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JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
June  21,  1900, 
other  day,  when  walking  through  a  nobleman’s  garden,  I  observed 
some  gnarled  old  relics  of  the  comnion  white  Hawthorn,  resplendent 
with  pearly  “May”  blossoms,  I  learned  that  many  years  ago,  when 
the  hedges  in  the  fields  were  broken  up  to  form  the  garden,  Thorns 
here  and  there  were  left  standing  for  the  sake  of  their  flowers,  and 
to-day  they  remain  worthy  ornaments  of  the  garden,  though  only 
trees  of  the  hedgerow;  and  I  venture  to  assert  that  if  the  scarlet  and 
crimson  Thorn  had  then  been  obtainable,  they  would  have  been 
represented  as  well. 
Just  now,  the  first  week  of  June,  the  garden  is  more  beautiful  than 
it  can  ever  be  again  this  year,  for  the  simple  reason  that  the  trees  and 
shrubs  are  blooming.  Our  bedding  plants  have  yet  to  come  on. 
Roses  are  only  in  bud,  and  there  is  a  succession  of  herbaceous  flowers 
to  carry  us  through  the  season  ;  but  just  now  the  trees  and  shrubs 
provide  the  show,  on  a  scale  gigantic  and  gorgeous.  1  will  not 
attempt  to  pirticularise  the  many  treei  and  shrubs  which  help  to 
make  the  garden  so  beautiful  at  this  season  of  the  year.  They  are 
common  most  of  them,  and  well  known,  though  one  is  at  a  loss  to 
understand  why  they  are  not  more  widely  planted. 
Take  the  Lilacs  for  instance,  purple  and  white.  They  have  long 
been  popular,  and  no  flowering  plants  are  more  worthy  of  a  place  in 
the  shrubbery  garden  than  these.  Charming  to  look  at,  sweet  to 
smell,  they  are  amongst  the  floral  gems  of  clofing  May  and  early 
June.  They  are  seldom  out  of  place,  and  are  adni'rably  suited  for 
planting  as  a  background  for  b  irders  of  herbaceous  plants  and  low 
ornamental  shrubs.  They  are  common  it  is  true,  and  so  is  many 
another  flower  that  is  altogether  indispensable. 
Then  there  is  the  yellow  Laburnum,  now  so  giy  with  flower. 
Could  any  pleasure  ground  be  considered  complete  where  it  is  not 
represented  ?  I  doubt  if  there  is  any  other  tree  so  effective  as  this 
when  clustered  with  its  bunches  of  goMen  yellow  blossoms.  Look  at 
it  in  the  distance  when  the  evening  sunlight  plays  on  the  blossoms* 
Let  a  bank  of  green  form  the  background,  with  a  sombre  Coni'^er  on 
this  side  and  that — the  golden  Laburnum  shines  out  from  its 
canopy  of  verdure  with  a  show  of  grace  and  splendour,  and  you 
realise  at  once  the  effectiveness  of  a  combination  of  flowering  and 
evergreen  trees. 
I  have  already  spoken  of  the  white  Hawthorn  which  is  allowed 
a  place  in  some  gardens,  and  is  now  beautifying  miles  of  hedgerows 
in  every  county.  Looked  at  from  any  point  of  view  I  doubt  if  we 
shall  find  any  tree  more  beautiful  when  in  full  bloom  than  the  wild 
Hawthorn  of  copse  and  woodland.  It  is  perhaps  because  it  belongs 
to  the  woodland  that  it  is  debarred  from  many  grrdens,  but  we 
have  the  double  crimson  and  pink  forms  now  full  of  blossom,  rathe)' 
more  aris’ocratic,  and  well  suited  for  garden  adornment.  Perhaps 
no  one  forms  a  shrubbery  border  nowadays  without  including  a 
few  of  these  double  Hawahorns,  and  I  should  like  to  see  more  of 
them.  The  bright  crimson  is  a  colour  quite  unique,  but  when 
planting  these  trees  there  should  be  no  crowding  up  in  corners  and 
places  where  there  is  no  room  for  expansion.  The  crimson  Thorn 
makes  a  fine  specimen,  and  when  standing  cut  alone  on  a  lawn 
or  elsewhere. 
Another  flowering  tree,  none  too  often  seen  in  shrubbery  borders,  is 
Pyrus  malus  floribundus.  Its  full  beauty  is  seen  just  before  the 
flowers  are  quite  expanded,  and  the  crimson  of  the  petal  tips  are  then 
seen  to  perfection.  The  blooming  cipacitios  of  this  tree  are 
remarkable,  and  this  possibly  keeps  it  from  developing  quickly  into  a 
large  specimen. 
I  would  say  a  word,  too,  in  favour  of  coloured  foliage  trees,  which, 
year  by  year,  become  more  popular.  There  is  still  too  much  sameness 
in  our  shrubberies,  and  we  want  more  colour  in  the  shape  of  Copper 
Beeches  and  Hazels,  Golden  Elders,  Acer  negundo  variegata,  and  the 
richly  tinted  Japanese  Maples.  These  and  other  coloured  foliage  trees  are 
now  bright  and  beautiful  in  their  summer  garb  ;  the  flowering  trees, 
of  which  I  have  only  mentioned  a  few,  as  well  as  the  large  family  of 
shrubs,  including  the  Rhododendrons,  Azaleas,  Berberises,  are  all  now 
playing  a  part  in  making  June  time  the  brightest  month  in  the 
garden  year. — G.  H.  H. 
