IRISH GARDENING 



31 



The Month's Work. 



The Flower Garden. 



By Chart.es Coppen, Gardener to Lord Care w, 

 Castleborough fJardens, Co. Wexford. 



The work in the flower garden during this month 

 will be taken up in cleaning up all arrears of the 

 winter's work and ])reparing for the spring. 

 Planting of trees of the deciduous section and 

 flowering shrubs should be finished no this month. 

 Conifers will be better planted at the middle or 

 end of March, or even in April, with some species. 

 Lawns should be rolled on all possible occasions, 

 especially tennis or croquet lawns. Where good 

 solid walks are found a rolling will help them, 

 and several rollings after the winter's frost and 

 rains will be of advantage to them and their 

 owners. All gaps in the herbaceou s border should 

 be planted up without delay. Some peoT)le lift 

 roots of the summer flowering perennial Phloxes 

 and make root cuttings, planting out clumps in 

 the border in May. This is a good ])lan if one 

 does not lose enthusiasm ; done well, and carefully 

 grown until ])lanting time in May, the results are 

 splendid ; but if grown indifferently the owner of 

 the garden had better stick to the old plan of 

 division of the roots. The newer Verbascums 

 are wonderful examples of the florist's art, and 

 when young plants are i)ro|)aguted every two or 

 three years they give glorious masses of bloom in 

 .Tune and .fuly. The propagation is effected by 

 root cutting as one X)roi)agates the common sea- 

 kale. The ]neces of root are bedded in sand all the 

 winter, and planted out in April when the buds 

 commence to show on the top of the severed roots. 

 Verbascum Wildenovii (chocolate), densiflorum 

 (yellow), Ivanhoe (buff), and Caledonia (chamois) 

 are worthy of a place in any garden. The newer 

 varieties of Delphiniums are also worthy of 

 attention if the garden is in good heart, deeply 

 tilled, and well manured : if not. do not waste 

 your money on good Delphiniums, because cheaper 

 ones will be as bad or as good. But the best 

 Delphiniums grown well are a sight for the gods. 



The Michaelmas Daisies or perennial Asters 

 must not be overlooked. The varieties are legion, 

 and all are good ; but personal taste will be the 

 best guide when there are so many to choose from. 

 The Kniphofias too are in much more variety 

 than is usually known. When the garden was 

 practically bare in early November two large beds 

 of Kniphofia grandis were its brightest spot, and 

 more admired than a dozen of the best varieties 

 early in the autumn ; but it has one fault : an early 

 frost, if very severe, say 10°, cuts it down just as 

 the blooms are showing colour. My experience 

 has been that in five years I have had excellent 

 results four times. Kniphofla I^emon Queen is an 

 early autumn flower, and its tilling colour makes 

 it valuable. Kni])hofia (ioldi-lsr and Xelsonii are 

 dwarf varieties with miniature flowers. 



Many useful subjects suggest themselves, but 

 advantage should be taken to add something new 

 to the herbaceous border every year if con- 

 venient ; if you get something you retain once in 

 two years, it will be a gain. 



Seeds of East Lothian Stocks and the various 

 varieties of Antirrhinums should be sown this 

 month in a temperature of about 5.5°. A warm 

 greenhouse is just nice for them. Sow thin and 

 as evenly as possible, and immediately the 

 seedlings appear put as close to the glass as 

 possible, and grow slowly, without coddling, and 



when big enough to handle transplant the stocks 

 into deep boxes abovit 4 inches apart. Be sure 

 the boxes are at least 5 inches deep, for if not 

 your stocks will not be much good. They suffer 

 in the last month before ])lanting if they have not 

 got a deep root run and plenty to feed on. 



Sow seeds of all the hardy Primulas this month 

 for good results, and they can be put into the 

 same warm greenhouse with the Stocks and 

 Antirrhinums. Primula capitata, grown annually 

 from seed, and flowered the following year after 

 sowing, is at its best : treated as a biennial it 

 flowers with me from .Tune to the autumn without 

 a break. Primula Beesiana pulverulenta, 

 Poisonii Cockbiu^niana, and the Blue Primrose- 

 Polyanthus, and all the free-flowering Primula 

 family, sown in February, grown cool as soon as 

 they have germinated, are ready to i)lant out in 

 garden quarters in May. 



Dahlias should be put on a mild hot bed to get 

 early cuttings. If cuttings of tender bedding 

 plants are needed, stock plants of these should be 

 brought into more warmth, and as soon as they 

 commence to grow, cuttings, taken off, and in 

 most cases })v.t into ti'ays of sandy soil as thick 

 as they can be got in, for about a fortnight, when 

 they will be rooted. But if this ]jlan is adopted, 

 do not forget to box them again immediately 

 they are rooted. 



Geraniums where grown can be increased by 

 taking of the top off the autumn-rooted plants 

 and rooting the cuttings in a warm greenhouse. 

 Wlien the boxes of autvimn -rooted plants begin 

 to grow put them singly in pots, or tie some soil 

 round them with moss and put them back in the 

 ])ropagating boxes, as most convenient. Examine 

 stocks of Begonia tubers for dry rot. and if not 

 already done, bury them in sand to keep them 

 Ijlumxn Clean tubers of Gladioli and have them 

 ready for planting next month. Kee]) a look out 

 for early bulbs on the rock garden or the birds or 

 rats may do harm. 



Iris Vartanii should soon be showing colour, 

 Iris histrio and I. reticulata close after. Many 

 small bulbs will be pushing up their heads every 

 day from now on. and a vigilant eye will save 

 many failures. Climbfrs and various flowering 

 shrubs attached to buildings and walls will require 

 attention, as the winttr storms will have made 

 many of them loose. All beds of Carnations and 

 spring bulbs will also be improved by having the 

 soil made firm around them. 



Carnations of the border kinds can be planted 

 at the end of the month, where they have been 

 wintered in pots or avtumn ])lanting was not 

 suitable or convenient. 



The Fruit Garden. 



By T. E. ToMALix. Gardener to the Earl of 

 Bessborough, Bessborough Park, Co. Kilkenny. 



Loganberry. — This most prolific berry will 

 succeed in almost any deeply trenched soil. The 

 present is a good time to plant, and the distance 

 apart should be at least 12 feet. They require 

 the support of a fence or similar structure ; and 

 for covering rustic work of any kind they will 

 combine utility with ornament. Newly planted 

 canes should be cut back to within a foot of the 

 ground, and the resultant growths trained in the 

 position in which they will fruit the following 

 year. Their subsequent treatment simply con- 

 sists of cutting out the old canes after fruiting 

 and tying in the growths of the current year in 



