26 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
September 11, 1886. 
in large square boxes, and so arranged, they are manage¬ 
able, do not interfere with the Grape crops, and pro¬ 
duce besides a very useful crop of Figs, which by 
proper working may be had in succession. 
The Peach, Melon, and Cucumber bouses are in good 
order ; the frame-ground outside full of young stock, 
such as Pelargoniums for winter flowering and Den- 
drobium nobile hardening off, and the shelter outdoors 
for greenhouse plants reveals a very fine lot of Azaleas, 
Chrysanthemums (both late and summer-flowering), 
the fine old Sparmannia africana, the white and yellow 
Marguerites, winter-flowering Carnations, Kalosanthes, 
Bouvardias, a very large and healthy stock of Souvenir 
de la Malmaison Carnation, and many other good 
things, which prove that in the busy time of pleasure 
ground extension to provide for the future is not 
forgotten. 
The Kitchen Garden. 
This is well cropped, and, moreover, embellished 
with hardy flowers as far as possible. The Pears are 
very plentiful, Plums equally good, but Apples are 
scarce. Most other crops are fairly good, and the large 
beds of Onions are excellent. The three kinds grown 
here are Bedfordshire Champion, Giant Zittau, and 
Brown Globe, and all are of the best quality and very 
fine for keeping. Carrots, too, are of the very best, 
and Peas still hold out in the rows, which have been 
very productive. 
On turning from Kingswood Warren, we could not 
help saying that we had had the pleasure of inspecting 
a very good garden, and one which in a year or two 
promises to be even of more importance than it is at 
present. 
-- 
GLENSTAL CASTLE. 
Situated about eleven miles from Limerick, on the 
western side of the Keepler mountains, and standing at a 
considerable elevation amidst magnificent woodland 
scenery, is Glenstal Castle, the modern country residence 
of Sir Croker Barrington, Bart. I fear that no description 
of mine will give your readers anything like an adequate 
idea of the natural beauty of the landscape about 
Glenstal, which is approached from Limerick by way of 
Murroe. As soon as one enters the carriage drive 
through a very pretty lodge entrance emblazoned with 
the arms and crest of the Barrington farnilj 7 , the little 
lawn on either side of which is prettily ornamented 
with a tastefully arranged group of flower beds, 
as well as a few shrubs, with a little lake and 
rustic bridge dividing the lodge from the park, as far 
as the eye can reach for trees, is seen a large park, 
with trees promiscuously dotted about with an abun¬ 
dance of braeken growing on the undulating surface. 
The Park contains a quantity of deer who were basking 
in the sun by the side of one of the lakes that abound 
in it, the lake referred to being graced with some 
fine swans and the sun shining at the time of my 
passing them added much to the general appearance. 
After about half a mile of this naturally wild but 
beautiful scenery we pass through a gate, and are 
then within the garden boundaries, and note the stately 
growing Beeches, Chestnuts, Silver Firs, Oak, and other 
trees which form the background, with an occasional 
conifer on either side of the drive, whilst in front and 
forming an irregular outline are some magnificent 
clumps and borders of 
Scarlet Rhododendrons, 
Some of which must be from 15 ft. to 20 ft. in height. 
I have many times heard of the grandeur and perfume 
of these Rhododendrons whilst in flower, and could 
form some idea of what they must be like, as the groups 
extend fornearly a mile. When in flower they must 
be worth going some distance to see. Sir Croker 
Barrington very kindly invited me to see them, but I 
have not yet been able to do so whilst in bloom, but if 
I am so fortunate some season, I will endeavour to give 
your readers some idea of their beauty. Among the 
Rhododendrons are some clumps of Fuchsia Riccartoni, 
8 ft. or 10 ft. in height, and grand they looked, whilst 
more recently some other varieties have been planted, and 
which are making a good start. I have only given a 
description of one entrance, i.e., the one through which 
I passed, but I was told that the drive by way of 
Newport is superior to that leading to the Murroe gate, 
and in another direction is a large clump of Rhododen¬ 
drons, which Sir Croker informed me contained 100 
varieties of Waterer’s best seedlings. Altogether there 
is about four miles of walks through Rhododendrons, all 
of which are growing in the most satisfactory manner, 
and in the natural soil without any preparation. 
