790 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
August 11, 1888. 
GardeningNotes from Ireland. 
Newstead. 
Newstead, near Black Bock, co. Dublin, is the 
residence of L. G. Watson, Esq., and has long been 
famous at exhibitions of the Royal Horticultural 
Society of Ireland, for the excellence and variety of 
its stove and greenhouse plants. Few of the plants 
grown in this place ever attain the size which is 
generally associated with what used to be known as 
“specimen plants,” the accommodation, as well as 
what I consider a properly cultivated taste for robust 
dwarf-growing plants, forbidding the growth of large 
specimens ; and therefore many good plants, when 
they outgrow their space, have to be discarded, younger 
ones of course being grown on to take their places. 
Judging from late experience, it would appear that 
either taste or necessity is driving us to regard the 
exhibition, at our horticultural shows in Ireland, of 
medium well-grown stove and greenhouse plants, as 
the right thing to do. However, to whatever the 
cause may be attributable, I think it is a move in the 
right direction, for although in some cases it may 
require a great deal of manipulation to keep a large 
plant in a presentable state for exhibition, few 
gardeners will deny that it is In the cultivation of 
medium-sized plants for show purposes, that the 
sterling knowledge and skill of the grower is brought 
out. For the growth of plants of this description, 
both for flowers and foliage, Mr. Flynn, the gardener, 
has in a long range of years succeeded in placing him¬ 
self in the foremost rank of plant growers in Ireland, 
and his reputation in that respect has been well earned 
and highly deserved indeed. The first house I entered 
contained a miscellaneous 
Collection of Stove Plants, 
Which included variegated-foliaged, and a few flower¬ 
ing plants, Orchids and Ferns. Among the coloured- 
foliaged plants were some beautifully marked and 
well-grown Caladiums, Crotons, Dracrenas, &c. There 
were some seedling plants of the latter, the result of 
careful crossing, and from which Mr. Flynn expects 
some line varieties, the young plants already giving 
good promise of some interesting and unusual markings. 
In this collection was a.very good plant of Draciena 
Goldieana ; its cordate-ovate leaves, although some¬ 
what irregularly marked, makes it a very conspicuous 
object among other plants, and it is probably the 
finest of all the Dracaenas. There were various forms 
of Crotons, one very good one being Baron Rothschild. 
Ferns and Orchids. 
These included many of the best exhibition kinds, 
such as Nephrolepis, Davallias, kc. Among the latter 
there were two handsome plants of D. Fijiensis and 
D. plumosa. The most remarkable plant to be seen 
here is a grand specimen of Todea superba, which is 
said to be the largest plant of the kind in Ireland. It 
is growing in a large pan, and, together with some 
other smaller-growing Ferns, occupies a small house to 
itself. This plant has produced twenty-five fronds this 
year, is fully 6 ft. across, and has all the appearance of 
being robust and healthy. Of 
Orchids, 
Only a few choice and useful sorts are kept, such as 
Coclogyne cristata (in large pans), Dendrobiums, 
Cattleyas, &c. There were two fine specimens of 
Yanda suavis and Y. tricolor, the latter being very 
remarkable for its vigorous growth. 
Achimenes. 
It would be very difficult to meet with so fine a lot of 
these plants as Mr. Flynn had in flower. They were 
rather on the wane at the time of my visit, but they 
carried sufficient bloom and showed enough freshness 
to indicate what they looked like a few weeks ago. 
These plants were intended for exhibition, but they 
came in too late. 
A GCOD DlSA GRANDIFLORA. 
I thoeght a plant of this exhibited lately at the Bray 
Rose Show by Mr. D'Olier, from near Bray, was the 
best I had ever seen, and certainly the finest I was 
likely to see for some time, a good many of them 
having come under my notice recently. 'Well, this 
plant of Mr. Watson’s is an equally fine one, carrying 
as it does nineteen to twenty flower-stems. As cool 
treatment suits this Orchid best, it is strange we do not 
see more of it ; but no doubt many people are deterred 
from having this plant, owing to the difficulty 
formerly experienced in growing it. 
A New Pitcher Plant. 
