IRISH GARDENING. 



21 



March, and intending exhibitors at the London Show of 

 the National Sweet Pea Society should have their blooms 

 in gfood time, as the show will not be held until July 

 24th. When the weather is suitable and the surface in 

 fairly dry condition take out with a " draw hoe " a trench 

 4 inches deep and 4 inches wide along the centre of the 

 row. Sow the seeds singly 2 inches apart in one row, 

 and cover with two inches of soil, making it fairh' firm 

 with the back of a trowel ; cover with wire seed guards, 

 or three or four rows of black thread stretched tightly 

 two inches apart and about 3 inches above the surface. 

 In about three weeks' 

 time the seedlings will 

 begin to appear, when 

 they must be well 

 dusted at once with 

 soot or slaked lime to 

 ward off the wily slug, 

 and this must be re- 

 peated frequently till 

 the plants are well 

 established, for it is at 

 this period of their ex- 

 istence that the atten- 

 tions of this midnight 

 marauder are most 

 deadly. 



Staking. — When 

 the plants are 3 inches 

 high, thin out to 6 

 inches apart, 

 earth up with the 

 remaining 2 inches of 

 soil, and place short, 

 twiggy sticks for the 

 first formed tendrils 

 to cling to. A further 

 thinning out of each 

 alternate plant by- 

 and-by will be 

 necessary if blooms 

 of exhibition quality 

 are desired. The final 

 supports should nov^- 

 be placed in position. 

 Boughs of hazel, 

 beech or birch are the 

 best ; they should be 

 from 10 to 1 2 feet high, 

 and inserted 2 feet 

 deep in the ground ; 

 failing these, which 

 are difficult to pro- 

 cure by suburban 

 growers, strong wire 

 netting, 4-inch mesh, 

 supported by strong- 

 poles 1 2 feet high and 

 placed 12 feet apart, 

 makes a very good 

 substitute. 



Feeding.— As soon 

 as the buds begin to show colour, weekly waterings of 

 weak liquid manure should be given, alternating with 

 good soakings of rain or soft water if the season is a 

 dry one. It is a good plan to vary this stimulant as 

 much as possible. Soot water. Clay's fertiliser, nitrate 

 of soda, guano, superphosphate, &c., are all good if 

 given in weak doses — an ounce to the gallon of water, 

 and a gallon of this to each foot run. If this 

 treatment is continued and the flowers kept regularly 

 gathered, no seed pods being allowed to form, the plants 

 will continue to bloom until the end of October. 



Choosing — Individual tastes vary so much, and there 

 are now so many varieties on the market, that it is 

 difficult to make a selection that will please ever)'one. 



Sweet Pea Evelyn Hemus 



One of the most distinct Sweet Peas of 1907-08 

 rose-red margin to all the segments. [From 



The following, however, are good kinds for ordinary 

 garden decoration : — Dorothy Eckford (white), King 

 Edward VII. (crimson), Mrs. Walter Wright (mauve), 

 Mrs. Collier (yellow), Helen Lewis (orange), Lady Grizel 

 Hamilton (lavender). Countess Spencer or Paradise 

 (pink). Queen Alexandra (scarlet), John Ingman or E. 

 J. Castle (rose carmine). Black Knight (maroon), Helen 

 Pierce (marbled blue). Dainty (picotee edged). For 

 exhibition, the above, along with the following, will 

 enable one to compete for all the principal cup prizes at 

 the London Show on July 24th and at the Dublin Show 



on August 5th : — 

 Mrs. Hardcastle 



Sykes (blush), 

 America (crimson 

 striped), Jeannie 

 Gordon (bi-color) 

 Navy Blue, Duke of 

 Westminster (violet), 

 Frank Dolby (laven- 

 d e r), C o c c i n e a 

 (cerise), Sybil Eck- 

 ford (blush), Audrey 

 Crier (pink), Gladys 

 Unwin (pink), Henry 

 Eckford (orange), 

 Horace Wright 



(violet blue), Prin- 

 cess Victoria (pink), 

 Queen of Spain 

 (fancy), Princess of 

 Wales (striped 

 mauve), George Gor- 

 don (magenta), Earl 

 Cromer (lake and 

 chocolate), Gorgeous 

 (scarlet orange). 



Lord Nelson (deep 

 blue), White Waved 

 (white). Of the very 

 neivesf varieties the 

 following are some 

 of the best : — James 

 Grieve (the best 

 yellow), Marjorie 

 Willis (rich rose), the 

 Marquis (mauve)] 

 Princess Victoria 

 (blush), Mima John- 

 ston (rose), Prince 

 Olaf (blue striped), 

 Evelyn Hemus 

 (cream, with rose 

 edge). Saint George 

 (orange scarlet), 



Rosie Adams 

 (mauve and bright 

 rose), Silas Cole 

 (maroon), Nancy 



Perkin (apricot and 

 salmon), and a very 

 large-flowered form, 

 claret shaded, with maroon, yclept H. J. R. Digges. 



Sweet Peas are par excellence the flowers for 

 amateurs. They are easily grown, and most suitable for 

 any position where shelter can be given ; and while they 

 will give quantities of bloom under almost any method 

 of culture, they will well repay care and liberal treat- 

 ment. As " things of beauty " in the garden, as clumps 

 on the sv/ard, as a background to the herbaceous 

 border, as a living cover for arches, or as a screen 

 to an ugly corner, they are unsurpassed. As cut 

 flowers in rooms, they fill the air with delicious sweet- 

 ness, and lend themselves to that lightness and 

 elegance which is so essential to the best taste in table 

 decoration. 



It has cream-coloured flowers with a 

 ' Sweet Peas and tlteir Cu1tr.'fitio)i."\ 