On passing into the open, we approach the castle by 
a circuitous route, and on the terrace, looking down upon 
us, are some mounted cannons, one of which came from 
Sebastopol. Leaving the castle to the left, we enter 
the spacious stable-vard and well-fitted stables and 
offices attached thereto. Again emerging into the 
garden—which it may be as well to state I need not 
have left only to get accommodation for my horse—and 
proceeding towards the flower and kitchen gardens, on 
the right is a miscellaneous shrubbery, particularly 
noticeable in which was Rhus cotinus, in nice bushes 
about 4 ft. in height, the golden Elder, a lot of Berberis 
in variety, Phillyrea, Bay Laurel, Box, with variegated 
Hollies, Retinosporas, and other dwarf growing things 
in front. Branching away to the right by a shady 
pathway, with woodlands on either side, we proceeded 
for some distance downhill to 
The Flower Garden. 
"Walks abound in various directions, and also seats in 
shady nooks ; and outside the garden from the main 
path for some distance is a rustic trellis covered with a 
climbing Rose. The flower garden is an oval in shape, 
with a gravel path running round about 25 ft. from 
the hedge which surrounds the enclosure. On this 
outside strip are mostly circular beds, each one of 
which is filled with one kind of plant only, such as 
Heliotrope, Mignonette, Nemophilamaculata, Anemone 
japonica alba, just commencing to open its flowers ; 
Schizostylis coccinea, Petunias, scarlet, white, and 
pink Pelargoniums, of each a separate bed ; whilst 
another bed is filled with a new white Foxglove. In 
or about the middle of the lawn, forming the centre 
portion of the garden, is a magnificent Cedar of Lebanon, 
and a little on one side is a large Picea that I did not 
recognise, but which is condemned, as it obstructs the 
view from the terrace. Irregularly placed are beds of 
various simple shapes, filled with zonal Pelargoniums, 
Roses, which have been a failure this year, the plants 
nearly dying; variegated Pelargonium Flower of Spring, 
intermixed with Viola cornuta, and with a suitable 
edging; bronze-leaved Pelargonium Marshal MacMahon, 
mixed with a white Viola, a seedling raised at Glenstal, 
very like Mrs. Gray 7 . A very noticeable bed of horse¬ 
shoe shape was filled with Tagetes signata pumila with 
Perilla nankinensis intermixed. Leaving the flower 
garden by the same gate as we entered, and bearing 
away to the left, we approach the castle by 
The Alma Walk, 
So called because it exactly corresponds with the 
manner in which our troops approached the heights of 
Alma ; and not by any means a bad idea, as in this 
direction it would have been impossible to have placed 
a walk unless steps had been formed so steep is the 
ascent. In front of the castle is the principal lawn, 
with an occasional conifer planted in it, of which Picea 
Nordmanniana and Pinus excelsa are the most stinking. 
Again entering the downhill path previously referred 
to, and about half a mile from the castle, is a bridge 
spanning a small rivulet leading to a lake, of which a 
good view is now obtained, and in the centre is seen 
a small island planted with Rhododendrons, whilst on 
the sides are Dogwood, &c. Just below the bridge is a 
large Gunnera growing most rampantly, and on the 
parapet of the bridge are several boxes filled with 
Pelargoniums, Lobelias, Mesembryanthemum, &c. 
Immediately after crossing, and at right angles there 
with, a path leads to the kitchen gardens, whilst the 
main walk leads to another part of the pleasure grounds, 
which is not kept up. In this part are many nice 
conifers, such as Cupressus macrocarpa C. Lawsoniana, 
Thuja Wareana, T. Lobbii, Pinus excelsa, P. insignis, 
Abies Pinsapo, A. Nordmanniana, Retinospora obtusa, 
and others. Dividing this pleasure ground is a wall 
with iron pallisades, against which many creepers are 
trained, and entering the principal walk we wend our 
way to 
The Kitchen Garden, 
Or rather gardens, for it is in four divisions arranged in 
terraces, each one having about a dozen steps leading to 
the next, which makes a very singular looking garden 
when viewed from the bottom. From one end to the 
other of the principal walk are flowers on either side, 
the two lower ones having ordinary bedding plants ; as 
for instance one of them had, as an edging Viola Pilrig 
Park, followed by Lobelia speciosissima, variegated 
Pelargonium Flower of Spring, succeeded by a row of 
scarlet zonals, followed by Pentstemons, and backed 
up with single Dahlias. The two top gardens have a 
mixture of herbaceous plants and hardy annuals, many 
of which were past their best at the time of my visit, 
but the following were all noticeable, some of them 
particularly so :—Achillea purpurea, Spiraea palmata, 
early-flowering Chrysanthemums, Hemerocallis flava, 
Godetias of sorts, Tradescantia virginica, Chelone 
speciosa, herbaceous Phloxes, Poppies, several clumps, 
particularly striking being a double white variety and 
a single scarlet, each petal having a black blotch ; 
Pentstemons, Potentillas, Saxifrages of the large- 
leaved type, Chrysanthemum Dunnettii fl. pi., and 
Schizostylis coccinea, which is here hardy. One of the 
borders is backed up by a hedge of Fuchsia Riccartoni, 
and the other by a row of Sweet Peas, and in front of 
the former border is a row of Lilium auratum, planted 
out in March last year, and a lovely sight they were ; 
on the largest I counted nineteen large flowers, not by 
any means discreditable even to a pot plant. Lilium 
speciosum, however, is not so good this season as last. 
