130 



IRISH GARDENING 



the very double. If we are to define a bedding 

 variety it must be one which has a good habit 

 of growth — good, free and continuous bloomer, 

 and if possible one which has a definite colour 

 and not particularly subject to diseases. Choose 

 any Rose you like, be it single or double, but 

 be sure that it meets these requirements if you 

 want success. Try and keep the taller varieties, 

 such as Hugh Dickson, Frau. K. Druschki. where 

 they can tower over the smaller growers when 

 planting a Rose garden ; by this I mean that 

 these taller varieties should be nearer the outside 

 boundaries of your plot. Do not put two Roses 

 near one another in two beds without considering 

 the colour question lest they clash and mar one 

 another. If single Roses be your quest you will 

 find many varieties which are perfect, foremost 

 amongst them being Irish Elegance. This Rose, 

 coupled with Fireflame, Glory. Modesty, 

 Engineer, will give you a great contrast and 

 wealth of colour. Simplicity is of a larger size 

 than the others, but it is indispensable as a 

 single. Of semi-double varieties one can plant 

 La Tosca, KiHarney, Gustav Regis, Cynthia 

 Forde and any others that fancy dictates. Of 

 the double varieties their name is legion. Good 

 colours can easily be got in any shade from dark 

 crimson to pure white. Of the dark varieties 

 the best are George Dickson, Hugh Dickson, 

 Rhea Reid, Liberty, Laurent Caile, Senateur 

 Vaisse, Captain Hayward, George C. Waud, 

 W. E. Lippiatt. In pinks we have good 

 varieties in La France, Killarney, Mrs. John 

 Laing, Mine. Jules Grolez, Pharisaer, Mme. Abel 

 Chatenay, Dean Hole. Buff varieties can be 

 represented in Mrs. Charles Allen, Carine, 

 Melaine Soupert ; yellows with Harry Kirk. 

 Mdme. Ravary, Mons. Joseph Hill, Mrs. Peter 

 Rlair, Miss Alice de Rothschild ; and whites 

 with Druschki, White Maman Cochet, tSouv. de 

 S. A. Prince, Mrs. Myles Kennedy, Comtcsse de 

 Sa.xe. Win. R. Smyth. This is by no means ;i 

 perfect list, the names are those which have 

 come first to my pen. Some surprise may lie 

 caused by not having mentioned Lyon-Rose, 

 but I cannot honestly advise it. With me it 

 is all right as a maiden, hut as a outback it is 

 not good. 



1 advised you to prune all varieties hard the 

 first year of planting ; in future years you can 

 spate the knife, hut on no account allow your 

 plants to get " leggy." Some old wood should 

 be removed each year. Pegging down some 

 varieties, such as Hugh Dickson, is another 

 good plan but you must not he too greedy and 

 peg too main rods. Nothing looks finer than 

 a well-furnished bed with a- profusion of flowers 

 and clean foliage ; laziness begets dirty beds and 

 flowers which are an abomination. If you are 

 going to do the thing, do it well. 



Sowing Annuals in Autumn. 



This practice has been long and often recom- 

 mended, but still only a few people, especially 

 amateurs, seem to have reaHsed the immense 

 advantage of it. Of course, not all annuals are 

 suitable for autumn sowing, but those that do 

 prove amenable are incomparably superior the 

 next summer to those sown in spring. There 

 are, of course, risks and difficulties, especially 

 where the seeds are sown in the open ground, 

 and cultivation has to be done entirely in the 

 open. The chances of extraordinarily sex ere 

 weather or prolonged spells of cold rain all 

 contribute to try very severely the young plants 

 in their tender stages. 



Given, however, a fairly sheltered spot which 

 will get a fair amount of sun in winter and a 

 light soil which will be warm, success is fairly 

 certain. It is not always practicable to sow the 

 seeds where the plants are required to flower, for 

 the simple reason that the beds and borders 

 where we want the annuals next season are 

 generally full of plants when the seeds should 

 be sown — viz., in September. 



The next best plan is to sow the seeds thinly 

 in shallow drills on a sheltered, warm border, 

 and by the time they are large enough to handle 

 it may be possible to lift and prick them out 

 where they are required to flower. If, however, 

 the flower border should be rather exposed or 

 the soil be inclined to be heavy it will be better 

 to defer transplanting till the first fine weather 

 in the following spring. Shoidd seme of the 

 seedlings grow too fast and get crowded in 

 autumn they may be lifted and pricked out in 

 the same border and moved again in spring, 

 when they will be nice sturdy plants. In very 

 small gardens it is generally impossible to devote 

 much ground to the raising of seedlings for 

 transplanting, in which case a few small shallow 

 boxes might be used. A layer of drainage must 

 be placed in the bottom, and over this a couple 

 of inches of line sandy soil pressed moderately 

 firm and made quite smooth on top. The seeds 

 should then be scattered thinly over covering 

 lightly with a little more line soil gently pressed 

 down with any flat article. One or more kinds 

 may be sown, according to the size of the box, 

 taking care to leave a division between each, 

 in this way a -icat many soils may be grown in 

 quite a small space. The seedlings, when they 

 are large enough, may he pricked out where they 

 are to flower or into other boxes and kept in a 

 sheltered spot till spring. 



Where a cold frame is available the Seedi may 

 be sown a month later, say in October, in pots 

 or boxes, and simply stood in the frame, giving 

 plenty of air at all times except during very 

 frosty weather. Here the seeds will germinate 



