52 



IRISH GARDENING 



of a ^'ood dfiil <if ti'niililr and care. Of tlic two 

 iiiusearioides is llic iiinir satisfactory, tlioiit^li 

 tlic less sli-ikiii.u. It iiftfii tlowcrs twicr in tlir 

 \fai', l)otli in sprin.t^-, and a,i,'ain in antinnn. 

 Littoniana tlowcis in antunni. 



I'liiHitla c([})Uat({ is a vatln'i' ci'i'atic, l)cautifnl 

 plant. It seems to do best on a soil inclinrd to 

 lie sandy. Tt does not like to have daiiip about 

 its ci'oun. W'lieii tlii'i\iii,c:, it sends up gorgeous 

 beads of dark bluf tlo\\i'rs, wbicli diffuse a 

 weiicb pungent, lieady pei'funie. Tbe intiores- 

 eence is sometimes nearly of the size of a small 

 cricket ball, and is produced late in the year. 



Seeds of the above are produced when tbe 

 plants are established. They should always be 

 sown as soon as ripe, and will usually germinate 

 ])retty freely if the pans are kept damp and 

 shaded. In pricking off the seedlings, it is im- 

 ])ortant to avoid burying the crown. Old plants 

 may be divided after flowering. 



Notes from my Rock Garden* 



A XKW comer this spring to my liock Garden, 

 very welcome and much admired, is the beau- 

 tiful deep crimson Cyclamen Conm. The 

 Cyclamens are a most interesting and obliging 

 family ; their different varieties provide bloom 

 in February, IMay and in early and late autiimn, 

 and some are scented; the foliage of most is 

 pretty, and the colours range from deej) crim- 

 son rose and pink to white. I fancy there is a 

 ])iu'plisli variety also. There is no difficulty in 

 their proj^agation, either by division of a strong 

 tuber or by seed; this latter being rather a slow 

 ])rocess among some of the choicer varieties, 

 the former method seems to me the best. After 

 cutting the tuber cover over the cut part with 

 fine mould, plant in fine sand mixed with lime, 

 good soil, and some small rough stones, being 

 careful that the drainage is perfect. Water in 

 dry weather until well-e.stablished ; i)lant in 

 fairly sheltered places, the rnore so the better, 

 but ])rotection can be given by large stones 

 judiciously placed about — some peat moidd or 

 moss put around a plant in early winter will 

 give better flowers, when the time comes. 



Cyclamens are not the only plants that 

 require similar treatment ; by experience one 

 gets to know the little touches that suit the 

 ])eculiarities of every plant. I have found lime- 

 dressings to entirely save the situation in some 

 cases — while, of course, in others this would be 

 quite wrong treatment. 



The plants I have found to want lime badly 

 are PotcntiJla nitida and Convolviihis alflinc- 

 nidrs, the former I feared I had buried in 

 lime, but soon saw plenty of new green bursting 

 foi'th. Tiie Convolvulus grew on weakly, and 



ne\ci' llowei'ed ; n(*\\' if looks most promising 

 from the effect of plenty of lime, without 

 wliiel: I heliexc 1 bis pi'ctt \ plant will not llow'ei'. 

 ■ Inst al present tbe .\nenioiie pageant lias begun 

 tliaf jiasses onwai'd until tbe end of Max, and 

 a \ery lovely show it is. 



.\. blanda since March lieL;an is in bloom, it 

 looks as if blue and white tlowers gi'ew on tlu^ 

 same plant, until one makes inquiries ; the blue 

 on the I'everse is deeper and more blue, than tbe 

 tint of the well-known woodland Anemone. 



A. ranunculoides, a little known yellow, 

 it would seem, blooms at the same time as 

 blanda, and makes a nice contrast. A patch of 

 this yellow lf)oks well near Iri.s retieuJato, 

 which has rather a dull lorik, and requires the 

 contrast. There are several of these yellow 

 Anemones (pallida and plena), and they help 

 to augment that colour in the s]>ring garden, 

 -i. liiJnciis is making a da/zling display. A 

 gf)0(l yellow plant now in bloom is Adoiis 

 riTinilis, Avhich does well in sandy loam, and 

 can easily be propagated by division, the foliage 

 is ])i'etty and ferny, and the tlowers bloom on 

 until May. 



A few clumps of Auiic-ulas are doing very 

 nicely, and will soon make a good show, but 

 they have to be raised, and put back into the 

 Auricida bed after flowering, and then fresh 

 ])lants are put in the Rock Garden again in early 

 autumn; they are pretty alpine kinds, and tfie 

 old yellow " Dusty Miller " yellow with almost 

 white leaves. A clump that has a look of 

 Auriculas about it is Primula viscosa, and the 

 same sort of treatment seems to suit it ; the 

 flower, of course, is very much smaller than 

 that of tbe Auriculas, but the leaves are very 

 nuich alike. 



Mrs. J. H. Wilson is the best variety of this 

 Primula ; P. (Icntiridata alha is very much to 

 be admired, I think; blooming now for some 

 time in a good clump this refined early Primula 

 ])ropagates as quickly and easily as the man_y 

 lilacs both by seed and division, if grown in 

 good soil. P. CasliDicfiiina aUxi comes later, 

 also \-eiy ehoici' and easy and worth growing. 



' Am.mi.wthi;. '■ 



In a Cheshire Garden. 



.By the time this article appears in print, the 

 best month for the spring jdanting of Alpines 

 — viz., A])iil — will be u])on us. I piu'pose, 

 therefore, in these notes referring to a few 

 new or uncommon plants, which Alpine lovers 

 should add to their collections. The new 

 catalogues are listing a number of " novelties," 

 and in the laudatoi'y notes accom])anying tliese 

 it is sometimes difficult to sift the wheat fi'om 



