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IRISH GARDENING 



Meconopsis Peattii 

 At Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin. 



Notes- 



Anchusa Dropmore Variety. 



This fine plant has done extremely well this 

 year, and in the middle of June is a glorious 

 mass of dark blue, in a great measure com- 

 pensating for the comparative failure of ixiany 

 of the Delphiniums, which for some reason or 

 other are disappointingly dwarf and stunted this 

 year. 



There are other varieties of Anchusa italica of 

 similar habit, but differing in colour. Opal is 

 lighter in the shade of blue, and Lissadell 

 Variety is said to have larger flowers than 

 " Dropmore." A deep but well drained soil is 

 necessary for the development of perfect speci- 

 mens, but a soil which is cold and wet in winter 

 is detrimental, causing many of the roots to 

 rot. In cold districts, therefore, it would be 

 wise to select a sunny position, and thoroughly 

 prepare the site ere planting. Propagation ia 

 easily carried out by means of root cuttings. 

 Pieces of the roots, from pencil thickness up to 

 the thickness of a man's thumb, callus readily, 

 and soon make nice young plants. They may 



be put in nearly any time, but probably most 

 convenient in late autumn, when, if dibbled into 

 pots or pans and kept just free from frost, they 

 will callus and break into leaf in early spring. 

 It is best to pot oft: singly, when the leaves are 

 about half-developed, subsequently transferring 

 to their permanent quarters from the pots. 



Anchusa BaiTelieri is another useful early 

 flowering species of dwarf er habit, reaching a 

 height of about 2 feet. It is useful in the her- 

 baceous border in May, giving a welcome touch 

 of blue, much wanted at that time. It may 

 also be used eflectively in the rougher parts of 

 the rock garden. Care is needed in planting this 

 species, as every bit of root left in the soil will 

 grow, and plants will frequently appear wherQ 

 they are certainly not wanted. 



Anchusa myosotidiflora is well-known to lovers 

 of rock gardening, its sprays of small bright blue 

 flowers, like Forget-me-nots, appearing often in 

 April. It, too, is readily increased by root 

 cuttings, which when potted off and established 

 may be transferred to the rock garden at any 

 time. 



Linum salsoloides. 



This is one of the most attractive of the Flaxes, 

 of which there is a goodly number suitable for 

 the rock garden. With prostrate, trailing 

 stems, clothed with narrow leaves and bearing 

 masses of white flowers showing a faint tinge 

 of rose, a well-grown plant spreading over a stone 

 is a most pleasant sight on a warm, sunny day. 

 There is a variety called nanum or prostratum, 

 which differs but little from the type, except 

 that the growth is less free and trailing, and the 

 plant is consequently more compact ; in this 

 case there seems no advantage in compactness. 



Summer Flowering Torch Lilies. 



The Kniphofias, to give them their proper 

 name, are usually associated with autumn, 

 chiefly because the more ornamental K. aloides 

 and its varieties are more generally planted. 

 There are one or two early flowering species, 

 however, which are worth including in a col- 

 lection of herbaceous plants, especially where 

 they can be planted in groups by themselves or 

 as isolated specimens 'here and there. Knip- 

 hofia caulescens from S. Africa flowers in the 

 end of May and early June, though sometimes 

 described as autumn flowering. If allowed to 

 extend, it forms a spreading mass of thick 

 stems .terminated by tufts of blue grey leaves, 

 which alone make the plant ornamental. The 

 flowers are light red at first, shading away to 

 a whitish yellow shade; a good, broad mass is 

 ve.rv effective. 



