soil the plants 

 never thrive, and the stalks are short and often 

 very brittle. What is more beautiful than a 

 bunch of deep- coloured Violets, each with a 

 stem ft to 8 inches, perhaps even more, long, 

 and surrounded with their own vigorous 

 healthy foliage ? 



Box edgings may be cut. to give the garden 

 a tidyj neat appearance. This can easily be 



done with a pair of shears, but so people 



use a scythe to the sides and clip the top only 

 with the shears. The daisies will have made 

 their appearance on the lawns, which is a 

 warning that it is time to get the mowing 

 machine out. Before cutting, sweep the grass 

 to remove all hard things, such as stones, 

 sticks, &c, which would blunt I he knives of 

 the machine, and give the ground a good 

 rolling, which will lay all worm-casts and any 

 other roughness. Attention to these details 

 will add greatly to the lift of the mowing 

 machine. 



Greenhouse. As the weather improves 

 this will require some soil of shading to protect 

 the plants from being scorched b\ the bright 

 sun. The best means of doing this is by lath 

 roller blinds attached to the outside of the 

 house, which can be easily rolled up or- down 



as required, and can be removed and stored 

 during the winter. The drawback to this 

 method is the expense. Other forms of blinds 

 can be made of coarse open canvas, which is 

 sold for that purpose'. The ejass can also be 

 painted with some preparation one of these 



called " Summer Cloud " is good ; it is green, 



ami can be scraped off in the winter. It can 

 be painted on the Outside of the e-lass. and will 

 not come off after- the lirst shower of rain. 



(' n whitewash is also often used, but this 



has to be put on the inside of the glass, as it 

 washes off quickly in rain. 



Towards the end of the month a sowing can 



be made of the various Primulas for the green- 

 house. Primula sinensis in several colours, 

 its variety stellata in red ami white, ami I'. 

 obconica. Sow the scc<\ in pots or pans in soil 

 which has been well watered, place in heat 

 with a piece of glass over I lie pot. As soon as 

 the seedlings are up remove the e,lass, and 



keep them growing vigorously. 



Geraniums for bedding out, and any other- 



