94 



IRISH GARDENING 



The Arboretum. 



Tiir; latter pait of April .nul ui> to llh' iniddir of 

 .May luive seen a woiidti lul impidv tiiM-iit in the 

 wt-atluT conditions, and niaiK .dl Iicrs and 

 shruhs have bwii stinmlatrd int.. -i-..\vtli and 

 many into Hower. Tlif .(.ininon .-^h. a1 the tinir 

 of writiim, stands jxaunt and mf\ . Ilion-li sonir 

 ol" till' oaks an- not much heller. Many oj' t!ie 

 more (k'coi-ativc lloweiin^' Hves have heen 

 making a line show, thoujih a I'oitniuhl or three 

 weeks lati'r than usual. Amoiii;- the more con- 

 spit-uous at present are Pyrus rintjo p> i''"- 

 midatum, which is a mass of lo\cl\- rose-coloured 

 liowei's: I'rumis aeida and its \arie1ies. I'yrus 

 llorihuiula, and I'yrus sargenti. a \cry heauHlul 

 w hite-liowered species. The common Hiril 

 ("herry, Prunus padus. is a veiy pretty tree, 

 healing numei'ous racemes of white flowers, 

 hut is surpassed for decorative purposes by 

 some of its varieties, notably Watereri, a form 

 with very long infloresences, and Alberti, which 

 Howers very freely. Magnolias have been very 

 line this year, particularly M. yalicifolia, a 

 beautiful jjure white-flowered species intro- 

 duced to cultivation about ten years ago. 

 ( 'i^anothus rigidus has been a mass of bloom for 

 tiu'ee weeks or nioi'e, and seems to improve 

 every year. The branches are literally clothed 

 with flowers of a fine blvie colour. This plant is 

 not, as a rule, considered qviite hardy in many 

 places, yet a specimen put out in a shrubbery in 

 the Botanic Gardens at Glasnevin has thriven 

 amazingly, and although quite tiny when planted 

 is now about five feet high and as much through, 

 It has some protection, certainly, from some 

 other evergreens, such as ■ Pittosporums and 

 Olearias. growing on the east side, but is open 

 to the south and west ; the soil is rather light 

 and dry. Olearia stellulata ma(i-oce|>liala is also 

 in flower, and is usually earliei Ihan the type, 

 and is also looser in habit and has laiiier leaves. 

 .Many Heaths are still in flower, among which the 

 hybrid E. Veitchii continues to be one of the 

 best, some of the bushes quite smothered in 

 white flowers. Cotoneaster multiflora is just 

 opening its flowers as I write, and promises a 

 good show, the naturally pendulous branches 

 being well furnished with clusters of buds. A 

 newer species, introduced from China., is also 

 promising well — that is, C. nitens, a neat-habited 

 species at present carrying numerous pink buds, 

 which later on will expand into white flowers. 

 Tlie Cotoneasters are now very numerous', and 

 nearly all are good shrubs or small trees, and 

 should receive the close attention of gardeners. 



One of the most conspicuous trees in the 

 arboretvim at present is Acer platanoides Schwed- 

 leri, a very handsome ti'ee with bronzy-red 

 leaves, which contrast very well with con- 

 tiguotis green-leaved species. Some people do 

 not care for trees and shrubs with so-called 

 " coloured " leaves, but to the writer's mind 

 they add a distinct charm to a collection ; the 

 purple Hazel Corylus maxima atropurpurea, also 

 the purple Plum, best known as Prvmus pissardi, 

 the purple Sloe P. spinosa purpurea, and the 

 purple Beech all make striking and beautiful 

 objects in the arboretum during summer, while 

 some golden-leaved shrubs are equally capable 

 of good effects. The main point in planting 

 these coloured forms is to avoid too frequent 

 repetition. The variegated or blotchy-leaved 



ini'ser\-i 

 pop,da 



~ll,, 



forms once largeh urow n 

 less .lesirable and are not n. 



Manv Khododendrons aiv l!,,we 

 (dheis which have passed 

 makin- womlerlnl urowlh since the milder 

 w-i^alher arrived. I'.Mhaps the most st liking 

 va.iet> .Ml pres,.nl hloonunu is K. Lo.lei-'s White, 

 which is cairvinu, line * russi^s oT larue white 

 llow.Ts hiintU Unshed with pink, and an e(piallv 

 line iorm of like origin is named '• I'.d ien<-e." 

 hut is of a .soft i)ink shade. 



A delightful little spe(i.-s intiodnied snnie 

 viais ago from China is ]{. nigro punctatum (or 

 is it K. int ricat um y). with violet-purple flowei'S 

 lilerallv smotheiing the biish : scarcelv more 

 than lifteen inches high and about a ff)ot through, 

 this dainty little shrub is ipiite unicpie in the 

 colour (>!' its flowers and neat twiggy habit. 



R. polylepis, also from China, has been \i'r\ 

 pretty lately, with its loose trusses of pale pink 

 flowers spotted with yellow. 



Among leguminous .shrubs at present flowering 

 l)iofusely, GenLsta glabre.scens is notably bright 

 and pretty ; so many beautiful shrubs of this 

 order are now flowering that it is very diihcuU 

 to particularise, but (i. giabrescens at once 

 attracts attention by reason of its d\varfy neat 

 habit and th(> abundance of its bright yellow 

 flowers. Cytisus albus roseus, the origin of 

 which I do not know, is rather pretty ; similar 

 in growth and habit to the common white 

 Broom, the flowers are slightly rose-coloured on 

 the outside of the upper petal. The flowers, 

 however, are rather small, and I do not think it 

 is likely to supersede a well-grown example of 

 Cytisus albus, and is much inferior to the pink 

 Broom grown in parts of Ireland as Tombe's 

 variety. 



The chief work in the arboretum at present is 

 the pruning of such early-flowering shrubs as 

 Berberis Darwinii and Forsythias which have 

 passed out of flow er : others will be attended to 

 as necessary. 



Beds and shrubberies incline to get weedy 

 since the warmer weather arrived, and the 

 diligent use of the hoe is useful now, not only 

 in keeping down weeds, but in creating a fine 

 surface tilth and thereby conserving the mois- 

 ture in the soil, a very necessary precaution on 

 light soils, considering that much hot and dry 

 weather may yet have to be endured. Recently 

 transplanted trees and shrubs, if showing anj^ 

 signs of suffering, should be mulched with some 

 moisture-retaining material and further shor- 

 tened back if the branches have suffered since 

 the plants were moved. 



Already a beginning has been made to propa- 

 gate from outdoor shrubs. The young shoots of 

 Honeysuckles and such like root readily if re- 

 moved with a " heel " of old wood when three 

 or four inches long ; dibbled in in sandy soil 

 vinder a handlight in a shady corner they soon 

 strike. 



B. 



Ranunculus Millefoliatus. 



A BRIGHT free-flowering species, native of South 

 Evirope and extending into Asia and North Africa. 

 The flower heads are of a beautiful golden yellow, 

 freely produced ; the leaves divided into many 

 segments. Easily increased by division, this is 

 one of the brightest alpines of April and May. 



