44 



IRISH GARDENING. 



The School Garden. The Maidenhair Fern 



By L, J. HUMPHREY, Special Instructor in School Gardening under the 

 Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction for Ireland, 



IF a beginning' is to be made in a small way with school 

 g-ardening it can best be done by means of flowers. 

 No considerations as to lack of space, time, tools 

 or the wherewithal to purchase them need hinder the 

 teacher from commencing the work. A few packets of 

 seed will cost but little, and where space is limited the 

 plants can be grown in pots or boxes, and used to adorn 

 both the outside and the inside of the school. Inside 

 they are far superior to the unchanged and unchanging 

 wall pictures, and outside they are an example to the 

 district. Where there are individual plots, three or four 

 feet at one end of each plot should be planted with 

 flowers — annuals for preference — selected as far as 

 possible by the pupils. 



These small plots should be supplemented by larger 

 beds and borders worked by the whole of the class. The 

 majority of the flowers suited to the school garden appear 

 to greater advantage when planted in beds specially ar- 

 ranged for decoration, and the general appearance of 

 the grounds will in this way be greatly improved. To 

 have attractive beds it is not necessary that the flowers 

 should be in straight lines ; bold clumps are far more 

 effective. By planting tall plants towaids the centre of 

 the bed or towards the back if in a border a backgroimd 

 will be secured against which the plants in front will 

 stand out boldly. Perhaps the best use to which the 

 flowers and decorative plants can be put is in beauti- 

 fying the school grounds. 



In shady corners ivy or periwinkle will flourish, while 

 by making a narrow border round the school - replacing 

 the soil with a mixture of loam and manure if necessar}' — 

 a number of showy annuals and perennials can be grown. 

 Sunflowers and hollyhocks look and grow well with a 

 wall behind them, provided the soil is neither too drj' nor 

 too poor. Sweet peas require a deeply-cultivated and 

 well-manured soil, but this should not be hard to obtain 

 in all but the most hopeless of grounds. Nasturtiums 

 (Trop^eolum) are invaluable — the tall varieties for cover- 

 ing bare pillars, posts, tree stumps or fences ; the dwarf 

 varieties for narrow beds, edgings, and window boxes. 



To make the flowers grown by the scholars of real edu- 

 cational value something more is desirable than decora- 

 tive effect, necessary though this is. Plants classified in 

 a definite way will gain in interest, and need lose nothing 

 of their attractiveness. Local circumstances will perhaps 

 suggest the particular classification to be adopted, but a 

 school garden could include beds for native plants, 

 for plants of economic value, plants interesting histori- 

 cally, and those connected with the literature being studied 

 in the school. More strictly scientific would be the beds 

 to illustrate the plants typical of various soils and situa- 

 tions, and a garden in which the plants are arranged in 

 their natural orders. These are not difficult to manage, 

 and whatever may be said as to their disadvantages have 

 always something of interest. 



With March the work of seed sowing must be pushed 

 actively forward. A further sowing of peas should be 

 made, and such of the parsnips and broad beans as were 

 not planted last month should be got in without delay. On 

 a dry day onions should be sown, making the soil firm 

 with the back of the spade. Seed beds for leeks and 

 Brussels sprouts should also be prepared. In the flower 

 borders most of the hardy annuals can be sown, re- 

 serving some seed of each kind till next month, in order 

 that some of the flowers may last till later into the 

 autumn. Grafting must be carried out this month, and 

 a preliminary lesson should be devoted to practice on 

 shoots from the woods and hedges. If the stocks to be 

 grafted are few in number, this plan will give practice to 

 all the pupils, and the failures will not be so numerous 

 when the actual grafting is carried out. 



(Adiantum). 



By P. MAHON, The Gardens, Killeen Castle, Dunsany. 



FOR the decoration of conservatory or sitting- 

 room few plants repay better than the 

 adiantum when given the care and atten- 

 tion it requires. When well grown it is almost 

 second to none. Whereas, on the other hand, 

 nothing looks so miserable as a weak, sickly 

 plant of adiantum. The general causes of 

 failure in the proper growth of this plant is 

 excessive drought or the injudicious use of the 

 watering pot — the last named factor being, I 

 should say, the principal one. How often do 

 we see, more especially during the dull winter 

 months, fine plants entirely denuded of fronds 

 in the centre of the pots, which speaks for the 

 carelessness in the use of the watering pot. 

 Now, to grow this fern to perfection we must 

 at the outset see that the pots or pans for their 

 reception are scrupulously clean and also pro- 

 perly drained. If the last named is not done 

 with care the soil becomes stagnant, which 

 certainly means a lingering death to the plant. 



Soil. — The soil best suited to the adiantum is two parts 

 good fibrous loam, one part peat, one part decomposed 

 leaf-mould, with a good sprinklingof coarse silver sand to 

 keep the soil open, and if the compost could get a light 

 dressing of bone meal it will be of benefit to the plant 

 also. When mixing the soil, keep a sharp look out for 

 worms, and if any should come under notice they should 

 be removed. 



Potting. — The best time for this operation is the first 

 or second week in February, or, if unavoidably held over 

 from some cause or other, can be carried out with suc- 

 cess tothe middle of March. Care must be taken when the 

 plants are being brought from their quarters for potting 

 to avoid draughts as much as possible. Indeed, it would 

 be much better if the operation could be carried out in 

 the house where the plants are to remain. If time per- 

 mits, the soil might be warmed a little before using, as 

 this will be a great advantage to root action. It is a 

 gross mistake to repot established plants until they 

 really require it. Every second year ought to be quite 

 sufficient, aided with an annual top-dressing. To per- 

 form this latter operation remove some of the surface 

 soil, taking care to injure the fibrous roots as little as 

 possible. When a plant requires repotting, care must 

 be taken not to use too big a pot. A size next larger 

 than the one it formerly occupied is quite sufficient. 

 When potting, use a thin lath in order to work the soil 

 well down to the bottom of the pot, and afterwards 

 using a larger rammer to firm the whole. 



Watering. — The plants, having been finally potted, 

 will not require water for at least a day or two after- 

 wards. They should be kept close and shaded, if 

 occasion arises, and if syringed over-head with tepid 

 water on bright forenoons, they will soon recuperate 

 from the effects of their re-potting. When watering, 

 the fronds should be held back gently with one hand 

 and the water let in gently around the plant instead 

 of raising the watering pot, and letting the water 

 go at will down the centre of the plant. When well 

 established, an occasional dose of weak soot water 

 will aid in keeping up that dark green colour in the 

 fronds which is always a characteristic of a healthy 

 and luxuriant plant. 



