20 



iU«H GAEDENING 



its llovvers at intervals tliroughoiit Jamiarv; tlir 

 flowers are difficult to describe', hut niav be 

 called purplish blue, contrasting well with the 

 small rough dark green leaves and scaly twigs. 

 An elcxated position in peaty soil seems to 

 suit it, and is i)erliap'S reminiscent of its native 

 liabitat on the high mountains of Europe, Asia, 

 and W. America. 



lili:Mlu(lcii(lro)i duuricum . — The weather has 

 been cruel to this ever pleasing species, and 

 most (jf the buds were sj)oiled by frost. A few 

 of the rosy purple flowers opened early in the 

 month, but their beauty was short-lived, and 

 the buds which were mostly in an advanced 

 state towards the middle of tlie month gave 

 uj) the struggle and turned bi'ou'ii. A northern 

 exposure would probably suit this Siberian 

 plant best, as there the Inids would not so 

 easily be coaxed into flower by a treacherous 

 s])ell of mild weather, nor so readil_\- damaged 

 by sun after a frosty night. Nevertheless this 

 is a shrub one would not like to be without, for 

 in favourable seasons it becomes a mass of rosy 

 ))ur]ile, carpeted round with spikes of Erica 

 darleyensis, and then wlio will say January is 

 a l)lea]\ month ? 



Ch'iinitin hulcarica. — Covering an archway 

 and lambliug over a trellis, this wonderful 

 climber is now flowering freely. The flowers 

 are by no means brilliant, yet freely dotted 

 about among the dark bronzy green foliage, 

 they are at once noticeable even on a dull, cold 

 January day. The flowers which are creamy 

 white spotted inside witli dark dots are very 

 attractive when viewed from underneath. Al- 

 though a native of Minorca and Corsica, the 

 ])]ant is (luite hardy and survived the severe 

 winter of 1916-17 with no injury except the 

 loss of the leaves, and during last summer quite 

 revived and grew vigorously. Altlif)ugh most 

 commonly known by the above name, it is cor- 

 rectly called C. calycina. 



//■/« iDuiiiicuIaris — more often called I. 

 styloas. — This delightful native of Algeria loves 

 a hot sunny position at the base of a wall, and 

 prefers rather poor soil and a confined root run. 

 In such a position it will f)ften begin to flower 

 in December and continue till February. The 

 plant makes a dense mass of long narrow leaves 

 from among Mdiicli the flowers are })ushed u]). 

 The flowers are lavender blue marked witli 

 yellow and white in the throat, and have a 

 delicate fragrance. There are several varieties, 

 notably a pure white one, I. speciosa, with more 

 striking Howers than the type, and Elizahetha:' 

 witli a more prominent colouring of lilac and 

 wliilo. 



//7s rcticulaia suplLenenais is one of the early 

 flowering bulbous Irises pushing up its flowers 

 before the leaves in late December and early 

 January. As grown here the flowers are light 

 blue, though the colour is said to vary. It is 

 a most attractive plant at this season and 

 flourishes at the base of a sunny wall in fairly 

 rich soil mixed with lime rubble and sand. 

 Jt is one oi the most satisfactoiy of the early 

 flowering bulbous Irises, and has increased in 

 vigour and in numbers for several years. 



GaJcndli us Elwesii was the earliest Snowiho]) 

 to open and was blooming in the first da\s of 

 the year. It is one of the giants of the genus 

 with large ])endant flowers and robust broad 

 leaves. Growing among deciduous shrubs it 

 seems to be establishing itself, and Mill in tinie 

 perhaps form a pretty feature. 



Hellebores, or Christmas Eoses, are bloom- 

 ing profusely, though it has to be admitted 

 that those which are afforded the protection of 

 a handlight or a frame are far superior to those 

 left to the mercy of the elements. There are 

 some very fine forms of Helleborus niger in 

 Ireland, seedlings raised by enthusiasts of a 

 former generation. They are characterised by 

 tlie large size of their flowers which, especially 

 under cover, are of the jxu'est white 



Crocuses have not been much in evidence 

 lately, but early in the month Crocus Igevigatus 

 Fontenayensis was full of flowers ; they are of 

 a pretty light lilac heavily flushed with purple, 

 quite free flowering and most attractive in a 

 sheltered nook of the rc^ck garden. 



B. 



The Servian Spruce. 

 Picea Omorika. 



This beautiful and interesting spruce grows wild 

 on both sides of the Drina valley wliicli 

 separates Servia and Bosnia. Its area is com- 

 parativelv restricted, though ranging in altitude 

 from 2,700 ft. to 5,300 ft. It is said to grow 

 in the wetter parts of the ravines, but does not 

 there attain such a height as it does in the 

 rockier parts of the mountains. It occurs natur- 

 ally on limestone soil, and in cultivation thrives 

 in limestone districts in moist sofl. This is 

 evidenced by the fine condition of the specimen 

 illustrated herewitli, which is growing near by 

 the rjver Tolka in the Royal Botanic Gardens 

 at Glasnevin. The specimen at Glasnevin was 

 obtained from Messrs. James Veitch & Sons, 

 in 1890, and is now about 82 ft. high, with a 

 girth at five feet up of 23^ inches ; it is there- 

 fore a fast grower while young. 



