THE GARDEN.

Auckland Star, Volume XXI, Issue 163, 12 July 1890, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE GARDEN.

(By Hortus.)

[Hortus is willing to answer any questions. Correspondents must give their full names and addresses, though not for publication.]

TO CORRESPONDENTS.

Macrocarpa Fences (" G-.T.").—You , could plant about fifteen inches apart. As thq trees grow trim the sides, so as to keep them in due form, and whenever the tops attain near the height you wish them to grow, these could then be cut back. One great thing in dealing with the macrocarpa as a fencing plant, is never to allow the shoots to make strong or hard wood before cutting back. I do not think that you could confine the hedge at tho bottom to two feet; but you could start to trim at that, and as tho fence gets older you would fmd that tho bottom would require a greater width. The best fences which I have seen of the macrocarpa had a width at the base of about four feet, and in trimming the tops were kept nearly round. This form seems to suit them better than the A shape.

Lifting C-stclamexs Out of the Open Border (" Amateur.")—lt woild not be safe to lift your plants and pot them now. The cyclamen is very tender to any interference with its roots while growing, and it would be impossible for you to lite and pot, now -without interfering with them. Your plauts should at tho present time be coming into flower, and. any interference with tho roots now would spoil any chance of them doing well this season. The best thing you can do is to allow them to flower where they are at present, and next season, if you wish to pot, have them lifted iust before they begin to show siarns of growing next autumn. At the same time, I would rather advise you not to lift them at all from tho border, but rather purchase a few youne plants now in pot, and start to grow them as pot plants. These young plants will do far better as specimens in another season than the old plants which have for a year or two been growing out in the open.

Foliage ("F.F.")— The reason oi! the palo-coloured foliage is caused by tho shading which your plants got by being continually kept in the room. Try and place them out in tlio open air whenever the weather is good. Leaves shaded from the light do not acquire tho same depth of colour as those more exposed. Gardeners take advantage of this fact by tying up or excluding from the light such foliage as they wish to blanch or get light in colour.

TMnning ana Pruning Evergreen Shrubs. In every garden that has been established for a few years there must always be a number of shrubs which will require to be thinned out or pruned back. Now the best time of the year for performing this work is early in the spring. Where the commoner varieties have to be entirely removed so as to give more room for the better ones to more fully develop,the removal should take place early, and then some of the plants may be used elsewhere. Where conspicuous blanks have been made by this thinningout the places can be easily filled up with one or two plants of geraniums or some similar plants, which can be taken away at any moment. Again, where any pruning has to be performed on permanent evergreen shrubs it ought always to be done either about the end of July or beginning of August, as by pruning at this period of the year the plants will 6oon recover. The rising sap of the spring will soon clothe them with new shoots and foliage,_ thus soon hiding the hideous effect which a severely thinned shrubbery sometimes necessarily possesses. In pruning shrubs 'always try and foreshorten the branches so that when pruned they will still present their natural habit, which is of all the best and prettiest habit for any plant to be trained or pruned to. Evergreen fences should also be cut or pruned back either the end of this or beginning of next month. These where they are to bo kept in moderate good order should be clipped at least twice a year, once during the early spring and once during the middle of the, summer or after the strong growth of the season is past. Hardy Annuals. Many of the hardy annuals are the best spring and summer nower3 which can be grown by our amateurs. They will give a handsome return for any labour expended upon them, but to expect them to grow and flourish without taking a little trouble, results in nothing but failure. !Now, I have always found that to sow annual seed out in the open border either during the winter or early spring has always been i more or less a failure, and I have no doubt many of my readers have experienced the same results. Many lay the blame upon the seeds, saying that they were bad, whereas in most instances it is not the fault of the seed. The cause in most instances is the slugs, which devour the young plants just as they come through the ground. How often has some cultivator sown a few • seeds, and for w.eeks almost every day anxiously looked to see whether or not they were going to come through the soil. Perhaps after a while he sees a few showing, and he thinks they are all right. A few days after he again goes to Bee how they are getting along, bub nothing of them is to be seen; they have disappeared,and he can't make it out. This disappearance is duo to the slugs having found them oub, and as nice tender annuals suit their taste better than food of older plants, consequently they devour them afc once and come back night after night to see if there is not Botne more coming through the greund, thus geHing every plant) as it germinates. Now, many of my readers will ask, bow is this to be avoided without going to an enormous expense and labour ? Whafe I have found to be a good plan istogetsome shallow boxes,anything over six inches deep will do. Into these boxes place about two or three inches of good soil. Let this almost dry before it is used, and afterwards sow the annual seed in rows. Every box- should ba able to have five, or six rows of seed sown in it. After the seed is sown the boxes can be placed on the verandah, or some other place where they will be off the ground, a fair amount of sun in fine weather. After the boxes have been placed where they are to stand, they should be watered and covered over with a pane of glass, the glass being slightly tilted up, so that sufficient air may get into the box. The after attention will only be to keep the soil in the box moisb, which can easily be done by lifting up the glass and giving water as the soil shows signs of becoming dry. It will nob take long for seeds to germinate under these circumstances, and whenever the young; plants have attained a height of aboub one inch the glass should be removed, so that they may grow up hardy. After the plants have grown to a height of about bwoinches, the boxes should be removed oub to an open part, where they will get plenty of weather. Here the plants will soon become as hardy as if they had been grown oub entirely in the open border, and can then be planted oub at the convenience of* the cultivator. While the plants are in the younger stages of their growth on the verandah, a stray slug or so may get ab them ; whenever bhetjleast sign of such makes its appearance, an instant search ought at once to be made, and it ia probable that tVio depredator -will be found under the box. If he ia not to be found there, a search ab nighb with a light will probably find him out feeding on bhe planbs. When they arrive ab a stage fib tor planting out, a lifetle patch of seedlings should- be lifted with a trowel, baking as much soil as possible with the roobe. These litble patches can be planted oub, burying the roots a litble deeper than what they were in the boxes. If the above system were followed out a little more extensively, our gardens during the early summer would present a much better appearance than what they have done in the past.

