covered with erect white sprays in September; 4dutilon Flower 
vitifolium, with its beautiful open lavender flowers; the red Effects 
Bottle-brush (Metrosideros), and a host of other trees and jn Wood 
shrubs. There is, for example, a noble tree of the Californian 
Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens), while smaller Conifers and 
deciduous trees are carefully planted. Fan Palms (Chamerops 
Fortunei), are doing well where protected from the wind, which 
destroys them more than cold, and have borne seed from 
which young plants have been raised. 
A wooded slope, thickly planted with treasures, rises on 
the farther side of the Vartry. To give sufficient light, the 
lower branches of the trees have been cut, and through the 
stems charming glimpses of blue hazy mountains are to be 
seen. Shrubs and herbaceous plants thrive in the semi-shade. 
In late summer, Phloxes, in shades of white, pink, and red, 
make a striking mass of colour under dark overhanging Oaks 
and Elms; the regular line, formed by their flowering heads, 
is broken by a group of Cordalines, with Roses falling in 
clusters from their stems. Asti/be Davidit, with fluffy spikes in 
which rose and flame colour blend, forms another brilliant group 
on the edge of a pool. It evidently appreciates its situation, and 
has seeded itself freely. At another turn of the path, a clump 
of bamboo relieves the exquisite pale blue flowers of Meconopsis 
Wallichit, and affords a different but not less pleasing effect. 
Hydrangeas, too, are seen at their best, in September; early 
kinds had been flowering two months. On the other side of the 
river the common Hydrangea decks itself with pink, while in 
the wood it grows near iron ore and changes to a marvellous blue. 
Some kinds are very intense in tone, telling strongly against 
dark evergreens, Bamboos with their fresher tints, or the deep 
31 