There is a new variety of Nepenthes to be seen here, 
and which it is said was raised in England ; but it is, 
I believe, not yet in the hands of the trade, nor has it up 
to the present time received a name. To the eye of 
the ordinary observer it is noticeable for two things : 
it is of very sturdy habit, and its pitchers are larger 
than any usually to be met with, and they are also 
produced freely. There can be little doubt that 
admirers of these plants will find in this new one a 
very valuable addition to their collection. 
The Bedding. 
This, as well as the other horticultural departments, 
is somewhat limited in extent, but owing to the low 
temperature of the season is not at all at its best. 
"White edging is chiefly done here with a variegated 
Scrophularia vulgare, and well it looks when kept in 
the place it was intended for. For a dark edging there 
is a plant used which is new to me ; it is called 
“ Dracaena Beet,” and is, I think, the finest and best 
coloured of any of the Beets hitherto used for this pur¬ 
pose. As compared with the others it is devoid of 
coarseness, and only requires sowing at the proper 
time to keep it from starting to seed ; it should not, 
therefore, be sown before the middle or end of April. 
General Observations. 
A stranger seeing the plants from this place staged 
at an exhibition could imagine they came from a place 
of only suburban dimensions, and such is the fact, not¬ 
withstanding that many, no doubt, have associated the 
Newstead horticultural successes with a place of much 
greater extent. Under such circumstances to win 
honours is highly creditable to the gardener, Mr. Flynn, 
as well as being very satisfactory to his employer. 
Shrubs : Rhus Cotinus. 
I lately met with a plant of Rhus Cotinus, or Yenetian 
Sumach, in full flower. I notice it now, as I believe 
the plant is seldom met with, and therefore an oppor¬ 
tunity of seeing it in bloom is not often afforded. Its 
appearance at this stage is very remarkable, the flowers 
being so abundant that not a leaf is visible. The shrub 
I am alluding to stood about 6 ft. or 7 ft. high, and at 
a distance looked like an enormous feather, with a 
tinge of pink colour running all through it. It is a 
native of Southern Europe, and was formerly used as a 
dye-wood, producing what is known in commerce as 
“young fustic.” I am not aware of its being used so 
still, but it is well worth growing in a shrubbery. 
Copper Hazels and Aucubas. 
For an attractive piece of colouring, the proper arrange¬ 
ment of these two shrubs is very effective. If rising 
ground is selected to plant on, the effect will be still 
greater, and they should be always kept well in front, 
and never allowed to overgrow the Aucubas. In like 
manner young Copper Beeches can be used through 
Golden Elders, variegated forms of Euonymus, and 
Escallonia rubra. In some cases many of the highly- 
coloured Japanese Maples can be substituted for Copper 
Beech. All this is done with very good taste in the 
St. Stephen’s Green grounds, and although one can see 
that the accommodation for wintering summer beddin» 
plants is not equal to the requirements of the place, 
still it is looking very well indeed. 
Carpet Bedding at St. Stephen's Green. 
