IRISH GARDENING 



A MONTHLY JOURNAL DEVOTED TO THE 

 VOLUME XI ADVANCEMENT OF HORTICULTURE AND march 



ARBORICULTURE IN IRELAND 



Editor— J. W. Besant. 



Pergolas. 



This subject is somewhat difficult to write 

 about, there being many different opinions 

 expressed by people of high repute in the garden 

 world. Some quite approve ; others are dead 

 against. One feels rather inclined to agree with 

 both after one has seen pergolas of man}' classes 

 in various 

 parts of the 

 country. Oc- 

 casionally, 

 l:>ut not too 

 often, one 

 comes on a 

 very suitable 

 structure or 

 good site for 

 such, and 

 again one 

 sees a so-call- 

 ed pergola 

 constructed 

 in quite a 

 wonderous- 

 ly intricate 

 manner a s 

 regards ap- 

 pearance and 

 in quite an 

 impossible 

 situation as 

 regardi^ suit- 

 able aspect 

 for g r o w t h 

 of the various climbers planted on it. A 

 pergola ought to lead from the house to, say, 

 a rose garden, summer-house or flower garden, 

 main gate, for througli the. latter, should it 

 be of iron, a probable glimpse of brilliant coloiir 

 at times gives much pleasure to the eye. 



Pergolas must be m^de very strong all over, 

 as they have considerable weight to carry once 

 the climbers begin to cover, and particular 

 attention must be given to the bracing together 



Pjekgola at The Bush, Axtkim, the Residence of H. D. M. 

 Barton, Esq. — the Golden Hop in the Foreground. 



of the cross-pieces of wood and^the longitudinal 

 pieces from x^illar to pillar. These pieces should 

 be of larch or oak, plainly and strongly fixed (I 

 find the (i-inch wire nail very useful in this work). 

 The cross-pieces should not be laid too closely, 

 they can be added to later on when the climbers 



grow and re- 

 c[uire further 

 support. I 

 do not care 

 for any other 

 additions in 

 the way of 

 side trellis - 

 iiig, &3., to 

 the pillars. 



A pergola 

 should be 

 from S to 10 

 feet wide, the 

 pillars being 

 placed 8 feet 

 apart and 

 from 8 to 10 

 feet high ; a 

 fair length 

 for a pergola 

 is about 75 

 feet, but this, 

 of course, 

 varies ac- 

 cording t o 

 circumstan- 

 ces. The pathways underneath can be of 

 gravel, grass (kept very well moAvn), or flagged, 

 the appearance of this latter class of pathway 

 being much added to should tlie ground slope 

 from end to end and so enable a shallow step 

 to be made here and there at intervals. The 

 flags (of all variety of shapes) should be set in 

 sandy loam, the divisions being from 1| to 2 

 inches wide, so that low-growing rock plants, &c., 

 can be gro^^^I amongst them. The pillars, if of 



