IRISH GARDENING. 



69 



f 10111 Japaii, we may iiientiou E. Iveiskei, a 

 small species with pale yellow thorns; E. rhoiii- 

 hicum, a ver^^ free bloomer, dark red purple 

 before the leaf appears; and E. Metternicliii, 

 with deep 2)ink buds that take when fully ex- 

 [)anded a light rose coloiu', tlie contrast between 

 the buds and flower makes this a most de- 

 sirable species. From Yunnan, E. rubiginosum* 

 is an upright bush covered with rosy lilac 

 trusses. Among those of Himalayan origin, E. 

 eximium and E. Hookeri deserve special men- 

 tion. The flower of the former in its young- 

 stage is tinged with pink, but- it soon loses 

 that shade, and when fully open it takes a 

 yellowish white coloiu' with a dark eye, as if 

 made of porcelain, and somewhat like E. Fal- 

 coneri which it resembles also in leaf and of 

 which it is sometimes called a variety. E. 

 eximium has a peculiarity of its own ; after 

 flowering in April, it remains apparently 

 dormant until July, when the young growth 

 pushes, the leaves being , covered with a bright 

 yellow-brown tomentum, which they retain 

 until December giving the ])lant quite a dis- 

 tinct and beautiful appearance all through the 

 late summer and autumn, unlike any other 

 Ehododendron. E. Hooker! is a deep and very 

 lirilliant red quite as gocjd as E. fulgens only 

 larger; the leaves of this species are remarkable, 

 being studded along the ])rincipal veins on the 

 underside with numerous little dark dots or 

 glands. Nor should the well-known form of 

 E. arboreum be forgotten which early in April 

 shows numerous trusses of a fine red colour, 

 and as the plant grows to some 30 feet in 

 height the effect may be easily imagined. Of 

 the diminutive species E. intricatum, lavender- 

 coloured flowers, should be included here, if 

 only because it is one of the few, not hybrids, 

 that show a blue shade at this time of the year. 

 Of the Clematis two may be noted, both ever- 

 green climbers and very free bloomers: C. 

 Armandi from China, white flushed on the 

 underside with pink, and C. indivisa, from New 

 Zealand, pure white. Some early flowering 

 Magnolias are already described in this issue 

 of Irish Gardening, but allied to them there 

 is Drimys aromatica, evergreen with aromatic 

 leaves, bright red branchlets, and clusters of 

 small yellow flowers; also D. colorata, a little 

 known species with somewhat similar bloom 

 (not 'however in clusters), but with highly 

 coloured persistent foliage of a very strange and 

 unusual appearance. A shrub rarely seen in 

 cultivation, also evergreen, is Trochodendron 

 aralioides, now beginning to display its curious 

 yellow bloom. Camellias are perfectly 'hardy ; 



* 8ee illustration, Vol, xii., p. 123. 



C. reticulata has large red flowers with golden 

 tassels, while C. magnolioeflora (probably a 

 variety of C. japonica) is white slightly suffused 

 with pink. The genus Berberis has also some 

 of its species now in bloom, of which the well- 

 known B. Darwinii is one of the best ever- 

 greens, and covered with numberless clusters 

 of deep bright orange-coloured blossoms; in 

 favoured places it grows to the size of a small 

 tree. B. hakeoides, with a lighter orange colour, 

 also desei-ves a place in the garden. Fothergilla 

 major is a plant re-introduced from the United 

 States, and it is worth growing for the many 

 peculiar pale yellow fragrant flowers it bears, 

 which are formed in cjdindrical spikes, and 

 which are devoid of petals. 



Belonging to the A^iolet Ordur is a shrub 

 called Melicytus ramiflorus from New Zealand, 

 the branchlets of w^hieh are literally coverecl 

 with minute flowers each exactly like a diminu- 

 tive Pansy ; it is evergreen, and the foliage pale 

 green. Unfortunately it is dicjecious, and so 

 unless we have the two plants of opposite sexes, 

 no fruit is produced. Herein it dift'ers from its 

 kinsman, Hymenanthera crassifolia, which 

 being moncjecious, has a fine autumn crop of 

 small white berries. jNIelicytus lanceolatU8, also 

 from New Zealand, does not seem to be hardy. 

 Pittosporum eugenioides has long glossy ever- 

 green leaves, wavy at the margins, and bears 

 many clusters of yellow flow^ers ; there is also 

 a fine variegated iovm of the species which is 

 an attractive plant at all times. One of the 

 earliest of the genus Viburnum to bloom is V. 

 Carliesii, with corymbs of pure white flowers 

 deliciously scented, while the buds before they 

 open are of a dull red coloiu'. Of Spiraeas, 

 should be noted S. Thunbergii, the first to show 

 its white blossomsj soon followed by S. arguta 

 which has its branchlets smothered with masses 

 of the same colour, as if covered by snow. 

 Some of the Eibes also claim attention, and 

 among them may be singled out E. Menziesii 

 and the newer E. cruentum, white and purple 

 of different shades, and E. speciosum like a 

 small red Fuchsia. Osmanthus Delavayii is a 

 charming little shrub of recent introduction, 

 with small glossy evergreen leaves, and covered 

 with numerous pure white flowers. The by no 

 means uncommon plant usually known as 

 Ceanothus rigidus is apparently not exactly 

 the same as that described under that name by 

 Nuttall ; it is well worth growing, havirt; 

 masses of blue purple bloom along the branch- 

 lets. 



All the above are shrubs of varying sizes, and 

 all show their blossoms in or before April. Of 

 the smaller sorts we may note Primus Chamae- 

 Cerasns oi' the " ground cherrv," a little known 



