THE GARDEN.

Shannon News, 24 February 1925, Page 4

THE GARDEN.

The garden is a riot of glorious colour, masses of bloom attract the eye in every conceivable shade. This is a month of many competitive flowers, whe'n nature in lavish mood showers her'treasures into the arms of the gardener. Bright-masses of Tritoma,, Liiiums and Montgretias grace the shrubbery and herbaceous borders. The irose trees have thrown out numerous young shoots of second growth, which are laden with bloom giving the borders a gay appearance. Beds of Zinnias and Marigolds are wonderfully attractive, withstanding the summer heat with heads that never droop.

Noble spikes of Delphiniums and Gladioli are still to be seen, with groups of graceful Thalictrum, massed 1 " effects of Gaillai-dia, Cannas and Dwarf Nasturtium are glorious providing a wealth of colour. Beds of Phlox prummondi and Petunias are bright with bloom,, while the charming Lobelia provides masses of fascinating blue shades.

Handsome Hydrangeas in blue, pink, and white shades, from an attractive feature of the garden, pro- , o oom over a long period. Those who are fortunate in having plenty of space with a background of evergreens, will find combinations of Tritoma (commonly known as Red Hot Poker) Montbretias the variety known as Star of the East for preference, and the handsome dark leaved varieties of Cannas, choosing those which produce ora'age flowers, these suitably grouped provide a wealth of dazzling colour. ov • a very long period, which never fails to delight the eye. , MLIUMS. A walk through the garden, discloses the fact that the Lilium reigns supreme, seeming to rise resplendent, triumphant, all conquering over all. The Lilium is a conservative flower, and does not spend all her varieties at once, commencing with the wejl known Lilium Candidum (better known as the Cottagers White Madonna lily ,also often erroneously called Christmas Lilies.) The true Christmas Lily is Lilium Karisii, blooming a little later than Candidum with long white trumpet shaped blooms, sweetly scented,, this variety is also known as St, Joseph's Lily and grows from one to two feet in height. Lilium Croceum usually follows known as the Cottagers Orange Lily, which when well grown is very showy attaining a height of from five to seven feet, with a large quantity of flowers on each stem, of bright orange with brown spots. Another charming variety is Brownii with handsome trumpet shaped flowers nearly ten inches in length,, the outside colouring of the petals is a soft chocolate, "while the inside is pure white, the tips of the petals showing a slight reflex, with long golden brown anthers completing the centre. This Lily is easily grown, both for borders and pots. Another beautiful Lily not so well known is Sulphureum, which was originally introduced from Upper Burmah, bearing handsome trumpet shaped flowers nine inches long and deliciously fragrant, the petals gracefully curling over. The outside of the flower is creamy flushed with rose, while the inside is creamy white shading down to yellow, with beautiful yellow anthers, the foliage is also an attractive feature, the leaver being numerous and very narrow, giving the plant an elegant appearance. The speciosum varieties (commonly called Japanese lilies) comprise a remarkably beautiful section; the blooms are large, handsome, with an outspreading tendency, and last a long time in water. The variety named Kraetyiri has lovely pure white flowers with dark orange anthers, melpomena is one of the richest-coloured of the group, very beautiful with dark crimson flowers, heavily spotted with purplish crimson and margined with white. / Roseum has a white ground with delicate light rose spots, and is very pretty, rubrum also has a white ground but is suffused and heavily spotted with crimso"a.

Types of umbellatum (of European origin) are very effective when grouped in shrubberies. Their blooms are large and handsome, with colourings of orange, orange scarlet, and crimson predominating. Then there are the attractive tiger lilies from China and Japan. Lilium tigrinum is among the best known, with showy brilliantorange flowers, heavily . spotted with black. Tigrinum flore-plen is a double variety, of sturdy growth, the long stems carrying from thirty to forty blooms, with colouring similar to tigrinum. Tie well known lilium auratum (the white golden rayed crimson spotted hill lily of Japan) is about the last to bloom, and should be called the Queen of lilies. Auratum grows from four to six feet i'a height, is easily grown and perfectly hardy. Growing in the shrubbery among rhododendrons, or along the margins of evergreens, in masses, they produce a grand effect, a situation where they do remarkably well, being sheltered from cutting winds and screened from the hot mid-day sun, rilling the air with subtle, fragrant perfume. What to Grow under Trees.

Owners of small gardens who wish to utilise all available space for the cultivation of flowers, will find many shade loving plants that do extremely well beneath or near the shade of trees. The beautiful perennial helleborus, also known as Christmas rose, is partial to shade, and grows into lovely compact clumps with dark glossy green l'oliage.bloommg i'a the late winter and early spring months. Cyclamens also do well; it is a mistake to think these bulbs' only grow in pots for greenhouse or window decoratio'n. Under trees they do and look well flowering continuously; anemones will respond in a shady place providing blooms with extra long stems, all varieties of primulas may bu grown with success.

Among the primulas is a lovely little fringed variety of the well-

known malacoides type. The flowers are a pretty pink colour and delicately fringed, a phenomenon which has not yet appeared in the malacoides section. This fringed appearance greatly enhances the attraction of the plant which goes under the name of primulas malacoides fimbriata. Varieties of thalictrum. violets, primroses, forget-me-nots, cineraria honesty,,! wallflowers (the latter grow somewhat straggly in appearance but bloom well). In suitable spots drifts of golden daffodils may be naturalised in the grass, planted so as to just clear the shade from the long over-hanging branches. Most of the yellow trumpet varieties do well naturalised in the grass, giving a lovely appearance in early spring.