I must not omit to mention a stately old Taxus 
baccata, which has weathered many storms, for it is 
said to have occupied its present position for 1,000 
years, and measures at about 3 ft. from the ground, 12 ft. 
in circumference, and spreads over 40 ft. of ground. 
It is but right to say that some of the branches have 
been broken otf by snow at different times ; its age 
seemed to me fabulous, but I was assured of its 
authenticity. It cannot be said to be vigorous, but is 
still growing sufficiently to make it an interesting 
object, and likely to be so for years to come. Bush 
fruits were abundant, but Apples and Pears are thin, 
with some exceptions on the wall trees. Returning to 
the lower kitchen garden we find 
The Glass Accommodation 
In some recently erected substantial glasshouses built 
by Messrs. Boyd, of Paisley, in those builders well- 
known style. We first entered a greenhouse gay with 
dwarf Balsams, Petunias, Tuberoses, and Begonias, &c. 
Fuchsias standing on the centre stage added much to 
the general appearance of the structure, and noticeable 
amongst them were two nice samples of the variegated 
variety Sunray ; Tropseolums, some nice Lilium 
auratums, Dracienas, congests, rubra, and australis. 
Carnation Souvenir de la Malmaison is particularly at 
home here; Francos appendiculata ; a nice collection of 
zonal Pelargoniums, of which Imogen was to me the 
best ; Kalosanthes coccinea, Vailota purpurea throwing 
up its flowers spikes; some nice serviceable sized 
Aspidistra lurida variegata, and a good plant of Lomaria 
gibba. Besides those mentioned were a variety of other 
things, all reflecting the highest credit upon the able 
head gardener, Mr. Hume. 
On the roof are some things starting well, particularly 
two Marechal Niel Roses, planted outside last March, 
and brought in through the brickwork, and a Tacsonia 
manieata ; whilst in one corner are about fifty Orchids, 
principally Odontoglossums, but I will pass them bye 
without saying more than it was quite plain that 
they did not present that happy appearance the other 
occupants of the house did—Lselia majalis excepted, 
which is doing well ; and better than one would think 
was Coelogyne cristata. This greenhouse is floored 
with a neat design of Minton’s fancy tiles. 
Leaving the greenhouse we enter the earliest Vinery, 
the feature par excellence at Glenstal from a cultural 
point of view. As I have previously stated this range 
is new 7 , and the Vines alluded to were only planted out 
in March 1S84, but right good use they have made 
of their time. Most noticeable are some good Muscat 
of Alexandria, which by this time are thoroughly 
finished off perfect in bunch and berry, the former 
ranging from 3lbs. to 51bs. in weight. "White Tokay 
is very fine indeed, and as here grown is a noble looking 
Grape ; Gros Colmar, not yet ripe, bears medium sized 
bunches and large berries, and, lastly, but not by any 
means least, is that oftentimes precarious variety, 
Golden Champion, with bunches weighing from 2 lbs. 
to 4 lbs., and in point of size, colour, and finish, far 
surpassing any I ever sarv, even at South Kensington 
or Regent’s Park shows, or, as a matter of fact, any¬ 
where. Passing on to the later house, I noted creditable 
examples of Black Hamburgh, Mrs. Pince’s Black 
Muscat, Lady Downe’s, and West St. Peter’s, most of 
them just commencing to change colour. 
The stove is also near at hand, a hip-spanned structure, 
just inside the door of which trained to the roof is a 
magnificently flowered plant of Passiflora quadrangu- 
laris, and other climbers are Stephanotis lioribunda, 