Vitality of Field and Garden Seeds,

The seeds of some vegetables lose their germinating powers much sooner than others. The following summary of the time that seeds may be kept and safely used can be relied upon if the seeds are.kept from excess of heat, air, or dampness: ■■j.: '.. , *<*«* Years. Artichoke ~ ..3 Lettuce ~ .3 Asparagus .. - ;. 4 Mangel wurtzel !' In ■ Balm 2 Margoram .. .. 4

Basil .. .. ..2 Marigold ■ , Bean (all sorts) .. 1 Melon.. " •,„ Beet 10 Mint .. " —X 9 Borage 4 Mustard " " I Broccoli ... ..4 Nasturtium " " 1 gurnet 6 Onions (fresh best)"' a Cabbage .. ..4 Paisley f Callabasli .. ..7 Parsnip • " ** ? Capsicum .. ..2 Pea "* " i Caraway .. .. i Pennyroyal " " 9 Carrot 1 Potatoes .. " f Cauliflower .. ..4 " in Celery 10 Purslane .'. " o Chamomile .. .. 2 Radish .. „, " % Cheroil.. .. .. 6 Rampion " " o Cives 3 Rape .. " \ Corn 3 Rhubarb ... ;/J Corn salad .. .. 2 Rosemary .. "3 Coriander .. ..3 Ruo .. .'. " o Cress 2 Ilutabago " a. Cucumber (2 and 3 Salsify .. .. \\ 3 year old best) .. 10 Samphiro .. "3 Dandelion .. .. 10 Savory ... "j 2 Dock 1 Scorzencra .. .! 2 Endive 4 Shalot .. .. ~ 4 Fennel 5 Skirret.. •.. "4 Garlic 3 Sorrel \ 7 Gourd 10 Spinach ... ... 4 Hop .. ™ -. 2 Squash.. „ ~io Horseradish.. .. 4 Tansy 3 Hyssop.. ... ... 6 Tarragon ... ..4 Kale 4 Thyme 2 Kale (sea) 3 Tomato .. ..2 Lavender .. .;. 2 Turnip 4 Leek .. .. -.2 Wormwood .. .. i

Wβ should bear in mind, however, that aU Beeds, except the cucumber and other vines, are best when fresh. Cut this oufe and preserve it in your scrapbook*-—" Sb. Louia Republic."