^o 



IRISH GARDENING 



leaves, from which arise in abundance in sjuin<^ 

 little Primroses of a dark purple shade. Therr 

 are two varieties, one (if which has more dee])ly 

 coloured blossoms, and is, therefore, the more 

 desirable of the two. As for culture, .luliu' 

 luis shown itself, in the short period it has been 

 in cultivation in our gardens, as an easily ])leased 



pleasure of finding that the seed had ger- 

 minated. He made thousands of pounds b}- 

 selling the plants. 



]'. piilrrnili'iiht is a. very strong grower, send- 

 ing up shafts sometimes more than .') feet liigli, 

 witii many \\horls of large aud handsome 

 magenta purple flowers, while Jiulleyana is 



plant which will thrive and pros])er under any for all tlie world like a soft orange-coloured 

 oidinar\ care, liut nowhere is it more at home ja))onica. ]^>eesiana has the same habit as the 

 than in damp, dripjnng crevices of rock. foregoing, but the flowers are velvety purple. 



The energies of collectors in China have re- 

 sulted in the acquisition of a remarkable grou]) 

 of Primulas, which is now^ well represented in 

 our gardens. I refer to those Primulas which 

 have whorls of flowers up a long stem, such 

 as japonica, Bullej'ana, Beesiana, pulveru- 

 lenta, Poissoni, Cockburniana. Japonica was 

 introduced comparatively long ago. Seed was 

 sent to seed firms, who, after keeping it for 

 a time, and there being no sign of germination, 

 threw it away as dead, while a private in- 

 dividual who had obtained some seed kept his 

 pots full for months, and had at last the 



These species freely hybridise, and many beau- 

 tiful crosses have been raised between t'hem. A 

 prominent race is that known as Bee's hybrids. 

 These are of all shades of pink, yellow and 

 purple. But of Primida hybrids it may be very 

 truly said that " when they are good, they are 

 very, very good ; but wdien they are bad, they 

 are rotten," foi-, although some hybrids are 

 marvels of beauty, others are the embodiment 

 of hideousness, being of most horrible, dirty, 

 undecided shades of colour. So these should 

 be carefully weeded out, to keep the strain 

 pure. For those who delight in colour harmonies 



