i64 



IRISH (;AK1)ENI\G 



Kii: 



1(52) 



IKiM \ I'MM VTA (sec p 



At Mount l\-^lie'-. 

 care little in the face of tlie wealth of hardy 

 perennials with which he may beautify his 

 garden . 



Aconitiim Wilsoni was introduced by the man. 

 whose name it bears while travelhng in Chhia for 

 Messrs. Jas. Veitch & Sons. Seeds are pro- 

 duced freely b}' cultivated plants and provide a 

 means of increase which is also readily carried 

 out by division of the roots in autumn or spring. 



B. 



Single China Asters. 



Reading the interesting note on these valuable 

 September flowers on page 146 of Irish 

 Gardening for October suggests writing a brief 

 description of our method of using them at 

 Kew. In most pubhc parks there is a consider- 

 able amount of worn turf to make good during 

 the winter, mostly by the sides of walks and 

 along the front of the flower borders. To supply 

 this turf at Kew a piece of lawn is selected in 

 the Arboretum rather off the general grass 

 avenues on which visitors walk. The turves are 

 cut a ; required for use throughout the winter, 

 and by the end of March there is unially a con- 

 siderable area of bare ground. This is u ed as 

 a shoot for spare goil which, early in April, is 

 spread over the ground, the whole being forked 

 over and levelled. The Aster seeds are then 

 scattered over the ground broadcast and raked 

 in. Some seasons a little thinning and trans- 

 planting is done during showery weather, l)ut 

 this year none was attempted owing to the 

 shortage of labour, all that A\a8 done beino- the 



iviiMP\,il caily in .\iigiis1 of 

 -onic l.iu latlicr tali' weeds. 

 hiirinLj most seasons w lien 

 1 \\r young plants are ',i or 

 I inches high, their growth 

 is Malil( to he clu'cked hv 

 l.lack lly. When this shows 

 itself t licy arc jjixcn litpiid 

 nianinc fioin the stable yard 

 t(» encourage growth. This 

 year it was only j)()ssihle to 

 ui\c one ap))!ication. 'I'hc 

 display of flowers, however, 

 has ne\('r been better, and 

 throughout September they 

 were a soiu'ce of consider- 

 ahie attraction to visitors. 

 Of in-egular outline about 

 a hundred yards long and 

 20 to 50 feet wide, they 

 formed an effective scheme 

 of '' Wild Gardening " at 

 the north entl of the lake. 

 The plants seed freely each 

 year, joroviding an abundant stock for the next 

 season's sowing. A few self-sown seedlings come 

 up the next year, but to be sure of success it is 

 necessary to harvest the crop and sow in April. 



A. O. 



" The Burning Bush/' 



DkTAMNUS alb U.S. 



This is an old-fashioned perennial of considerable 

 l)eauty, but for purely decorative work it is out- 

 shone by some of its varieties. In spite of the 

 specific name, the type has pink or pale-purple 

 flowers, and there is a white variety which is 

 not of much value. A dark-flowered form known 

 as D. a. purpureus is good, but the most showy 

 of all, in the writer's opinion, is D. a. gigantens, 

 often sold as D. caucasicus. This is a strong- 

 growing variety, producing shoots three feet 

 high when in flower, the flower spikes a foot or 

 more long, and tiie individual flowers of large 

 size. The colour is pink, each petal marked 

 with darker lines. No more showy or striking 

 plant could be desired for late June and early 

 Jidy flowering, and none is easier to grow. A light 

 ])ut deep soil is most suitable for the thick fleshy 

 roots, and the plant flourishes in sun or shade. 



Propagation is fairly easy by means of seeds 

 sown as soon as ripe, either in a pot or in the 

 open ground, but at first the seedlings grow very 

 slowly ; after two j'ears or so thej^ progress more 

 rapidly, and in three or four years good plants 

 are formed. 



Fraxinella. 



