IRISH GARDENING 



111 



The Month^s Work. 

 Southern and Western Counties. 



By T. E. ToMALiN, Gardener to the Right Hon. 

 The Earl of Bessborough, K.P., Bess- 

 borough, County Kilkenny. 



The Flower Garden. 



The Shrubbery. — Hardy shrubs that will be in 

 full beauty during this month will ifnelude the 

 Philadelphuses, the Eseallonias — of which J^angley- 

 ensis, witli its gracefully arching growths, covered 

 with rosy flowers, is one of the best — Spiraeas 

 (shrubl)y), red and pink, and the beautiful white 

 Spiraea ariefolia, Cistus Laurifolius, Cytisus 

 Carlieri, and many others. Recently planted 

 specimens will require watering during dry 

 weather, and a mulch of grass mowings will be 

 l)eneficial. 



Herbaceous Borders will now require constant 

 attention. The plants will be growing rapidly 

 and staking and tying will be a constant need. A 

 natural effect should be aimed at in this work, 

 as the best grown plants will fail to please if they 

 are clumsily or too stiffly tied up. If short twiggy 

 peasticks were inserted amongst groups of annuals 

 as advised last month the plants will by now have 

 grown up through these and have hidden them. 

 Annuals staked in this way will withstand very 

 heavy rain and wind storms. The borders should 

 be hoed frequently to keep down weeds and to 

 conserve the moisture in the soil. 



Flower beds filled with summer bedding plants 

 will soon be at their best. If watering is neces- 

 sary it should be applied in the evt^ning and the 

 soil hoed over the next day, as oaie good water- 

 ing followed by hoeing has a nuich better and more 

 lasting effect than frequent applications of CjLd 

 water to the plants. Remove all dead flowers 

 weekly and keep the edges of the l:)eds trim and 

 'neat. 



Border Carnations will soon be in full beauty. 

 To prolong the flowering period pick off all faded 

 blossoms and keep the plants well watered. As 

 the different varieties pass out of flower the younu- 

 shoots should be layered. Some finely sifted SJil 

 contai'ning leaf mould and sand should ])e placed 

 around the plants. Select the strongest growt''s 

 and cut a tongue in them about an inch long com- 

 mencing just below a joint. Press the shoot down 

 into the fine soil with the tongue well open, peg 

 it in place, and water in as each plant is finished. 

 Suitable pegs can be cut from bracken stems or 

 worn bircli brooms. The layered plants shoukl be 

 sprinkled with water every evening during dry 

 weather. 



The Vegetable Garden. 



Planting. — The latest batches of Leeks should 

 now be planted a'nd thoroughly watered in if the 

 weather is dry, and Autunm Cauliflowers and 

 Broccoli may also still be planted. As the early 

 crops are cleared the ground should immediately 

 be filled up with Winter Greens. Curly aind 

 favmirite Kales, white and purple sprouting 

 Broccolis, Savoys and Coleworts will form a i)ro- 

 fitable second crop, and will be much appreciated 

 during winter and early spring. 



For the latest Broccolis, which will mature in 

 May a^nd June of next year, firm ground is neces- 

 sary to ensure slow and sturdy growth to with- 

 stand the severe frosts of winter. The site of a 



recently cleared Strawberry bed answers their re- 

 quirements admirably. The Strawberry plants 

 sliould be cut off with a spade, and with the straw 

 litter be burnt on the ground alnd the ashes 

 scattered over it. The Broccoli plants may be put 

 in with a crowbar if the ground is too Hard for 

 the dibber. They should be well watered in with 

 manure water, and the hoe kept going amongst 

 them after they have been plalnted a fortnight. 



Sowing. — A further sowing of Dwarf Beans may 

 still be made, and frequent sowings of Lettuces 

 for providnig autunm Salads. For this purpose a 

 sowing of Batavian Endive made now will provide 

 useful heads in September and October, and 

 towards the end of the month the main batch ol 

 Endive for winter salading must be sown. 



Spinach Beet sown now will provide a yjlentiful 

 supply of leaves during winter, and until the first 

 true Spinach is ready in the spring. 



About the 24th of the month is a good date to 

 sow Cabbages for early spring cutting. The plants 

 from this sowing will be readv to plant in 

 September on the ground now occupiel by Onions. 

 The ground should not be dug but only hoed over, 

 tVnd drills drawn three inches deep and eighteen 

 inches apart, in which the Cabbage plants may be 

 dibbled at one foot apart. At ttie first hoeing the 

 drills may be levelled in and will thus provide a 

 slight earthing up as well as a nia'ch to the roots. 

 It will be advisable to make a lUrLher sowing of 

 Cabbage seed a fortnight after the fi'st for succes- 

 sion, and in case the earlier and .softer plants may 

 be injured by severe weather. All seeds of the 

 Cabbage tribe, which, of course, includes Turnips, 

 should be moistened with paraffin and rolled in red 

 lead before sowing; this will effectually prevent 

 birds interfering with them, and Lettuce seeds 

 may be similarly treated. 



When lifting early and mid-season Potatoes the 

 " seed " for next season should be carefully 

 selected first and placed in the sprouting boxes. If 

 the weather is dry these may then with advantage 

 be left out of doors for a few days, so that the 

 " seed " may be well greened before storing in a 

 lig^ht, airy slied for the winter. 



The Fruit Garden. 



Thinning. — In spite of the wonderful promise 

 at flowering time this operation will be necessary 

 in only very few orchards in the case of Apples 

 this season. It is difficult to account for the bad 

 set of this fruit, as the weather conditions seemed 

 ideal when the trees were in flower. At that time 

 mild, showery weather prevailed, with a complete 

 absence of frost, and rain was plentiful here, over 

 four inches being registered during the month of 

 May. 



Plums, however, have set a heavy crop, and the 

 final thinning of these may now be carried out. 

 If this is neglected the fruit will be small and of 

 poor flavour, whilst the trees will be exhausted 

 and may take years to recover. 



Summer priming of Apples ajnd Pears should 

 now be attended to, and should not be neglected 

 in the case of trees that are not carrying a crop. 

 Really, it is the more necessary for these, because 

 the absence of fruit is causing them to grow with 

 greater vigour, and the removal of useless 

 growths, and the shortening of others, is essential 

 to allow free access of sun and air to all parts of 

 the trees, so that the fruit buds may be well 

 developed and thoroughly ripened for next 

 season This, I consider, is the chief advantage 

 of summer pruning in all cases, although incident- 



