178 



IRISH (GARDENING 



S. cV W. I'v. HoU-l. situated 

 ()(lc(l .•<loi)t-< beside the watc 



(if KciiiiKir? 

 iriver. Parknasilla is an execllcu*. cent re tor 

 horticultxirist.s, a,s there are sso iiianN |.l,i'(> ot 

 interest Avitliiii easy reaeh. W'c lir>t vintcd 

 Colonel Hartl\v"s estate at Keen -in -l'\>i vera.. 

 only a mik^ froni the hotel. Appioached l)\- l)(>at 

 or road, thv- hou^e itself is at the wat.-r. sheltered 

 by wooded islets and overlookinji beautiful inlets 

 of tlie soa. It was a brilliant day ; we never 

 haw the Dropniore Anehusa. look so blue any- 

 where, and liere we nuide oin- first acquaintance 

 with the typical vegetation of gardens in Keriy. 

 Ba m boos, 

 D r a cen as. 

 Acacias Phor- 

 niiinns. Cun- 

 neras. Aralia- 

 and T) i c k- 

 sonias were 

 all i)ronii- 

 nent. There 

 were s o ni e 

 w o n d e r f u 1 

 rock garden 

 ledges, ar- 

 ranged in tiers 

 by Nature, 

 each ledge 

 slopmg i n - 

 wards A\ith 

 deep soil be- 

 hind. O n e 

 portion of this 

 recently un- 

 covered will 

 make a fine 

 rock garden 

 when planted. 

 Our next 

 pilgrimage 

 was to row across to Dr. Heard's island — Ross- 

 dohan. On both of the cultivated islands which 

 we visited m the \icinity the ground is high 

 towards the S.W. w'th cliffs facing the Atlan- 

 tic. The north-east portion of the islands is 

 somewhat sheltered and, having made ample 

 protection with pines and various forest trees, 

 the underwoods are capable of untold wonders 

 in this mild climate. After threading one's 

 way through the winding paths and dense 

 underwoods, in sharp and most plerising con- 

 trast one suddenly emerges, surfeited with 

 tropical growth, on the heathery u]ilands fully 

 exposed to the S.W. and open Atlantic, A\'here 

 the views of sea and mountain are glorious in 

 fine weather. At Rossdohan we bhmdered on_ 

 a lovely winding woodland walk, the trees high 



oNcrlu'ail and all arniiiid ii>; a. v(Tital)lc jungle 

 of Hainlinos. I,c|)t<is|)ciiiiiiiii l']scallonia, Ozo- 

 thanuiiis ami .Myrtles of giant character. The 

 weather w a^ pel feel. and. in walking along 

 the (liixc a (lelJLihtf ill elV,'et was produced, 

 where for a eonsidei-able distance tall pines 

 ^tood between us and the brilliant sunlit blue 

 of the sea. When the tide is high the \iew 

 from a s])ot near the house is one of the 

 ])rettiest imaginable, backed by the rounded 

 hills of the Caha Mountains. Th". grouiuls 

 aboinul with Irojiical vegetation, and every- 

 thing so natural that no p;'rt of the island is 



restricted to 

 the usual 

 style of a cid- 

 tixated gar- 

 den. We 

 could not but 

 admire the 

 ])ro])rietor's 

 taste , the 

 house it.self 

 being apjiro- 

 ])riately cov- 

 ered all over 

 with what 

 one may call 

 llip plant of 

 the country 

 — Fuchsia Ri- 

 cartop.ii. We 

 saw Myrtles 

 which must 

 be 25 feet 

 high, Araha 

 Sieboldii 1 5 

 feet, Daphne 

 in die a was 

 doing well, 

 Aspidistras, 

 Yellow Callas and, of course, White Callas. 

 Daturas in a thri\dng state. Benthamia fragifera. 

 Corypha and Phoenix pahns, Dicksonias, the 

 C'ra\\-fordsbiirn fern, and we measured the 

 common St. John's Wort feet high about a 

 clump of Pampas. Roses, Vitis and Escallonias 

 hi places were strangling the trees, the red- 

 tipped foliage of Hypericum glandulosum was 

 fine, and Eugenia [^gni was noticed in large 

 handsome bushes. What this island would be 

 if kit absolutely to Nature for a few years 

 beggars description. 



Then Lord Dunraven's island — Garinish— a 

 half-hour's row from the hotel. We saw it 

 under two conditions. One afternoon in pour- 

 ing rain -Kerry rain : with everything drip]iing 

 the Osmundas' were jewelled with rain dro]w. 



180 and ]H,- 



