178 



IRISH GARDENING. 



bery, facing nearly south and backed by a 

 wall; there it is growing into a tine bush, evi- 

 dently enjoying the warmth and protection 

 from cold blasts. There are some interesting 

 and pretty evergreen Euonymuses, some M'ith 

 variegated leaves, but they are mostly well 

 known. Not so common, however, is Euony- 

 mus radicans Carrierei, a useful shrub in many 

 ways, and doubly attractive at j^resent when 

 carrying an enormous crop of fruits, which, 

 splitting open, reveal the orange seeds. The 

 genus Osmaiithus allied to the Privets is worthy 

 of more attention from planters. O. Fortunei 

 is, perhaps, the handsomest species, with its 

 attractive, toothed leaves, but O.Aquifolium is 

 not to be despised as an evergreen, and its 

 variegated form is quite a pretty shrub ; there is 

 also a purple-leaved form which gives variety. 



O. Delavayi, comparatively new from China, 

 has tiny leaves compared witli the others, and 

 bears many pure white flowers in early si^^'i^^g- 

 0. armatus as a small plant looks decidedly 

 promising, with long, nairow, coarsely-toothed 

 leaves, but we cannot yet say much regarding 

 its hardiness in the open garden. I'ittosporums 

 show great variety, and are beautifid shrubs 

 where they thrive, but all are not hardy every- 

 where, and readers should refer to Irish Gar- 

 dening of September, 1917, for an account of 

 those killed and injured bv the hard winter of 

 1916-17. 



There are many other evergreens, some of 

 them valuable for their liowers as well, but we 

 need not pursue the subject further as it will 

 be evident that if choice evergreens are planted 

 carefully our gardens may be interesting and 

 beautiful in winter as well as in summer. A 

 final reference may be made to Berberis verru- 

 culosa, a most beautiful evergreen species in- 

 troduced some years ago from China. It forms 

 a neat shrub with small, spiny leaves, dark, 

 glossy green above and glaucous below. A 

 pleasing feature is that a proportion of the older 

 leaves turn a brilliant scarlet in winter. 



There are very few tlowering plants to 

 chronicle for November, though Cyclamen 

 Whittallii flowered nicely on the edge of a 

 moraine and near a pine tree early in the 

 month. This refers to the outdoor garden, of 

 course; indoors the display is ample, and in the 

 flowering house batches of scarlet Salvias, 

 scarlet " Geraniums," Cyclamens, Prinuila 

 obconica, Browallia demissa. Cinerarias, Plec- 

 tranthus Mahoni, Euphorbia ])ulcherrima. Sec, 

 make a brave show, winning the adniiration of 

 the Sunday visitors. Chrysanthemums, too, 

 are now in their best dress, and there is no 

 doubting the value of the single and semi- 

 double decorative varieties as compared with 



the so-called large-bloomed varieties. The 

 latter are not now so popular, the best and 

 most attractive being those known as incurved 

 -Japanese as opposed to those whose florets do 

 not curve upwards. 



Orchids, too, retain their hold on the public, 

 exciting much wonder and admiration, while in 

 the same house Epiphyllum delicatum a 

 Cactus, with soft, pink flowers, made a pretty 

 show. Later on we shall have Acacias, Chori- 

 zcmas, and other New Holland plants to carry 

 us on to spring. J. W. B., Glasnevin. 



The Rock Garden 



The Gromwells Lithospermum. 



TiiK genus Lithospermum is one of the most 

 interesting among hardy plants adapted for the 

 rock garden. The best of them are dwarf, 

 shrubby evergreens, valuable on this account 

 in winter, while in summer they provide some 

 of the finest shades of blue. Their cultivation 

 is, fortunately, fajrly easy — a sunny position in 

 gritty soil suiting most of them. Propagation 

 of the shrubby kinds is easily managed by 

 cuttings of the half ripe shoots taken in August 

 and inserted in sandy soil under a handlight. 

 Seeds, too, are produced in some cases, and 

 may be utilised to increase stock. 



One of the best of the shrubby species is L. 

 graniinifolium, a prostrate grower, with long, 

 narrow, glossy green leaves and clusters of 

 lovely rich blue flowers. 



L. intermedium is of more robust growth, 

 though never of any great height. The leaves 

 are broader than those of the previous species 

 and of a duller green, but the lovely blue 

 flowers are j^roduced in generous profusion and 

 for a considerable time, making this one of the 

 best of rock plants. 



L. petraeum, more correctly called JMoltkia 

 petrea, makes a fine specimen planted between 

 rocks on a sunny slope.; in this case the leaves 

 are quite grey in appearance and the flowers a 

 fine clear violet blue. Old plants of this species 

 become quite shrubby and form thick, woody 

 branches. Less easy to propagate than some ; 

 cuttings, nevertheless, may be rooted with 

 care, and seeds are produced occasionally. 



L. prostratum is probably the best known of 

 the Gromwells, but not everywhere will it 

 succeed. In some gardens it flourishes in pure 

 peat and in others in gritty loam, while in still 

 others it finds a congenial home as a wall i)lant. 

 Perhaps a good, deep, gritty soil and sunjQy 

 position suit its requirements as well as any 

 other conditions. This remarkable plant is 



