IRISH GARDENING. 



47 



and now is the time to do it. A moist bottom, 

 a few inches of good sod, and a topdi'essing of 

 farmyard manure will grow them to perfection ; 

 let the sets be fairly small, say i inches square, 

 and a few heavy stones placed on the top of 

 manure, to hold the roots in position until 

 established again, and where j)lants of Meconopsis 

 Wallichii have been wintered in cold frames, 

 these should be planted at the end of the month 

 if weather conditions are favourable, otherwise 

 it is better to wait until the grovmd is in a good 

 friable and dry condition. This lov^ely blue 

 Poppy is a biennial ; it should be sown in March, 

 grown freely in pots until S-inch pots are 

 occupied, grown as hardy as possilde, and stood 

 on a coal ash bottom all the summer. When the 

 month of November arrives, winter the plants in 

 a cold frame, giving all a,ir possible, and keeping 

 off heavy rains to prevent the crowns of the 

 plants, which are covered with hairs, from rotting. 

 Plants grown this way and planted out in batches 

 of two dozen or less make lovely groups in a 

 large rock garden or in a corner adjacent to a 

 smaller one. 



Any gaps in the herbaceous boidir slmuhl be 

 planted at once, and the border li-litl.\ fniked 

 over if not already done. Any bordci- Cai ii;: tions 

 wintered in pots should be planted immediately 

 or they will not be a success. A few bulbs of 

 the July flowering Gladioli can be put in 

 groujjs through the herbaceous boi'der at the 

 end of this month, but the best varieties and 

 main planting should be done early in April. 

 Dahlias started a month ago will be full of 

 cuttings now, and these should be inserted as 

 soon as they are three inches long, taking care 

 to cut off the bottom joint, otherwise a batch of 

 .suckers in.stead of a strong ])lant may result. 

 After the recent storms a visit to all wall trees 

 will be necessary. All subjects flowering on the 

 current year's growth .should be pruned — some 

 hard and some lightly ; exiJtrience is the only 

 teacher as to this. The autumn flowering 

 Ceanothus Gloire de Ver.sailles, and many other 

 liybrids require cutting back hard, but Ceanothus, 

 liigidus- Veit<-hii, divaricatus dentatus, and 

 others which flower in May, must only be pruned 

 after they have floA\ered. Look carefully after 

 the growths of the Clematis Jackmanii section, 

 which were i)runed last November ; these grow 

 earlv. and are easilv broken : the slugs also like 

 theiii. 



All the time that can be spared should be 

 spent in .sweeping and rolling the lawns and walks 

 after the winter. The reward for this work will 

 l)e seen tin- fnlLiw inu- ^iininicr. Seeds of half- 

 hardy piMiit- ic<|nii- 1m I;,, sown under glass 

 during this niinitli. Snl])iL:lnssis should be sown 

 early, as it takes a long time to complete its 

 growth. Aster Stocks, Nemesias, the moss-leaf 

 Golden Pyretheum, and the French Marigolds, 

 and many \\ell known half-hardy annuals should 

 be sown the last days of March either in boxes or 

 in a greenhouse, or better still, on a verv mild hot 

 bed of leaves in a frame, where air at all times can 

 be admitted. The secret, if .secret there be. in 

 the successful growing of annuals under glass is 

 ])lenty of air at all times, grow n hardy and slow 

 without a check. If the frame is shut one 

 morning and the plants naturally get drawn 

 and leggy, the first breath of cold air that comes 

 along cuts them off. gives them black legs, and 

 everybody is blamed for our own faults. 



The hardy annuals, a list of wliicli will be 

 written for April, are best sown out in the garden, 

 but not until April is here. 



The Fruit Garden. 



By T. E. ToMALiN, Gardener to the Earl of 

 Bessborough, Bessborough Park, Co. Kilkenny. 



The Forward Season. — One cannot but be 

 struck with the very advanced state of the buds 

 on fruit trees for the time of the year, and 

 although I am not a pes.simist — few gardeners 

 are — I am a.fra.id this condition of things does 

 not augur well for this season's fruit crops. 

 At the end of January, in sheltered situations 

 here, trees were too far advanced for spraying 

 with alkali, and even in exposed places this 

 could hardly be done without serious risk of 

 injury after the middle of February. Fortu- 

 nately a cold spell with snow has now svipervened, 

 and if it lasts a month or so (I wmte on Feb. 

 17th) it may right matters to some extent. 



Strawberries. — The plants in established 

 beds should be attended to as soon as the ground 

 is dry enough to walk on. Eeinove all dead 

 leaves left from the autvimn cleaning, and, if it is 

 necessary, lightly fork in some short manure 

 between the rows. On good land, which w'as well 

 trenched and manured before planting, super- 

 phosphate, at the rate of 2 ounces to the square 

 yard, can be forked in instead, to be supple- 

 mented, as soon as the plants are in active 

 growth in April, by a dressing of sulphate of 

 ammonia at one ounce to the square yard. 

 Provided that the land wps well enriched before 

 planting, and that strawberries are t^ lemain on 

 the plot for only three years, as is the usual 

 practice, this system )f manuring is to be pre- 

 ferred, as the danger of damage to the roots is 

 much less than if bulky manures have to be 

 forked in. Gaps in the beds should be filled at 

 the same time with plants from the reserve. 

 If late runners ha.ve been wintered in pots, the 

 first opportunity .should be seized, W'hen the 

 ground is in good order, to plant these. Spring 

 planted rvmners shovild not be allowed to fruit 

 the fir,st season. Eemove all flower tiusses from 

 the plants as they api)ear, and at the .same time 

 keep a sharp look-out for " blind " or non- 

 fruiting plants, which should be pvilled up and 

 replaced by others. Examine plantations made 

 la.st avitvimn, and make firm any plants loosened 

 by frost, after which the ground should be lightly 

 hoed. 



The Fig. — Figs on walls should be pruned this 

 month before the sap rises. Tie in the yoimg 

 growths at about 12 inches apart. These should 

 not be shortened, as it is usually on the upper 

 part of last season's growths that the fruit is 

 borne. The roots of fig trees shou d be restricted 

 to a narrow border, as if they are allowed to 

 roam at wnll in rich soil, nothing but gross and 

 unfruitful wood will be the result. An ideal 

 position is a border about 2 feet 6 inches wide, at 

 the foot of a south or west wall, bounded by a 

 gravel patch. The border should be well drained, 

 and the .soil should con.sist of good linm, with 

 the addition of some mortar-rubble and a little 

 bone-meal. 



General Remarks. — Continvie to api>ly 



