58 



IRISH GARDEM.\(i 



The Month's Work. 



The Flower Garden. 



H\ (iiAKMOS CoPPKN. (iarck'iier and Forest cr in 

 Lord Carcw, Castk' Boro". Clouroclic, Co. Wexford. 

 ()CT()Hi:k is a nioidli wlifu. liaviii^- said i^ood-hy*! 

 to tlu- sumiufi- and audiimi lloucrs. we iiiusl 

 make our <,'ai-dt'ii tidy and m-i ready lor the 

 spriii'JC. Those who have a set of flowei' heds on 

 their lawns, laid out in a formal design, and 

 whieli are in full view of tlu- niausiou or cottaKe. 

 as the case may he, ean hell) <•• I'l'i^diteu the 

 winter outlook hy i)lautiuy; small <;()ldeii-eoloured 

 trees and shruhs'as dot plants in the h.'ds wliicii 

 are filled up with Wallllowers, Tulips or Dallodils. 

 as the case may he. No doubt, when the heds are 

 in bloom in April and May they do not need the 

 help of these trees and shrubs, but the five dullest 

 months of the year tlu'y brighten uj) tiu; flower 

 beds. There should be provision made also in 

 any i^arden, however small, for brightly coloured 

 plants and shrubs, which niay be placed in 

 corners in groups or by the edges of the garden 

 walks. Amongst the best of these are the 

 P«>niettyas. which may be grown in groups in 

 sma'l hedges or small specimens. There is some- 

 thing to be said for each system, but if a lot of 

 these plants are desired do have them in groups 

 or a small hedge. A lot of single pl.nts dotted 

 about the garden has not the best effect. If only 

 a few plants are used, I would, to get the best 

 results, plant them together. These plants do not 

 like lime. In limestone districts they are never 

 a success — they only live, they do not thrive. 

 The berries may be from the purest white to the 

 deepest purple, but the variety commonly met 

 with is a rose colour. The Eteagnus are a group 

 of plants which are beautiful for their foliage, 

 and the Cotoneasters, amongst which there are 

 many beautiful Lew varieties, now having orange 

 coloured berries. The winter flowering Heathers, 

 too, are lovely. Erica codonodes flowers with me 

 most of the winter, and Erica vagans and carnea, 

 with its varieties alba and rubra, flower from Octo- 

 ber till the end of March. The shrubby winter- 

 flowering honeysuckles Lonicera fragrantissima 

 and Lonicera Standishii are lovely things to have 

 in a sheltered spot near the house, the flowers are 

 not showy, but their fragrance is delightful when 

 so few flowers are to be had. The Japanese Witch 

 Hazel Hammamelis arborea and the smaller 

 variety, Hammamelis Mollis, planted in groups of 

 four to six plants, especially if placed near water, 

 are in frosty days and in cold weather one of the 

 joys of the garden. Nuttalia cerasiformis 

 flowers in P'ebruary. is quite hardy, but the 

 flowers are white and do not show to the advan- 

 tage one expects. Tliese, however, can be cut in 

 small branches and brought into the house for 

 decorations. Amongst many beautiful shrubs 

 and small trees to be planted now for spring 

 flowering and for permanent positions are the 

 flowering cherries : Cerasus serrulata, the best 

 double white cherry, and the double rose form 

 Cerasus James H.Veitch. Aniongst the flowering 

 crabs is the weeping form of Pyrus floribunda : 

 on a standard, this planted in a group in the 



grass, about (Iwcc \ .uds apait and nrai' running 

 water, inakrs a lovelv feature a few vears after 

 |)laiitinL;. i'>riis Sehiede.-kerii is i)robably the 

 riKisI frrr lidwi'ring of the upright rose-colouicd 

 crabs, und is veiv show\. Other beautiful 

 flowering trees are t'h.- Magnolias, eith.-r as single 

 s|)ecimeus of the lar-ge growing trees, such as 

 eonsj)i(ua, which gi-ow (ifteen feet high and over, 

 with its varieties soulangeana and the almost 

 iilack-colourt'd form nigra, to groups of stellata. 

 which glows about two ami a iialf feet. .Magiu)lia 

 Lennei is a large growing plant and worthy of 

 notice. SulKicient sjjace has been taken up willi 

 these notes and the larger t rers and slirubs will 

 b<- dealt with nr\\ moidh. 



This is the best month to i)lant any kind of 

 bulbs in grass. Crt)cus must l>e planted earl\ if 

 good llowers are expected. J like to plaid th<-m 

 at the end of Scptcmb.-r. 



The g.irden must be ke|)t chained up. If leaves 

 are allowed to lay about in heaps they leave their 

 mark on the walks and lawns and do much harm. 

 The rock garden must be kejd (juite free from 

 leaves or some of the smaller i)lants will be found 

 rotted away. Any doubtful alpines which are 

 susceptible to damp sliould have a piece of glass 

 tilted over them to throw tin- rain off the centre 

 of the plants, but not in any way to coddle the 

 plants. 



Bulbs started in pots for winter forcing may 

 be brought from the frames into a cool green- 

 house for a fortnight. When they have plenty 

 of I'oots formed and the top growth makes head- 

 way graduall\ iidroduce them to more heat, if 

 obtainable, l-'i-cesias must be housed in a cool, 

 airy place, preferably on a shelf near the glass 

 until they are further advanced. The Mignonette 

 in pots will be growing in the same house. 

 Cyclamen must be kept growing in a temperature 

 of 55° to keep them healthy and get them into 

 flower by the middle of November. Young 

 seedlings still in the seed pans must be kept near 

 the glass and kept growing. Sweet Peas for 

 flowering in April under glass will now want pot- 

 ting into six-inch pots, and can be wintered in a 

 cool house near the glass with only fire heat on 

 cold frosty nights : aftei- the new year they will 

 go into their lloweiing ])ots and be ])ushed on a bit 

 faster. Schizanthus seedlings sown last month 

 are ready for potting into three and four-inch 

 pots, in which they will stop until February, when 

 they will be put straight into flowering pots. 

 Chrysanthemums in pots must be put in the green- 

 house now. After putting them in fumigate on 

 two consecutive nights and kill all the greenfly 

 before it runs over all the other plants. Cinerarias 

 are safe in the cold frames to the middle of the 

 month, but not later. 



Keep all the cuttings in cold frames as hardy 

 as possible, taking off the lights on all possible 

 occasions when it is not raining. At night have 

 a small piece of wood under the back of the light 

 to prevent condensation of the moisture on the 

 young plants. This is necessary even if mats are 

 covered over to keep out the frost. 



Keep the Violet frames open at all times when 

 it is not raining, unless frost prevents you, and 

 always keep a chink of air on the back of the 

 lights at right. Cuttings of roses to grow on their 

 own roots may now be taken and heeled in at the 

 foot of a garden wall to callous during the 

 winter. 