This is also very well done here. One design was well 
worked out on a piece of ground in Grass, and which 
was sunk 2 fr. below the surrounding level. The whole 
design was formed of three beds, the two outer ones 
being exact duplicates of each other. What I shall 
say, therefore, of one of these latter may be taken as 
referring to both. I shall first attempt a description of 
the centre bed, but which I feel must fall very far 
short of the impression that would be left on the mind 
by a glance from the eye. The design of this centre 
bed is a series of links or egg-shaped circles in the 
centre, around which is drawn a bold and well-defined 
circle of Echeveria secunda glauca, and from this circle 
or line is started to the outer encircling line a regular 
series of star rays, the outer lines of the rays enclosing 
within them other lines of rays. The centre plant of 
this bed is a Canna, around which is a centre piece of 
green Sedum, and to this is attached as it were a series 
of links before alluded to. Each of the links have 
a band 4 ins. wide of Alternanthera for the 
outer line, the centre being filled in with Cerastium 
Biebersteinii, and the small spaces left between the 
links planted with green Sedum, the whole enclosed 
with a circular line of Echeveria secunda glauca. From 
this circle is started the double line of star rays, the 
outer lines of the inner rays—as in the case of the links 
—being done with bands of Alternanthera, and the 
centres filled with Cerastium, while the outer lines of 
the larger rays are worked with green Sedum. By 
running a line of Alternanthera aurea in between the 
green Sedum and the bronze Alternanthera, a very 
pleasing blend of colour is effected, and the beauty of 
the whole is still further enhanced by planting small 
circles of Echeveria Peacockii in the spaces at the 
points where the star rays are started from the centre 
line of Echeveria. As will be seen, very few species or 
varieties of plants are used in this bed, yet the colouring 
is good, and all is brought out with pleasing dis¬ 
tinctness. Occupying a position on each side of this 
star bed were two large circular beds, both being 
designed alike. This is simple enough, and yet its 
effect is very good. Four large figures of the letter S 
facing each other divided the whole bed into spaces 
representing a large bell. The S figures are planted 
with broad belts of bronze Alternanthera, the remainder 
of the bed being filled in with green Sedum, the bell 
figures having small circles of Golden Feather let into 
the green, so that the bed had the appearance of a 
carpet with a green ground, having the bronze figures 
and yellow rings worked into it. The whole design, 
including the centre and end beds, is effectively done. 
A Mixed Flower Border. 
I wonder whether it ever occurs to people who require 
plenty of flowers in variety, to try a border of mixed 
hardy herbaceous and summer-flowering plants ? The 
flowers to be had on such a border at the present time, 
if the size of the border be in any way commensurate 
with the demand, is simply enormous. I saw one such 
lately, and I was surprised at all the good things to be 
had just now. In the background were lines of single 
Dahlias, of which enough is had for cutting, and 
plenty remaining as well for outdoor decoration. 
Then there were lines of numerous varieties of Pinks, 
all bending down with their wealth of blooms, and 
interspersed with numerous other herbaceous-flowering 
plants, which I need not particularise here. The front 
portion of the border was devoted to groups of various 
kinds of zonal Pelargoniums, each being planted 
distinct, some having Gladiolus dotted among them. 
Equal-sized clumps of Begonias, Fuchsias, Gladiolus, 
and other plants were run the whole length of the 
border, and the profusion of bloom all over the whole 
was something admirable, without taking into account 
its value for indoor decoration. If work like this were 
taken in hand and judiciously worked out, there is no 
season of the year when flowers, more or less, could 
not be had.— W. D. 
--- 
FLOWERING STOVE PLANTS.—I. 
The cultivation of a collection of stove plants requires 
a great amount of skill to bring them to perfection, 
more especially the flowering section of the different 
species that come under this heading. Stove plants, 
whether flowering or ornamental-foliaged, are always 
so very attractive to the majority of people visiting any 
of our public gardens, or any of the principal shows 
that are held during the summer months, that a few 
notes on some of the flowering kinds at the present 
time may not appear out of place. There are many 
good plants that are rarely seen at exhibitions, from the 
fact that they do not make good specimens of them¬ 
selves generally, or else they require to be planted out 
in a border with plenty of head room, before they can 
develop their flowers property. It is from this cause 
that many fine flowering subjects are excluded from 
the exhibition table, and consequently we see exhibited 
a repetition of the same plants season after season. It 
is only by visiting good plant-growing establishments 
and large public gardens from time to time that a 
glimpse of some good flowering subjects are obtained, 
for in nearly every collection there will be found some 
specialty particularly grown and brought to perfection 
independent of the general collection that surrounds it. 
The maintenance of a good growing temperature, 
with an eye to the extermination of all insect pests as 
far as possible, are the principles that will generally 
lead to success in the growth of flowering stove plants, 
provided the necessary soil is used in which either to 
pot or plant out the object of cultivation. 
If we take the climbing and twining section first, 
and examine their merits, we shall find some very 
beautiful, chaste and curious flowers, and amongst the 
latter the 
Aristolochias 
Will claim a place. They are admirable plants for 
training against a pillar or rafter in a large stove, and 
their handsome foliage and free-blooming qualities 
should give them a place -in all large establishments- 
