IRISH GARDENING. 



"7 



dimensions, but it was badly injured the winxei' 

 before last, and recovery is doubtful. On the 

 other hand, Genista elegans (which is not, i 

 l)elieve, its true name) does well close by. It 

 forms a large, spreading bush against the wall, 

 with glaucous-grey foliage and clusters of deep 

 yellow pea-like flowers, sweetly scented, quite 

 a pleasing sight at all times- Allied to Cytisus 

 are Calycotome spinosa, from the Mediter- 

 ranean region, and C. infesta, from Dalmatia; 

 they are somewhat like the common broom, 

 but are armed with strong thoras. iVnthyllis 

 Barba Jovis is quite hardy without wall pro- 

 tection, and has dark grey foliage with sulphur- 

 coloured flo\\-ers, that havC' t'he appearance of 

 heads of clover. Swainsonia galegifolia, from 

 Australia, has survived. The form, var alba, 

 is a desirable climber, with pure white pea 

 flowers. A large specimen of Clianthus puni- 

 ceus was, however, badly injured, but is now 

 recovering. Belonging to the Myrtle Order, 

 most of the Callistemons seem to be hardy, and 

 as they are very handsome shrubs, they deserve 

 a place in a favoured district. The Melaleucas 

 are more tender, and the past two winters 

 killed several that had lived out of doors here 

 hi an ordinary mild season; M. armillaris has, 

 however, survived, and may succeed. Meti'o- 

 sideros hypericifolia, jNI. lucida, and, I think, 

 "Jsl. diffusa are hardy. Myrtus bullata and M. 

 obcordata, both from New Zealand, and 

 Eugenia myrtifolia, from Australia, have sur- 

 vived, with little or no injury. Feijoa sello- 

 wiana is a. beautiful evergreen from Brazil, with 

 a remarkable inflorescence, bright carmine and 

 white bracts, and is none the worse for the past 

 two \vinters. Among the Fuchsias, F. coi'di- 

 jfolia, F.' exoorticata,, F. microphylla (often 

 called F. reflexa in gardens), F. serratifolia, F. 

 thymifolia (a very fine species, with small 

 bright-red flowers), F. procumbens, are grow- 

 ing satisfactorily. The same may be said of 

 Seneoio Hectori, S- rotundifolius, and of S. 

 Buchanani (but S. glastifolius and S. perdi- 

 cioides did not prove hardy) ; also of Proustia 

 pyrifolia, and of ]Mutisia deciuTens and INI. 

 ilicifolia ; M. Clematis, from Peru, lives out of 

 doors, but it cannot be regarded as a success. 

 Hoheria populnea, of the IMallow Order, from 

 New Zealand, and Visnea mocanera, allied to 

 Camellia, from the Canary Islands, are both 

 growing very well. The following, moreover, 

 appear to be hardy: — Aristotelia fruticosa, 

 Cyathodes robusta, Gordonia anomola, Hib- 

 bertia Pieadii (a charming little shrub from 

 Australia, of a somewhat trailing habit, and 

 covererl in spring with numerous small, bright 

 yellow flowers), Jacobinia pauciflora (Libonia. 

 floribunda, from Brazil), Litsaea japonica, 

 Pimelia Inna^iflnra, and Woinmannia racemosa. 



Leucopogon Eichei and Styphelia fasciculata, 

 however, were slightly injured; but Westringia 

 rosmariniformis, growing for some years well 

 on a south wall, was very much damaged. 

 Bowkeria triphylla is an interesting shrub, from 

 South Africa, which becomes a fair-sized bus'h, 

 and has in autumn large white flowers, re- 

 sembling a Calceolaria ; it is sometimes cut 

 down by a severe frost, but nevertheless it is 

 well worth trying in good shelter. Calceolaria 

 alba, C. integrifolia, C- Sinclairii, C. violacea 

 are hardy, but it is \\'ell to keep plants in 

 reserve, as they are liable to fail from various 

 causes. I ha.ve not yet been able to succeed 

 with C. fuchsiaefolia. Cantua buxifolia, whic'h 

 does so w^ell at Old Conna Hill, survived the 

 winter of 1916-17; it was then cut down, and 

 made a good growth the following summer, but 

 the frost of last season caused it to fail. The 

 same happened to Peumus Boldus, a very 

 handsome Chilean evergreen, with grej'-green, 

 polished and highly-scented leaves, which had 

 lived out of doors for several year's; it must, 

 however, be added that the specimen had to 

 be moved shortly before the first severe winter, 

 and it was probably in no condition to stand 

 the exceptional cold that then took place. Its 

 ally, Laurelia serrata, also from Chile, was 

 quite untouched. 



Convolvulus Cneorum, an upright shrub, 

 with silvery -grey foliage and white flowers, and 

 C. mauritanieus, a trailer, from North Africa, 

 with blue flowers, are well known, but I do not 

 think C. tugurorum is quite so common. It 

 came here from the late Canon Ellacombe's 

 famous collection at Bitton Vicarage, and is a 

 shrubby trailer, suited to scramble over a sunny 

 rock, with small, M'hite leaves and large pure- 

 white flowers, that open in summer ; a native I 

 believe of South Europe- It appears to be quite 

 hardy, and is only mentioned here because I 

 know so little about it, and because it is a very 

 desirable addition to the wild garden. Caly- 

 stegia macrostegia, a climbing shrub, from 

 Lower California, allied to Convolvulus, grew 

 vigorously for many years until last winter, 

 when the frost killed it; the bloom is not re- 

 markably beautififl. Ceratostigma Polhilli, 

 from "Western China, has only been outside one 

 season, and it came through the ordeal quite 

 safely ; it is much more shrubby than the older 

 and better-known species, C. plumbaginoides 

 (known sometimes in gardens as Plumbago 

 Larpentae), and has blue flowers in autumn. 

 It had been planted outside before without 

 success in a milder winter, showing probably 

 that the specimens then put out were not 

 sufficiently mature. The same result was ex- 

 perienced with Amphicome arguta, a very 

 handsome plant of the Bignonia Order, native 



