86 



IRISH GARDENING. 



like its coiigrnci's ill that tile iiiniicidiis llowns, 

 massed iiitd clusters, are lonncd of small 

 narrow tubes, yellow in colour and tipped with 

 red, resembling somewhat the inflorescence of 

 Desfontainea spinosa, or of some of the South 

 African heaths. It has been known in this 

 country for many years, but it does not seem 

 to be extensively cultivated, and yet it merits 

 attention. K. spimiliferum from China, and 

 only recently introduced, has very dark green 

 leaves, somewhat wrinkled on the upper side. 

 We tlowers are bright red, but instead of droop- 

 ing, and of being open at the mouth like a 

 bell, or like a saucer, they are upright, close.d 

 at the upper end, and are balloon-shaped, with 

 a tiny aperture through which the stamens 

 protrude. It is an interesting and handsome 

 ])lant ; but few would take it to be a Rhodo- 

 dendron at all; probably not from its foliage, 

 and certainly not from its curious bloom. Both 

 R. Keysii and R. spimiliferum are quite hardy 

 in the more favoured districts of Ireland. 



J. R. of B. 



Rhododendron Loderi. 



It is hardly an exaggeration to say this is the 

 most magnificent Rhododendron in cultivation. 

 As seen the other day at Kilmacurragh, in Co. 

 Wicklow, it transcended everything in the 

 wonderful collection of Rhododendrons grown 

 there, and which includes all the finest species 

 known. Of vigorous growth the Kilmacurragh 

 plant, although only some eight years planted, 

 is already a large bush, and was carrying 

 numerous large trusses of its incomparable 

 flowers. The individual flowers are of immense 

 size, measuring from five to six inches across, 

 produced six to eight or more in a loose truss. 

 The colour is almost pure white, with the 

 faintest suffusion of pink towards the margin 

 of the corolla. The large handsome leaves, 

 rivalling in size those of a cherry laurel, are 

 bright green above and glaucous below. What 

 this plant will be like in a few years when it 

 has doubled its present size almost passes one's 

 powers of imagination, but the raiser, 8ir 

 Edmund Loder, of Leonardslee, has reason to 

 be proud of his success. B. 



Rhododendron Augustini. 



This seems likely to become one of the most 

 popular among the smaller leaved species 

 lately introduced from China. Sir John Ross 

 of Bladensburg, in one of his recent delightful 

 articles, alluded to Rh. intricatum as one of 

 the few species showing a blue shade early in 

 the year. Rh. Augustini is reported to be 

 variable in colour, but all the specimens we 



lia\(' seen lliiwering in iroland arc distinctly of 

 a blue sIukK' ; as a matter of fact, llowers of 

 Rh. Augustini [)luck(Hl and held beside those 

 of Rh. intricatum were quite iiidistinguishable 

 in shade of colour. 



A feature of Rh. Augustini is its prolonged 

 flowering season, and though some plants were 

 flowering in early April, others were still in 

 flower in May. B. 



Flowers of May. 



Copious rains early in the month, followed by 

 a rapid rise in the temperature, had a mar- 

 vellous effect on vegetation in general. The 

 change from the hard, parched appearance of 

 the garden, as a result of a spell @f east wdnd, 

 was most welcome, and now in the last week 

 or so of the month the conditions are quite 

 summer-like. Many ])lants have tiowered since 

 the April notes were written, and many are now 

 in the zenith of their beauty. Herbaceous and 

 alpine plants are fast taking the place of flower- 

 ing trees and shrubs, and soon the beds and 

 borders will eclipse the shrubberies, at least so 

 far as showy flowers are concerned. Bulbous 

 j)lants were much in evidence in the first half 

 of May, and it is noteworthy how large a place 

 they fill in the garden early in the year. From 

 the time the Snowdrops, Aconites and 

 Crocuses come in January right on into May, 

 bulbs of some kind are flowering. 



Many of the Tulip species, that is, the wild 

 Tulips, flowered magnificently this year; some 

 have been mentioned in previous notes. The 

 following have all been very bright and at- 

 tractive : — T. Haageri nitens, orange brown; 

 T. concinna, scarlet; T. strangulata, yellow- 

 flushed red; T. strangulata primulina, prim- 

 rose yellow; T. saxatilis, pink, flow.ered weii, 

 both where' the bulbs have been planted for 

 years and where they were only planted last 

 autumn; and T. celsiana, yellow flushed with 

 red, in habit like T. sylvestris, but more slender 

 and graceful. 



In addition to these the Cottage and Darwin 

 varieties have surpassed themselves, and blazed 

 in the sunshine. An uncommon plant which 

 has a cormi instead of a bulb is Gladiolus tristis. 

 It grows and increases freely here at the base 

 of a sunny wall, sending u]) in May spikes of 

 flowers of a pale yellow^ hue not in any way 

 " sad," as the specific name would seem to 

 imply; the segments are dotted over with 

 brownish dots, more particularly the upper 

 ones. The Dodecatheons, sometimes called 

 American CoM'slips, are charming plants for 

 boggy places. Some writers make a great many 

 species of them, others reduce them to a very 



