SOME IRISH GARDENS. 



253 



Bamboos grow luxuriantly ; we have about twenty-six varieties, 

 and some very large clumps of Arundinaria arislata contain several 

 hundred canes. One grubbed out last year contained over six hundred 

 canes, many of which were 26 feet long. 



A. racemosa has canes over 27 feet long. 



A fine piece of Phyllostachys nigra is usually much admired here. 

 It has canes 20 feet high and jet black and is very striking. 



Phormium tenax and its varieties all grow freely here near the sea. 

 Escallonias, under such conditions, make capital hedges — one near 

 the sea is 65 yards long, 10 feet high and 10 feet through. 



Fuchsia Riccartoni grows everywhere, and the dwelling-house 

 is almost covered with it. We clip it with the shears in the early 

 spring, and then let it run to flower as it pleases. It takes a thirty- 

 rung ladder to reach the top of the plants. In another garden we 

 have two hedges of this Fuchsia each about 100 feet long ; these 

 look very well in the summer. Tree ferns thrive and look very orna- 

 mental in a dell. Gunnera manicata makes bold clumps and enormous 

 leaves, the latter often more than 6 feet across. 



Other choice shrubs that do well here are Leptospermum scoparium, 

 L. Nicholsii, and L. Chapmani, Olearia semidentata, 0. chathamica 

 and 0. macrodonta. In late summer and autumn Hydrangeas make 

 a good show, the majority being of a beautiful blue shade. 



Kilruddery, the seat of the Earl of Meath, is situated near the 

 fashionable seaside resort of Bray. 



The estate is of great antiquity, having been a monastery con- 

 nected with the Abbey of St. Thomas the Martyr. Kilruddery is 

 derived from two Irish words meaning " The Church of the Knight/' 



On the suppression of the monasteries by King Henry VIII. the 

 demesne was presented to Sir William Brabazon, a distinguished 

 warrior of Anglo-Saxon lineage, and ancestor of the present owner. 



Many interesting remains of the monkish period are still discern- 

 able, although the ancient buildings have disappeared, "the most 

 noteworthy of these remains being the portion of the grounds known 

 as the Angles — a number of triangular areas divided and enclosed 

 by high hedges of Yew and Hornbeam, kept neatly trimmed, which 

 local tradition says were used by the monks for solitary meditation. 

 The present pleasure-grounds are extensive, comprising some thirty 

 acres of woodland, lawn, and flower garden. The latter is laid out 

 in the Italian style of intricate design, and extend from near the large 

 conservatory to the kitchen-garden. 



The conservatory is a large oval-shaped building, and, besides 

 the usual tree-ferns, palms, orange and lemon trees, contains some 

 very fine specimens of the sculptor's art. There is no lack of water 

 at Kilruddery — four large ponds besides small streams existing. 



Three of the ponds have a special interest. The two known as 

 the Long Ponds were in the time of the monks used as fishponds, 

 and doubtless many a good catch helped to furnish the larder of the 

 monks on fast-days. 



