IRISH GARDENING 



119 



gooseberry cluster-cup fungus may be able to 

 dispense with the stages on the sedge altogether, 

 or possibly there may be some other host plants 

 which play the same part as the sedges do. 

 These are matters which can only be solved by 

 future research, and the above described means 

 of dealing with the disease are the only ones 

 which the present state of our knowledge enables 

 us to suggest. G. H. P. 



Notes from a Small Rock 

 Garden. 



By E. B. Anderson, Gilford Avenue, 

 Sandymount. 



Before talking about some of the plants growing 

 in my very small rock garden, it will be best to 

 give some idea es to its soil and aspect. 



The soil is a very sandy loam overlying pure 

 sea sand, and is only I to 2 feet deep, the drainage 

 therefore is perfect. The garden faces south- 

 west : receives therefore plenty of sun ; the fences 

 give shade on one side up to about 10 a.m., on 

 the other from 2 p.m. 



The natural soil has had a load or so of loam 

 added, and is full of stones and chips, and in this 

 mixture most of my plants are growing, except 

 where stated otherwise. 



Myosotis rupicola was splendid in a half-shaded 

 moraine of chips, peat and leaf-mould. The 

 plants are two years old, and were covered with 

 exquisite blue flowers. 



As it is rather troublesome to grow. I experi- 

 mented according to two recipes. One lot was 

 planted in loam wedged between two tiles in a 

 shady place near a little peat bed. They dowered 

 fairly well last year, but either went off in the 

 winter or early in spring. Another batch was 

 planted in heavy loam near the same peat bed 

 and in shade, and protected with a glass during t he 

 winter ; they came through the winter alright 

 and flowered, but one by one died off during the 

 summer without apparent cause ; the last one 

 made a feeble growth this spring and then died. 

 80 my only real success is in the shaded moraine, 

 where they have now flowered and seeded twice, 

 and one or two self-sown seedlings have appeared, 

 but so far only one has survived the slugs, which 

 are very fond of this plant. I also have some 

 small plants in full sun in a little wet moraine ; 

 they are quite healthy, but were only planted 

 this spring. This plant is so beautiful that I 

 cannot apologise for such extended remarks, 

 unless I hear that I am the only one who has had 

 any difficulty with it. 



Geranium cinereum album is new and very 

 pleasing : the white flowers, with green centres, 

 are very pretty and freely borne. It appears 

 quite easy to grow in a light soil and sunny 

 aspect. 



Androsace lanuginosa alba. — We often pine for 

 albinos, and yet when we get them they are often 

 not more beautiful than the type. It is so in 

 this case. The flowers open pure white, with a 

 greenish-yellow eye, which fades to red-purple, 

 and occasionally the flowers have a slight shade 

 when dying. It is rare and interesting, but not 

 more beautiful than the type, which is flowering 

 splendidly with me this year. 



Viola florairensis. — I have two plants raised 

 from seed of above which are giving me great 



pleasure. The growth is vigorous, but compact, 

 and the plants are flowering freely. The flowers 

 are shaped like V. cornuta Papilio, but are 

 coloured differently. No. 1 has the lower petals 

 lavender-blue, the two upper a distinct reddish- 

 purple. No. 2 is very like Papilio, but much 

 bluer. 



This brings up the question of the origin of 

 V. cornuta Papilio ; it certainly is not a true 

 cornuta type. Is it a hybrid like V. florairensis ? 

 It is a cheery thing, flowering continuously and 

 seeding all over the place. 



Wahlenbergias graminifolia and dalmatica do 

 very well with me. Two plants of the former on 

 a very dry ledge have about forty heads of bloom 

 between them, and two on a very high and dry 

 moraine about the same number. When bloom- 

 ing like this they are very effective. 



But the champion is W. dalmatica planted on 

 a sunny crevice. One plant last year bore over 

 forty heads of bloom. I thought after such an 

 effort it must surely die; but no, this year 

 there are about thirty-six heads just coming into 

 bloom. 



Lastly, a word about the exquisite Wahlen- 

 bergia gracilis. I purchased a plant last spring, 

 when it had not been boomed, and was only 

 Is. 6d. It formed a bush 8 inches high and the 

 same across, and was a mass of bloom, most 

 delightful to see. At the time it had a horrible 

 biennial appearance about it — all flower and no 

 leaf, or unflowering shoots, but about March a 

 little growth appeared, which, alas ! speedily 

 succumbed to our wondrous climate. Again in 

 April it made an effort to grow, and has survived ; 

 but, oh ! such a wretched remnant of its former 

 self — a, few shoots, 3 inches high, not yet flowered. 

 It is in sandy stony loam in full sun and 

 sheltered from north by a wall. 



Have any other readers of Irish Gardening 

 experience with this plant? 



Pentstemon triflorus- 



Tins line species has been flowering freely through 

 July, and will continue until the end of the 

 autumn. A native of Mexico, it was introduced 

 by the Bees, Ltd., in 1908, under the name of 

 P. isophyllus. The plants are sub-shrubby, 

 and grow from 2 to 1 feet high, according to the 

 richness of soil and the climate. The stiff, erect 

 flower stems carry narrow panicles of coral-red 

 flowers, about H to 2 inches long; usually three 

 flowers are borne on short stems, springing from 

 the axils of the leaves. 



Like other members of the family, P. triflorus 

 may be easily raised from cuttings, and in some 

 seasons seeds ripen freely. It is a good plant for 

 the border, but in the colder localities some pro- 

 tection, such as litter or ashes around the roots, 

 should be given. 



Pentstemon cordifolius. 



We sometimes see this Pentstemon grown on a 

 border and cut down yearly with the herbaceous 

 plants ; even in this way it is effective. The 

 plant conies from California, consequently is not 

 so hardy as one could wish ; in reality it is a 

 climbing shrub, and should be treated as such. 

 At Glasnevin there is a fine plant on a wall 

 covering a stretch of 10 feet. When covered 

 with the curving bright scarlet flowers in August 

 it is most effective. 



