IRISH GARDENING 



63 



The Month's Work. 

 The Flower Garden. 



By John Whytock, Gardener to Colonel 

 Crawford, Crawfordsburn, Co. Down. 



Spring bedding will be looking very 

 gay tliis month, as most of tbe plants 

 will be in flower. Any staking of 

 Tulips or Hyacinths tbat is required 

 should be attended to and the edges 

 of beds trimmed up, and any decayed 

 leaves or rubbish that has blown on 

 them should be cleaned off. 



Lawns. — The grass will be growing 

 quickly now, and should be cut with 

 a lawn mower, previous to which it 

 should be gone over and well swept 

 to remove any gravel or other dirt 

 that may have got on it. Any bare 

 patches of the lawn, or places where 

 the grass is thin, should be irritated 

 with a rake and a topdressing of fine 

 soil given and sown down with a 

 good mixture of lawn grass seed. 

 Tennis and croquet lawns should be 

 kept constantly rolled, so as to get 

 a. good firm surface. 



RosEs.- — Early in the month all 

 dwarf Roses should be pruned, 

 starting with the Hybrid Perpetuals, 

 and finishing up with the Teas and 

 those that have been newly planted. 

 Hybrid Perpetuals and Hybrid Teas 

 should be cut pretty hard, especially 

 if large blooms are required. Teas 

 need only the dead and unripened 

 shoots taken away, and the points of 

 the well-ripened shoots cut away. After they 

 are pruned the beds should be given a good top- 

 dressing of some bone-meal and good artificial 

 manure, which should be lightly forked in. taking 

 care not to damage the surface roots too much 

 in the operation. 



Shrubs and Trees.— Any of the Conifer 

 family and evergreen shrubs such as Hollies, 

 Andromedas, Berberis, Rhododendrons, &c, that 

 require planting or transplanting, should be done 

 this month. After planting, if the soil is inclined 

 to be on the dry side, they should be given a good 

 watering. Any large specimens either of Conifers 

 or evergreens that require transplanting should 

 have a good trench dug round them about o feet 

 from the stem, and the trench filled in with some 

 good soil ; this will encourage fibrous rooting, and 

 the plants can be safely removed the following 

 season. 



Violets, out of doors and in frames, which 

 have flowered should be lifted and the side 

 shoots taken off, with a bit of root if possible, 

 and planted in beds out of doors which have been 

 previously made ready by being well dug and 

 manured. In planting a good lot of sand should 

 be worked in about the roots. 



Annuals that were sown last month in heat 

 will be ready for pricking off into cool frames. 

 They should be kept close, and daily given alight 

 spraying until they start to grow, when air should 

 be gradually given. Bedding plants, such as 

 Geraniums, Lobelia, Heliotrope, Iresine, &c, 

 should be put out into cool frames to harden off. 

 The Rock Garden will be interesting at this 

 time, a good many of the subjects coming and 



are in flower, such as the mossy section of the 

 Saxifragas, Morisias, lberis, &c. A careful watch 

 will have to be kept for snails and slugs at this 

 time just as the plants are starting into growth, or 

 else the early growth will soon disappear. Such 

 plants as the Dianthus, Aster alpinus, Campanu- 

 las, &c, are especially liable to attack. The best 

 means to protect some of the choicest of the plants 

 is to put a zinc collar around the plant and 

 gently press it into the ground, leaving about 

 three inches above the surface. Any winter 

 coverings that have been over any of the more 

 tender plants should be taken away, and the sur- 

 face soil round them given a pointing with a fork. 



The Fruit Garden. 



By D. McIntosh, Cardener to Alderman Bewley, 

 Danum, Rathgar. 



Early Vines. — As soon as the berries are seen 

 to be swelling again after the stoning process, a 

 temperature 5° higher, day and night, should be 

 maintained. Examine the borders, and, if in 

 need of moisture, give a watering of clear water, 

 and immediately after repeat the operation, but 

 this time adding one gallon of liquid farmyard 

 manure to every two gallons of water. On warm 

 days frequent syringings of the borders, paths 

 and bare spaces is beneficial to the vines, and it 

 is essential that these spaces be thoroughly 

 damped before closing up the house in the after- 

 noons. Whenever the bunches show signs of 

 colouring, more ventilation will be needed, leaving 

 a little on all night, but extra fire heat must be 

 used to keep up the requisite temperature. 

 Admit a little air at the front before the ther- 

 mometer rises in the morning. This will prevent 

 a stagnant atmosphere, which so often at this 

 Stage accounts for the cracking of the berries. , 



Mid-season Vines. — The bunches will now be 

 coming in flower, so, at the first available oppor- 

 tunity, tie the shoots down to the wires. The sun 

 will then shine better on to the bunches before the 

 leaves are re-arranged, and thus assist fertilization. 

 Maintain a warm airy atmosphere and tap the 

 rods about one o'clock on bright days, using the 

 feather brush when the weather is dull. The 

 bunches should be ready for thinning a fortnight 

 or so after the berries are set. It is wise to 

 commence this operation early, so that those 

 which are left will receive all the nutriment. 



Indoor Peaches and Nectarines. — Most of 

 these trees will have set their fruits by this date, 

 and it will now be necessary to examine the 

 borders as regards watering. If in need of 

 moisture, give sufficient water to thoroughly 

 saturate the roots. Syringe the trees, morning 

 and afternoon, with water that has been exposed 

 to the air. Frequent syringings help to swell the 

 fruit and increase the growth of the tree, and are 

 essential to keep red spider in check. Many trees 

 set an over-abundant crop of fruit, which, if 

 allowed to remain, would only be small and poor, 

 and the tree would be seriously impaired for the 

 following season's crop. Therefore, thinning is 

 very necessary, and should be commenced when 

 the fruit is about the size of an oak apple. In 

 thinning out the fruits, which should be done at 

 intervals of a few days, the health and vigour of 

 the tree must be borne in mind. It is a mistake to 

 overtax the strength of a tree, because the result 

 in the end will be unsatisfactory. 



Pot Strawberries. — About the middle of the 

 month, if all has gone well, the first batch of 



