13^ 



IRISH GARDENING 



Naturalising Bulbs. 



By E. T. Ellis, Wi'ftwuud, Eccl(,'sall, Slictti(>l<l. 



Thk naturalising of bulbs is not a hard l)usintss 

 if one goes to work riglitly, and in case your 

 readers may not yet have started this work, I send 

 this conujuniieation in whieh I briefly describe it. 



Before we get to work, let nie just put in a word 

 about the effects which may be produced by 

 naturalising bulbs. These inay be good, or may 1)6 

 certainly not far from bad, if the amateur goes the 

 wrong way to work. What we imagine when we 

 think of naturalised bulbs is large patches or 

 sheets of glorious colour in the early spring. We 

 do not mean bulbs scattered about — one or two 

 here and one or two more there. Such an effect 

 may seem alright to some people, but they do not 

 get the grandest effect out of naturalisation. Some 

 will think that it is hard to get such sheets of colour 

 as they see in the spring, but it is not difficult; on 

 the contrary, it is, we may say, almost remarkably 

 easy. 



As one looks through the advertisement pages of 

 the horticultural Press one sometimes sees special 

 collections of bulbs offered suitable for naturalisa- 

 tion. The bulbs are cheaper, so one gets more for- 

 one's money than one would do of bulbs to plant 

 in the borders. It is right and natural that such 

 should be the case, but the amateur is warned not 

 to buy poor stuff for naturalisation. Pay a fair 

 I^rice, deal with well-known firms, and the bulbs 

 you get will be of good quality, and each sort will 

 be more or less of one or two graded sizes. 



I expect many of your readers will have stored 

 their last season's bulbs for future use. To plant 

 any except those of very extra good size once more 

 in the borders is a high road to failure, but good, 

 results, nevertheless, do sometimes ensue. l' 

 recommend, however, that these last season's bulbs 

 should be used for naiu'alisation, planted in large 

 groups by themselves, and supplemented, if neces- 

 sary, by fresh bulbs as noted above. 



Each sort of l)ulb, if there be much difference in 

 size, should be roughly graded into three grades 

 and cleaned, if this has not already been done. 

 Do not, however, over " pull " them, or you will| 

 do nuich harm. Keep the grades and sorts sepa-; 

 rate generally, but a good effect may be produced; 

 )jy judicious mingling, which the amateur may try 

 if he likes. 



Bulbs may be naturalised in the lawn, on rough 

 banks, in glades, in the wild garden, or senii- 

 covered grass land which is used for no particular 

 purpose. They may also be naturalised on the 

 boimdaries of shrubberies and in woods, and many 

 other places or parts of the garden. 



Planting in the lawn is best done with a special 

 bulb-planter tool, obtainable from the sundries- 

 men. This takes up a bit of the turf, you droj) the 

 bulb in, and then rei)lace the piece of turf, firming 

 with your foot. 



In glades or in rough grass land planting may 

 be done in the same way, but the more usual 

 method of procedure is to partly lift a piece of tlie 

 turf with the spade, throw in some sand if the soil 

 be heavy, and put in several bulbs, replacing the 

 turf innnediately and beating down with the spade. 

 Another turf is partly lifted six inches away from 

 the first, the bulbs are j^l anted in the space made, 

 and so on. 



All idea of regularity as regards each set of 

 bulbs is disannulled in naturalising. By this I 

 mean that regular designs should ))e left. The 

 smaller-sized bulbs of Tulips and Daffodils, &c., 



should, of course, be kept separate from the 

 larger, as advised above, but all the beds may well 

 gradually merge into the other. Crocuses may be 

 planted just inside a group of Daffodils, Narcissus, 

 or Tulips, or on the boundary of such groups, and 

 each may merge into each. Scillas, Roman Hya- 

 cinths, Winter Aconites, and other small-growing 

 bulbs should be naturalised in positions where 

 they can l)e seen, such as on the boundaries of 

 shrul)beries. The Aconitesare, however, suitable 

 for planting inider trees on the lawn. 



Planting in grass and in soil may also be done 

 with a dibber, if this is carefully used. Bulbs must 

 not i)e " hung " when planted, so I prefer to nse 

 a trowel for lawn and shrubbery work or one of the 

 special tools referred to. 



If naturalisation is to give innnediate effects 

 next spring plenty of bulbs sliould be planted. And, 

 when we come to think of it, it is not expensive, 

 for the blooms of Daffodils, Tulips, &c., may be cut 

 and used for table decoration. But do not plant too 

 thickly. Leave at least three or four inches from 

 bulb to bull). Let your groups be bold, merging 

 into each other, and get the bulbs in during the 

 first week in November, if not before that. 



Fruit Crop, Ireland, 1920 



This year's fruit crop will be remembered 1)y al! 

 growers as one of the worst on record. It is the 

 worst I remember, the nearest to it l^eing the 

 season of 1916, when commercial growers suffered 

 very heavy losses. The very early Pears and 

 Plums were more or less destroyed on 24th and 

 25th April by a severe storm which swept over the 

 whole of Ireland. This was followed by a storm 

 in the following week-end almost as severe, which 

 put the finishing touches on the Apple, Pear, Dam- 

 son, and Plum crop, many of the Apple blossoms 

 being killed in the bud. P'ollowing the dry autumn 

 of last year, which favoured the finishing of a good 

 crop of fruit, and the ripening of the wood and 

 fruit buds, top fruit trees sent forth such a profu- 

 sion of blossoms this spring that there seemed 

 every hope of a very good crop again this year. A 

 notable feature in the cropping of Apples is, especi- 

 ally in the south, that whatever fruit is being pro- 

 duced it is on young trees from five to fifteen years 

 planted, the older trees being more or less a failure. 



It is only in very odd places — and that in gardens 

 sheltered from the north-east and north by either 

 walls or shelter-beds — that an average crop is 

 being produced. This season has demonstrated 

 the advisability of having orchards protected by 

 shelter belts on the north, north-east, and north- 

 west sides, if even average crops are to be expected 

 annually. 



Apple trees which carried a heavy crop last year 

 are in most cases bare of fruit this season. The 

 North has suffered much more than the South, the 

 Bramleys in the commercial orchards being very 

 poor. There is but one consolation to the fruit- 

 grower this year, and that is the excellent prices 

 that are being secured for the produce. Apples 

 have suffered severely, and very few varieties are 

 bearing. The best appear to be Early Victoria. 

 Lord Grosvenor and l^ane's P. Albert, with a few 

 fruits on Bramley Seedling. The old Kemp is 

 l)eariiig fairly well in the North; there is also a 

 few fruits on Grenadier. Of the desserts, the out- 

 standing one is Worcester Pearmain — in fact, the 

 only one carrying an average crop. Beauty of 

 Bath, Jas. Grieve, King of Pippins, and Allington 

 Pippin are giving a few fruits. Charles Ross is 