Rock  Gardening. 
Many  of  the  lesser  but  most  beautiful  of  our  alpinesand  herbaceous 
plants,  whilst  growing,  perhaps,  fairly  well  in  the  ordinary  borders, 
never  appear  to  advantage  in  that  position,  and  without  constant 
curtailment  of  their  more  aggressive  neighbours  are  ofien  doomed  to 
disappear  in  the  struggle  for  existence.  Some  of  these  are  essentially 
rock  plants  whose  habitat  is  the  clefts  and  crannies  of  the  natural  rock ; 
others  are  so  eminently  adapted  to  the  same  associations  that  their 
claims  to  a  similar  position  may  well  receive  the  consideration  they 
deserve;  and  the  whole  comprises  such  variety,  interest,  and  beauty 
that  a  rock  garden,  even  of  the  simplest  kind,  forms  a  particularly 
pleasing  feature  in  any  garden. 
To  many  the  making  of  rockeries  is  contemplated  as  a  somewhat 
serious  matter,  one  not  to  be  lightly  undertaken,  hence  it  is  often  not 
undertaken  at  all.  Especially  is  this  the  case  with  those  whose 
artistic  taste  and  cultured  eye  beget  an  abhorrence  of  anything 
pertaining  to  a  sham  resemblance  of  Nature.  That  it  is  so  is  not  ^ 
matter  for  surprise  when  evidence  exists  of  ambitious  attempts 
resulting  only  in  glaring  absurdities,  as  ill  adapted  to  the  lowly  life  of 
an  alpine  as  the}'  are  to  adorn  a  garden,  and  the  initial  expense 
incurred  must,  ton,  be  included. 
In  rock  gardening  the  avelfare  of  the  plants  with  a  more  natural 
disposition  of  them  than  usually  obtains  should  be  the  first  c  msideration, 
and  the  simplest  arrangement  of  any  stones  peculiar  to  the  locality  is 
the  safest  and  most  satisfactory  means  to  the  end  in  view.  No 
happier  example  of  its  kind  could  be  seen  than  the  rock  garden  at. 
Mrs.  Gibson  B1  ick’s  pretty  residence,  Clontarf,  co.  Dublin.  It  must,, 
indeed,  prove  a  revelation  to  many  whose  acquaintance  with  the 
subject  is  practically  limited  to  the  orthodox  planting  in  bed  or  border. 
Some  considerable  portion  of  an  old-fashioned  garden  has  here  been 
devoted  to  the  subject;  and  though  the  whole  may  be  seen  at  a  glance 
on  entering  the  enclosure  formed  by  a  th  ck  hed^e  on  one  side,  and  a 
wall  on  the  other,  hours  may  bo  spent  in  wandering  through  the 
informal  w.ilks  which  intersect  the  spacious  area  forming  such  a 
brilliant  coup  d' ceil  at  the  time  of  oar  visit. 
It  was  the  time  of  Tulips,  Gesneriana,  and  macrospeila  in  glowing 
misses  of  colour  being  conspicuous  in  the  background  of  the  rock- 
bound  beds,  whilst  ever  and  anon  clumps  of  the  (lUre  self-coloured 
Darwins  enlivened  the  scene.  The  exact  width  of  these  informal 
beds  cannot  be  given,  but  they  appeared  to  be  of  such  dimensions  as 
facilitated  the  operation  of  weeding  from  either  side  without  treading 
upon  them.  Beyond  an  occasional  weeding  a  rock  garden  of  this 
description  when  once  formed  and  planted  appears  to  involve  no 
further  labour  save  such  labours. of  love  as  are  entailed  by  the  intro¬ 
duction  of  newcomers  to  the  happy  family,  or  some  little  attention  to 
particular  favourites.  The  edgings  to  the  beds  are  formed  by  stones 
keeping  within  bounds  the  soil  raised  above  the  level  from  1  to  2  feet, 
through  which  other  stones  are  irregularly  distributed. 
At  the  time  of  our  visit  the  prostrate  growing  Phloxe.i,  repre¬ 
sented  by  P.  Nelsoni,  P.  frondosa,  and  others,  were  sheets  of  bloom, 
v/hilst  similar  habited  plants  comprising  Sixifragas,  T  ymuses,  the* 
lesser  Campanulas,  with  many  choice  alpines,  often  appearing  to  exist 
only  on  sufferance  elsewhei'e,  formed  undulating  cushions  of  luxuriant 
health  and  surpassing  beauty,  to  those  at  least  who  love  these  floral 
gems.  Though  irrelevant  to  our  subject,  mention  must  be  made  of  a 
large  specimen  of  the  Magnolia-leaved  Laurel  seen  in  the  pleasure 
grounds,  but  other  objects  of  interest  apart  from  it  are  reserved  for 
future  notice.  In  a  momentary  return  to  the  text,  some  choice  bits 
of  alpines  must  be  noticed  which  have  been  comfortably  accommodated 
with  pockets  on  the  cool  side  of  an  old  wall.  The  pleasure  of  our 
visit  was  much  enhanced  by  the  intimate  knowledge  of  the  subject 
displayed  by  Mr.  Hum%  Mrs.  Black’s  able  gardener,  and  further  still 
by  the  company  of  a  friend  who  dearly  loves  an  argument  over  such 
matters  in  which  he  is  keenly  interested,  but  who  had,  fortunately*, 
left  his  shillelagh  at  home. — K.,  Dublin. 
