58 



IRISH GARDENING. 



uevin but finally vanished, and it luiv- since been 

 tried in a moraine without success. It flourishes, 

 or used to, in the O'Mahony's garden on the 

 Wieklow mountains, and appears to like a stony 

 medium with plenty of moisture below. The rather 

 thick, lance-shaped leaves are surmounted by a 

 one-sided m)ibel of violet-coloured flowers. P. 

 Glutinosa, also cultivated at Glasnevin, grows 

 well enough in a pot, but is less happy out. The 

 flowers are described as blue-purple, but I cannot 

 remember having seen them. 



P. minima, the so called Fairy Primrose, was 

 also brought from Bulgaria, and flourished for a 

 time, but latterly failed to do so well. It was 

 planted in gritty soil in half .'^hade. It bears 

 small smooth leaves and produces short flower 

 scapes carrying one or two comparatively large, 

 pale pink flowers; a de-irable little plant worth 

 jjcrsevering with. 



Hybrids. 



In addition to the species of European Primulas 

 there are many natural hybrids of considerable 

 l)eauty, such as P. Arctotis, with lilac flowers; 

 Berninse. rosy purple discolt)f, lilac; Facchini, 

 rosy purple; Fosteri, rosy purple; Heerii, jjurple; 

 Muretiana, purple; Peyritschii, crimson purple; 

 J'nrtae, red; Venusta, purple, and many others. 

 Most of these are in cultivation and were to be 

 obtained from our home nurserymen and from 

 Continental .-ources before the war. Hybrids 

 liave also been produced in cultivation and it is 

 only necessary to cite P. + Marven as an ex- 

 ample, while numerous crosses have been made 

 between the highly developed Auricula of florists 

 with certain species, and of these more will yet be 

 heard. 



Primulas froji Asia. 



From the Himalaya, China and Japan comes a 

 vast array of Primulas, happily in many cases 

 good garden plants. Some of the later introduc- 

 tions from Chiiui are not yet quite understood, and 

 appear to l)e little more than biennials, but others 

 are truly perennial and easily grown. The older 

 and better known species came from the Hima- 

 layan region and from Japan before collectors 

 had explored parts of China and sent home seeds. 

 Dried specimens of some of the newer Chinese 

 species liad been known to botanists long before 

 seed.'* were sent home and ])lants raised in this 

 eonntry. 



Perhaps one of the most popular of Primulas, 

 before the advent of so many new ones, was 

 P. japonica, and I am not sure that it is yet 

 outclassed. In it* I)est forms of deep dark red. 

 salmon pink and pure white, with yellow " eye," 

 it is most effective. Grown in rich, moist soil 

 it will throw up its scapes to a lieight of two feet 

 or so, carrying tier al)0ve tier of handsou'ie 

 (lowers, which last lontrer in bloom than thos ■ 

 ot the nmch-vaunted Chinese P. pulverulenta. 

 Another old favourite from Japan is P. Sieboldii. 

 a free grower in peat and leaf-iiionld. and bearing 

 freely its umbels of white or pink flowers. 



There are other species from .fapan, but thev 

 are not as yet so well known in trardens, though 

 ])0.ssibly in a few years they will become more 

 conunon. A nmnber of Indian Prinudas have been 

 well known and appreeiated for many year;. 

 One need only mention P. denticidata and its 

 varietv Cashmiriana, P. rosea, P. capitata, and 

 lately', P. Wintevi. J. \V. P., Glasnevin. 



(To he continued.) 



The Editor's Table, 



Sarcococca ruscifolia. 



From Sir John Koss of Bladensburg come charm- 

 ing fruiting sprays of this new Chinese evergreen. 

 Tiie berries, produced in clusters of from two to 

 four in the axils of the leaves, are bright crimson, 

 and of great ornamental value. The short-stalked 

 leaves are about an inch long and half as wide, 

 narrowed to a sharp point. The plant is also 

 flowering at the present time, the small, white 

 flowers being fragrant. This is a useful shrub for 

 shady positions, and for that purpose will be wel- 

 come to many peoi)le. 



Helleborus orientalis .\nd Hybrids. 

 This species of Lenten Rose, with its many very 

 beautiful varieties, has always been a difficidty to 

 the gardener who grows his plants for the house 

 decoration as well as for beautifying his borders 

 and shrubberies. There is always a degree of un- 

 certainty when cutting this species for the house. 

 They sometimes last, but sometimes they do not. 

 ■' Put them up to their necks in boiling water," 

 one is told is the secret; others say that splitting 

 the stems when first cut answers, but even doing 

 all this and more will not make them satisfactory 

 house flowers in tlie ordinary cut form. Has any 

 one tried nipping the heads off close to the flower 

 and floating them in the now very popular flat 

 l)owls ? Nothing looks better in the bowl, clear 

 glass, or coloured china. They look like miniature 

 water lilies, and are reflected in the clear water. 

 The colours are varied, pure white, white with 

 darkened spot, pink, deep crimson, lemon yellow, 

 and even green, are all to be had, and all look well, 

 and, above all, last in this way. Indeed, in this 

 way they behave like the ordinary Christmas Kose, 

 and last until the stamens fall out. 



R. M. P. 



Early Flowering Rhododendrons. 



The value of these to a garden i; a moot point. 

 Certainly, if weather conditions prove favour- 

 able it is a pleasant sight to find a bush of the 

 liybrid R. nobleanum in flower at Christmas or 

 New Year time, and it is equally good to enjoy 

 davuricum and parviflorum in February, but 

 alas ! how often does one night's frost spoil the 

 endeavour of a whole year. Nor are we out of 

 danger in March. Two newcomers which have 

 l)een, eagerly and with misgivings, watched for 

 some weeks have succumbed to recent frosts; they 

 are R. Davidii and R. oreodoxa. The former set 

 with scores of tru.s5es giving great promise, 

 reached the stage of showing the deep pink colour 

 of the buds, and in a few days more would have 

 opened out its pale pink, or nearly white, bells, 

 but repeated frosts before the middle of the month 

 -aid no ! and only a few of the flowers, somewhat 

 ))rotected on the lower part of the bush, are left 

 to open. 



R. oreodoxa, which was attem))ting to flower 

 for the first time and bore only oiu^ truss, was in 

 exactly the same condition; the deep red buds 

 were on the point of opening when frost super- 

 vened, and \v(> nuist wait another year iind hoj)e 

 for better luck. It is worthy of note that loth 

 plants are placed facing north-west, protected 

 from any sun until late in the day, l)ut this fact 

 did not save them. 



Dublin. 



B. 



