104 



IRISH GARDENING. 



Cydonia japonica. 



•• Ankmonkkikli) SrAur.KT.'" 



One of the most useful slinihs inl induced to 

 o\ir gardens is undoubtedly C'ydouia japonica, 

 perliaps more generally known as Pyr\is 

 japonica, native of C'liina and Japan. Tt was 

 sent to Kew towards tlie end of the seven- 

 teenth eentury, and lias now found its wa\ 

 to almost every cot- 

 tage garden. It has 

 inTU'h to recommend 

 it. Hardyandaeconi- 

 modating, it can b<' 

 grown in most posi- 

 tions and aspects, but 

 tlowers best wiu'ii 

 trained against a 

 wall, preferably one 

 w^here it can get 

 some sun, although 

 this is not necessary, 

 as there is no more 

 useful p I a nt f o r 

 eoveri]ig walls facing 

 north or east or for 

 covering walls in 

 enclosed yards. Well 

 established old 

 plants commence to 

 tlower soon after 

 Christmas, and con- 

 tinue flowering until 

 May, the best display 

 ])eing in March and 

 April. There are 

 numeroiis varieties in 

 every .shade from pure 

 whice to pale yellow, 

 salmon, pink, and 

 scarlet. Of these, the 

 varieties Princeps, 

 atro s an guinea, 

 nivalis, Simorni, car- 

 dinalis, and extus 



coccineus wdl be found good. But why should 

 the cultivator limit himself to named varieties ? 

 There is no more fascinating phase of gar- 

 dening than raising new varieties from seed. 

 Amateurs are apt to think that they have 

 small chance of success or of getting any- 

 thing to compare in merit with those pro- 

 duced by the trade. Tnis is far from being 

 the case. Many of our finest garden strains 

 in almost all classes of plants, from Orchids 

 to Wallflowers, have been raised by amateurs. 

 Cydonia japonica can be raised from seed, 

 and the efforts of the experimenter will be 

 well repaid for the care and patience neces- 



Cydonia " Anemonefield Scarlet.' 



sary to get good results. The Ix-st display 

 and the most charming set of varieties of 

 ('\'donia japonica I have ever seen was at 

 Ham wood, Dunhoyne, almost all of the plants 

 ill the front garden beijig seedlings raised l)y 

 that good gardener, the late Charles li. irainil- 

 1(111. the then jnoprict nr. The \ai-i('ty iigiircd 

 is ail cxcrllciit one in cnciX' respect. The 

 tlowers arc huge, well sliaped, scarlet in 

 colour, and the plant is frce-llowering. It. is 

 a, seedling from Cy- 

 (1 () n i a j a po n i c a 

 Sijnoiiii raised by Mr. 

 K. Mcllwaine," of 

 Canimoney, Belfast, 

 who has christened it 

 ■Anemonetiehl Scar- 

 let."" He writes about 

 it : " 1 am alwaj's 

 hunting for seed, and 

 so I was attracted to 

 Pyrus Simonii as being 

 a really good thing, 

 but gives very few 

 seeds, at least with 

 me, and from this 

 plant I raised this 

 variety, wiiich is really 

 •I very striking plajit 

 when in flower." 



F. W. M. 



Delphinium 

 venustum. 



Flowering in early 

 June, this is one of 

 the most striking of 

 the many varieties I 

 have seen. The 

 flowers, which are of 

 good size, are of a fine 

 deep gentian blue with 

 no trace of red or 

 purple which so often mars the darker blue Del- 

 phiniums. The " centre " is brown and not too 

 conspicuous, so that at a few feet away one gets 

 the full value of the deep blue colour. This will 

 be a very telling variety for grouimig in the 

 border when sufficient stock is available. 



Honeysuckle. 



There is the Ilonevsuckle, whose fragrance is 

 as the Circean cup that cheated the senses ; it 

 makes the air heavy ; it sets the brain on fire ; 

 it fills the mind with images which are sweet to 

 look upon, and yet all blurred, confused and 

 shadowy ; it is as a mist or cloud which hangs 

 about the imagination. 



Anon., T/ir. Folloivixg of the Flowers, 



