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IRISH GARDENING. 



BEFORE this article will appear to the 

 readers of Irish Gardening dull Novem- 

 ber will be with us. There will be very 

 little plants in bloom in the herbaceous border ; 

 perhaps a few of the latest varieties of Michael- 

 mas daisies may still have a few blooms left, 

 but they will have a poor colour, owing- to the 

 shortness of the day and dull weather. 



The border should now g-et a thoroug^h 

 cleaning-, all old flower stems and foliag^e 

 cleared away, and it should be made as neat as 

 possible for the winter. If the border is not 

 mulched this should be done as soon as pos- 

 sible, forking over all spaces to make it look 

 nice and neat. 



It is essential to divide phlox, Michaelmas 

 daisies, and many other herbaceous plants every 

 few years, as the individual blooms are in- 

 creased in size by doing- so. Some growers 

 prefer to do this work in November ; others, 

 with labour now available and in anticipation 

 of pressure during- the spring-, g-et this particular 

 work done during- the present month. If pos- 

 sible, however, it should be left over until 

 the young- shoots of the plants appear over 

 ground in the spring, when you can select nice, 

 healthy pieces around the outside of the old 

 plants. 



The present would be a good time of the 

 year to make a new herbaceous border. Select 

 a nice situation facing south or south-west ; 

 if possible the site should be provided with 

 ornamental shrubs as a background. If the 

 site requires draining this work should be done 

 first ; then thoroughly manure and trench the 

 soil. If it is not intended to plant until spring 

 this work should be done roughly, and left in 

 that state until then. In the meantime the 

 action of the air will improve the texture of the 

 soil, reducing it to a fine tilt, and thus render it 

 more fit for planting operations in the spring. 



Frank Hudson. 



ft^* ^* C^^ 



New Zealand Flax (Phorminm tenax), often culti- 

 vated in these islands as an ornamental g-arden plant, 

 is grown to a larg-e extent as a field crop in its native 

 country. In the year 1S06-07, 29,040 tons of the fibre 

 obtained from this plant were exported to Europe 

 and America for the manufacture of ropes and twine. 



Some Autumn Flowering 

 Plants. 



By W. Davidson, Carton Gardens. 



THE spell of brig-ht weather experienced during- the 

 early part of last month did much to enhance the 

 appearance of our late flowering plants. The 

 herbaceous borders presented a very pleasing- aspect, 

 and some notes on our indispensable autumn g-ems may 

 not be amiss at this time. 



The helianthus is well known as one of our best late 

 flowering perennials, and mention need only be made of 

 one variety — "Miss Mellish." This variety has larg-e 

 duplex flowers of a brigfht orang-e-yellow colour, and 

 usually grows to a heigfht of about six feet. For this 

 acquisition to our borders we are indebted to Mr. 

 Mallender, g-ardener to Miss Mellish, of Hodsock Priory. 

 He it was who discovered the plant gfrowing- in a way- 

 side g-arden, and, recog-nising^ its value, g;ot possession 

 of it, and had it named in honour of his employer. This 

 plant fig-ures larg-ely in at least one of those picturesque 

 cottag-e g-ardens by the Strawberry Beds. 



The heleniums are closely allied to the helianthus, 

 and are equally well known. The best autumn variety 

 is undoubtedly H. autumnale grandijloriim, a very 

 effective plant with clear yellow flowers. H. autumnale 

 superbmii, is also good, and is not quite so tall, being about 

 five feet high. There is a recent addition H, nntuviuale 

 cupreum but it flowers somewhat earlier, and mig-ht 

 be termed a summer-flowering- variety. This plant 

 g-rows two feet higfh, and the flowers are orange, shot 

 with crimson bronze. 



The perennial asters or Michaelmas daisies now 

 occupy a very prominent place in all hardy flower 

 borders, and this is not to be wondered at when one is 

 privileg-ed to see a good collection of those handsome 

 plants g^rouped together in a sunny position, and all 

 clothed with their clouds of dainty and brig-htly coloured 

 flowers. Aster lindleyanj<s, thoug-h one of the earliest 

 to come into flower, is worthy of mention, as it brig-htens 

 up the herbaceous borders for a considerable time. At 

 Carton it is g-rown at intervals, in g^roups of about 

 eig-ht plants, near the edge of the borders, and allowed 

 to grow tc) the front without staking- ; and it seems 

 specially adapted for this mode of cultivation. The 

 plants are literally smothered in a profusion of small 

 china-blue flowers. 



In the novai-ang-lice section, Ryecroft Pink and Rye- 

 croft Purple are two strikingfly handsome varieties. 

 They attain a height of four feet. 



The novi-belgii section contains many splendid late 

 flowering- sorts, of which D. B. Crane (3 feet), with 

 flowers of mauve and rose ; F. W. Burbidg^e (4 feet), 

 with heliotrope-coloured flowers ; May Crum (5 feet), with 

 pale lavendar and white flowers ; Perry's Pink (3J/2 feet), 

 a pretty shade of rose pink ; and William Marshall 

 (4 feet), with larg-e flowers of an exquisite mauve shade 

 are among-st the best. 



Of course no autumn display is complete without a 

 g;ood show of kniphofias, and when planted in bold 

 groups in the borders they have a most pleasing- effect 

 during- the autumn months. 



Nearly all the varieties of the "Red-hot Poker " are 

 autumn flowering- subjects. " Chloris " is a valuable 

 late bloomer. 



" Triumph" has been recog-nised by the Royal Horti- 

 cultural Society, and is likely to become pcipular. It 

 has spikes of deep yellow flowers. 



The larg-e bed of kniphofias on the sloping bank of 

 the lake in the Phoenix Park Gardens has been much 

 admired this autumn. Viewed from the east end of the 

 lake, just at sunset on a beautifully clear evening- towards 



