IRISH GARDENING 



83 



well with the blue and beautiful R. Augustini, 

 which Sir John Eoss calls '* the moonlight 

 lihododendron," so pure and cool are the 

 blossoms. This is the biggest specimen in 

 Ireland. 



R. ntoiipiuense was covered with white 

 flowers in February, and is now pushing up 

 hne growth. R. rhombicum , a deciduous 

 Japanese species., with flowers of the cold un- 

 interesting colour of R. pontician. 



R. oreodoxa, and a young plant of R. Si)w- 

 (jrande, which has leaves fifteen inches long 

 and gives great promise, have for companion a 

 fine young plant of the rare R. lanatum, the 

 l^ack of whose leaves is a rich brown, suede 

 texture. 



R. apodectum, a quaint, squat-spreading, 

 unusual looking shrub. Quite another type is 

 R. Zcylanicum, of stiff, upright habit, with 

 laurel-like growth, red stems and wrinkled 

 leaves. The flowers are red. Most of the 

 siDecimens of this shrub in. the British Isles 

 were brought from Ceylon by Mrs. Campbell 

 i)f Arduaine, Argyllshire, Scotland. 



R. Souleil has shovel-sliaped leaves and red 

 leaf stalks. 



R. Yiuitliinuin has curious red-purple 

 flowers which vary in colour; on some i;)lants 

 they are a deep purple. 



A Coprosma species from seed sent by Dr. 

 Levinge from New Zealand to Glasnevin some 

 years ago is a shrub seven feet high with in- 

 conspicuous green flowers, carrying at the same 

 time its clear orange-coloured berries. CaUis- 

 te»wii Sieberi, and an unidentified Pittos- 

 porvuii, growing beside it, came from the sanae 

 source. 



Acer reticulatinn , a tender Himalayan 

 species. 



Solix lanatum, a dwarf, woolly-leafed willow, 

 with catkins best described as being like white 

 mice. 



Acacia annata is quite naturalized and seeds 

 about, young plants coming iip vigorously. 



Cornus Kousa, fifteen feet high, has white 

 flowers, not quite so large as those of C. 

 Niiitallii. 



Fagus bcfuloides, a Chilian tree with dense 

 green foliage. There is a very fine specimen at 

 Powerscourt, about fifty years old. 



CordgJlne Banlisii. — Tliis looks like a thicket, 

 so broad and strong ; twenty feet high ; a noble 

 piece, finer even than the Scilly Island 

 specimen. 



Dichsoiiia autaiiica for fifteen winters has 

 presided in a little dell, a fairy-like place with 

 a carpet of Beech Fern, Oak Fern — orchis 

 mascula, orchis inacidata — Primroses, Blue- 

 eyed Mary, wild Violets, and wild Hyacinths, 



and a large plant of R. linear! folium hanging 

 over a boulder at the entrance. 



A large patch of TrUlium grandifiorum, a 

 sheet of white blossom about five feet across, 

 has found all it requires for perfect happiness 

 under an Apple tree. 



A whole number of Irish G.\rdenixg could 

 be filled with trees, shrubs and plants, and yet 

 not describe a quarter that have found a home 

 in this wonderful wild garden, with its beauti- 

 ful situation on Carlingford Lough. 



Another interesting fact noted was the self- 

 sowing of Eucalyptus coccifera, several seed- 

 lings having appeared. 



W. P. M. 



Notes from my Rock Garden. 



Just now the rock garden is very charming, 

 but by the time these notes appeal- there will 

 be truly an embarras dc richesse. 



Primula pulverulenta now looks lovely in a 

 clump rising from surroundings of Veronica 

 repens, Phlox " Newry Seedling " and 

 Anthemis cupaniana. This re-introduction 

 makes beautiful drifts where space is no object, 

 the well-shaped, snowy Marguerite flowers 

 and the silvery, ferny-scented foliage combine 

 to make this a plant worth growing ; it is most 

 easily propagated by cuttings. 



It seems to me that once one grows Primula 

 pulverulenta, P. japonica may almost be dis- 

 pensed with. 



Amongst the Veronicas blooming at the 

 moment is V. peduncularis, a very graceful 

 plant, which grows like a dwarf Gypsophilla. 

 It makes a fairy-lik;e bush and, being white, is 

 well placed beside a broad patch of the largest 

 flowered cobalt Gentianella. T'. saxatiVis is 

 the only other blue now, though many varieties 

 are covered with buds in different stages. I 

 find that tiny rootlets of these taken off from 

 now on grow rapidly. 



T'. saxatilis is a pet Veronica of mine, as is 

 that dearest of tiny alpmes, Myosotis rupicola. 

 More showy blues are irom' Myosotis " Ruth 

 Fischer " and Ajuga variegata; its dense spikes 

 of blue and silver carpet the ground in fine 

 contrast to its neighbouring snowy hillocks of 

 Candytuft. 



I think annuals such as pale blue Nemophila, 

 which I have proved to be useful, should be 

 more largely grown in the rock garden, so as 

 to keep the colour schemes going. 



The new salmon pink Daisy, " Alice," is 

 c/ivinc^ an unique tint just now. Very well it 

 looks near some stray clumps of Cardamine 



