124 



IRISH GARDENING 



The Arboretum. 



E.SCALI.oM AS (luiill- tlir lilst ll.llt of July W.'lv 

 rcmai'kalily lloiircious and sliou y. All c-t)iiu; 

 fiuni Soutlt Atiicriraii (■ouiilrii's Chili. I'ataKouia. 

 Ecuailur, A:c. — aiul st't'iu to like our tliuialf. aiul 

 particularly a showery season. 



fStran^'e to say, E. Philii)|)iaiia. a \'al(li\iaii 

 speeies. which thrives very well as fai' north as 

 Kilinhurjjh, refuses to live here ; perhaps it does 

 not like linie in the soil, altliou^h I have never 

 heard anything to that elT.-rt. 



The most l)eautirul of all. I think, is Iv 

 langleyensis, a lovely hyhrid of K. I'hiiipiiiana ■ 

 E. punctata. It forms a jiraceful fri'e hush wIhui 

 planted in the open, the hranehes wreatiied with 

 chisters of lovely carniine-rose flowers, and rarely 

 fails to jrive a good display. It also makes a 

 channing shrub for a wall, and requires little 

 attention in the way of pruning further thaji a 

 thinning out of the branches after llowering 

 should they have become unduly crowded. 



A somewhat similar hybi'id raised in the 

 Edinburgh liotaiue (iardens is named E. 

 Edinensis. but in tliis case the Howers are much 

 larger and paler in colour, and the plant is e([ually 

 floriferous. They are two of the most beautiful 

 shrubs in the garden in July. E. macrantha, 

 which flowers nuich earlier, but continues for a 

 long time, is a more leafy shrub, and forms a 

 good screen near the sea. It is evergreen in mild 

 localities, but suffers here from frost in winter, 

 as do most of the others, but it is only to the 

 extent of losing part of the foliage, which is soon 

 replaced in spring. 



Philadelphuses are now coming into good 

 flower, and seem to enjoy the showery weather. 

 Many hybrids now surpass most of the species 

 for purely decorative purposes, but one species 

 at least is very beautiful, and that is the new 

 Chinese P. brachybotrys purpurascens. It is the 

 earliest to flower here, and was opening in the 

 end of June. The flowers are of medium size, 

 very freely produced on branches of the previous 

 year, the petals pure w^hite with a purplish tinge 

 to the calyx, which enhances the beauty of the 

 flow^ers. 



P. purpureo-maculatus, after languishing for 

 some years, is this season flourishing, and has 

 grown into a nice bush bearing freely its pretty 

 flowers, with white petals, each with a purplish- 

 rose blotch at the base. It too is a hybrid raised 

 from the tender P. Coulteri crossed with a P. 

 niicrophylla hybrid, according to Mr. Bean. It 

 is perhaps a little tender, but hardier than P. 

 Coulteri, which does no good in the open here, 

 being cut to the ground even in a mild winter. 

 It is on this account now being tried against a 

 sunny wall. 



Many of Lemoine's hybrids are extremely 

 handsome shrubs, notably Lemoinei erectus and 

 others, such as Avalanche, Manteau d' Hermine 

 Rosace, Bouquet Blanc and Mer de Glace, are 

 very beautiful, though I am not sure that) the 

 double forms are any more to be preferred than 

 the single. The majority of leguminous trees and 

 shrubs are over for a time, but surely the Spanish 

 Broom, Spartium junceum, is one of the most 

 beautiful and free flowering shrubs we have, 

 continuing in beauty well into autumn. Tall 

 specimens are excellent for shrubberies, looking 



|)ar( iculaih wrll amonu' evergreens and biightcn- 

 ing up od(i corners delightfully. H is iiu-lined to 

 get leggy if not well cut iiack when xoung. and in 

 this state is very easily blown ovi-r, as the roots 

 do not jx'nctrate deeply. Thcri- is a dwarf form. 

 howcNci-. called S. j. nanum. which seems moic 

 inclined to branch low down and remain bush\. 



A little known shrub, which has b.-en lloweriiig 

 lately, is 1 )i()stea juiu-ea. a mem bei- of the \'erbena 

 family. It nuik.-s (piite a tall shrub, or nearly a 

 small ti'ee. in time, and it is (luite interesting in 

 its green branches bearing (piite snuill leaves. 

 'I'he flowers are almost white, and when ))roduced 

 ficely have rather a pretty effect. Like Spartium 

 Junceum, it should be well cut back when young, 

 as it is so inclined to bcconu' l)are at the l)ase. 

 It is a native of Chili and the Argcntinr. and is 

 genei'ally (juite hardy. 



Those who like uncomiiion shrubs will be 

 iut<'rested in Ijonicera (iiraldii, a leather ((uaint 

 I lone\ suckle llowering in .Inly. It is a tui'in-r 

 soon forming a mass of growths. The leaves are 

 hairy, the (lark reddisli- brown flowers are borne 

 in clusters aiul ar«^ followed by piu-ple fniits in 

 autunui : good seeds are usually produced from 

 which young plants can be raised. The plant is 

 quite hardy on a sunny wall, but I have no 

 experience of it in the open. 



Lonicera Delavayi is a moi'e attractive species, 

 flowering this year very freely. The leaves are 

 hairy on the under surface, the young branches 

 dark reddish-brown ; the flowers, which aie 

 sweetly scented, are bright red in the bud stage, 

 but open Ncllow. Like L. Geraldii, it is a native 

 of Ciiina. both having been introduced to culti- 

 vation by Mr. Maurice de Vilmorin, the famous 

 French horticulturist. 



A very pretty shrub for a wall or sheltered 

 shrubbery is Helichrysum rosmarinifolium, better 

 known, perhaps, as Ozothamnus, an evergreen 

 with narrow dark green leaves ; it is extremely 

 pretty when furnished with its corymbs of white 

 flowers. Easily raised from cuttings, it should 

 be a useful shrub for summer flowering in the 

 milder parts of Ireland. 



Clematis montana var. Wilsoni is the correct 

 name of the plant we have hitherto grown as 

 C. repens. It is a most valuable variety, flowering 

 very profusely from July onwards. The flowers 

 are large and pure white, making a very pretty 

 display and forming a fine succession to the 

 earlier forms of montana, all of which are 

 beautiful. 



Those who wish to propagate shrubs will find 

 August a very good month to put in cuttings. 

 Short, half-ripened growths of very many shrubs, 

 taken off with a " heel " of old w^ood and dibbled 

 into sandy soil in a frame or under a handlight, 

 generally root freely if kept close and shaded. 

 It is not possible to say exactly when shoots are 

 fit for cuttings, but a large number of shrubs are 

 fit for propagating early in August. 



Heaths are usually about right at this time, and 

 should be taken about two inches or even less in 

 length, usiiig very sandy peat. Bottom heat 

 hastens the formation of roots, but is not essential, 

 as thousands may be rooted under handlights on 

 outdoor beds, provided a suitable compost has 

 been made up. Avoid over- watering cuttings of 

 all kinds, but especially Heaths. One good 

 soaking when they are pvit in should serve till 

 roots are formed if shading is properly attended to. 



B., Dublin. 



