THE GARDEN

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 56, Issue 100, 8 February 1936, Page 3

THE GARDEN

ROUTINE WORK. (AVritten for the “ Guardian ” by J. A. AloPherson, N.D.H., N.Z.) The Greenhouse. As streptocarpus finish flowering pick off all seed heads and stand the pots outside in a cool flame. Pot cinerarias into three-inch pots and sow a second batch of seed. Prick off calceolarias into boxes of sandy soil. Alyosotis, Dell is daisies, and Canterbury bells must be pricked off and stood in the shelter of a cool frame. All bulbs of tulips, narcissii, and hyacinths required for forcing must be potted immediately and the pots plunged outside in beds of ashes. Begonias now in full bloom will last into the winter if kept fed with liquid manure. Remove all basal and side shoots from chrysanthemums and syringe the foliage each day with clear water. Ripen off achemenes by placing the pots and baskets in an outside frame and gradually withholding water supplies. The Flower Garden. Take advantage of dry weather and lift any narcissii requiring shifting. A heavy rain will start them rooting. Remove all spent bedding plants and concentrate the water and feeding on those subjects required for autumn display. When lining out wallflowers in dry weather, plant them jn shallow drills, thus giving the seedlings protection from drying winds. Finish the replanting of irises as soon as possible. Removing excessive buds on Chabaud carnations is necessary for the production of good cut blooms. Trim lavender hedges. Surface rooting shrubs are feeling iho drought and after watering should be given a heavy mulch of rotted leaves or decayed stack bottom. The Vegetable Garden. Sow seeds of cauliflower and cabbage to provide plants for. setting out in iho •spring. Yellow fleshed turnips may still be sown for early winter use. Keep attacks of the diamond-hacked moth in check by spraying all seedling hrassica crops with arsenate of lead. Make sure to spray the under sides of the leaves. Encourage asparagus to produce good foliage, but take care to collect any seeds that fall. Transplant silver beet, when thinning out the main rows. During very dry weather only the cool parts of the garden, not shaded by overhanging trees, can he used to keep up supplies of salad crops such as lettuce, onions, and radishes. Bulbous Irtees—Spanish, Dutch, and English. The bulbous irises are most useful for general garden display besides being much sought after as cut flowers during a period of scarcity when spring flowers have passed and there is a decided gap till summer plants commence to bloom. They are easily handled and prefer a light open soil, being planted four inches apart and at least three inches deep. If it is intended to leave them in the ground for three years instead of lifting them annually, then a spacing of six inches should be lett between each hull).

A constant supply of bloom over a period of live weeks can be had by planting the three types, for they come into bloom in the following order —Dutch, Spanish, then English. Bulbs can be procured now and planted any time up till the end of April. Lily of the valley. Overcrowded beds of Lily of the Valley should he given an overhaul after the first rain permits of general planting operations. Overcrowded beds soon produce all leaf and very little flowers, so that periodically (usually every fourth year) a new bed should be planted and when this is well established the old bed may be discarded. Good rich soil preferably in a shady spot but free from the roots of hungry trees will suit the plants best. The strongest and largest crowns should be chosen and groups of these planted a foot apart with just a light covering of soil over the top. Lily of the Valley responds very quickly to good treatment and summer cultivation, too oltcn overlooked during the rush of other work, consists of dressing the bed, with a light layer of rotted leaves or well-rot-ted stable manure. if the weather becomes very dry when once the planes have finished blooming, copious supplies of water must be given, lor the leaves have the work of building up strong flowering crowns for the next season. The forcing of retarded crowns will ho dealt with later under the greenhouse notes, hut in passing it is as well to hear in mind that supplies of these must he ordered from the nurserymen well in advance, on account of the supplies having to come from abroad. A Good Ribbonwootf. Flowering at the present time is one of the best of our medium-sized native trees. From top to bottom the branches of Hoheria sexstylosa are loaded with white blossoms, which, sitting among the shiny serrated and lanceolate leaves make a very fine picture in many gardens. This ribbonwood is very easy of cultivation and lasts longer on slightly heavy soils than on dry sandy ones. In tho latter situations it ; s not a very long lived tree, being liable to die hack on account of drought and also by being attacked by a small scale (possibly a native one). When well grown there is no finer tree for the small garden, and being a fairly quick grower any sickly specimens can he quickly replaced. The best time to

transplant ribbonwoods is in late winter to early spring. 'During the first season it is as well to pay attention to watering till the roots have a good hold of the soil. Lawns and Drought. Many good lawns have suffered this season on account of the continued dry weather. All that can be done at the moment is to keep pouring on the water in order to hold every root. It is useless trying to renovate or even feed a lawn this weather, in fact much harm can be done by attempting surface feeding unless there is an abundance of water to allow frequent flooding of the whole surface. It is quite noticeable at the present time how white clover, and particularly yarrow (Achillea millefolium), where growing in the lawn are quite green, and help considerably in reducing the otherwise parched look. Both these plants should always be included in mixtures for sowing down dry banks and outer areas of garden lawns. Besides being a drought resister, yarrow wili stand hard wear and should be sown along stretches where foot traffic quickly wears out the grass.