Practical Gardening.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVI, Issue 62, 13 March 1915, Page 14

Practical Gardening.

Information and News for Amateur *% Professional

By DIANTHUS.

WOBK FOB THE WEEK. Seeds of nemesias and ten-week stocks should be sown at once. It is a good plan to make two or three sowings. Anemone seed should also be sown, if not already in. It is a great assistance to germination it seed beds are shaded; it does away with so much watering, and allows the top soil to be moist. •Sweet peas must receive atten- • tion. The early flowering varieties 1 should be in as soon as possible. The summer flowering varieties will also need to be sown in a few days, so everything should be properly prepared beforehand. Wallflowers, Canterbury hells, hollyhocks, delphiniums, and other such perennials may be sown at any time now. . A little cabbage and cauliflower, also a little lettuce seed, should be sown. If plants are procurable of these, plant a few out; it is a continuous fob keeping the table supplied, but it is a satisfying bobby. It Is not too late to sow another row of dwarf beans in a warm corner; -they may come to perfection. It is worth a trial anyway. Tomatoes must be kept sprayed, otherwise the caterpillar soon gets ahead of a man. Onion seed can be sown at any time now. Onions need a long sea-' son of growth. Tbis is a good time to get the hedges cut: it makes a garden look * much better when it is surrounded "by a neatly-trimmed hedge. Dahlias and chrysanthemums are claiming fnll attention Just now; what with disbudding and manuring and tying and staking it is one continuous round. We have almost forgotten that row of pansies yon Intended having: now is the time to sow the seed. The sooner the seed is sown the better, and It would have been still 'better if it had been sown last •month. Anyway, don't delay any longer. Now Is the time to run round with a notebook and to Jot down contemplated alterations. There are many little defects in a garden which can he seen now, but which cannot be altered until later on. Usually when the time comes the defects cannot be seen, and consequently f orcotten until nest .year, when they appear again. Carnation layers should be planted as soon as possible. The ground Is nice and warm now, and with the showers we have had lately the plants will soon get hold. Do not use any green stable manure for carnations: in fact, if the cronnd is in good heart none is better. Artificial* ««n *c supplied as T*. qnired. and are so much easier to handle. 5-.JJ GJULDIOU . CTJT.TOBE. .. Messrs. R. Wallace, of Colchester, the greatest authorities on gladioli, say regarding the culture of., .that - -flower:--!Tb"sun» up the I "culture" " {ot "the late flowering gladiolus) in a few words, we would say: Plant from March to May l in well-worked 6oil (in good heart but not heavily manured) at a depth of 3 to 5 inches, according to the lightness of the soil. If planted in dumps, place the corns 6 inches apart, but if in the reserve garden for tutting, plant in rows, single rows ai foot apart, or double rows 6 inches" apart, with a foot between each pair, placing the conns 4 id 5 inches apart in the row*. Give full 6un, hut do not let the ground dry out. Stake the plants against high winds. Dig the conns in late autumn on the arrival of frosts (there is no need to wait for the foliage to dry down) and store in a cool shed." That is *B the directions which a great expert .believes to be' necessary for success with the plants of which he knows most"' and with which he hopes his customers will do so well as to induce othem to grow gladioli.

MEDIC-HAI. HERBS. One of the minor effects of the war is the scarcity of certain drugs. To many toe days of the herbalist and the I growing of "simples" are things of the past, but apparently this is not so, for the Board of Agriculture for England has considered it of sufficient importance I to publish a leaflet for distribution upon the subject. Apparently -this is one ol the branches Of horticulture which has been allowed to slip into the hands of the Germans, although the English S°^i rUg ? and «■*-*•*• demand the highest prices. Increasing competition caused the acreage under ciritiva- ***%+£ 0016 more restneted. The outbreak of the war has now- changed all this, and , b^£w«J? lantß a r e bei *« rush «d with inqumes for supplies. Belladonna root went from 45/ per cwt in January, 1<914, & J ' £** CWt in Au S U6 *- Belladonna haves, the normal price being about 45/ to 50/ per cwt, are now unobtainable at 1/ per lb. Other stocks that are similarly affected are chamomiles, ojH dandelion, valerian, catchicum, «!S «' te "u e l' henbi ™-> •tarmontum and other "botanical herbs." One of the herbs which seem to be greatly

affected is "golden eeal," the nh_t:•'£_" which the fluid extracts of^hSiSJ and the alkaloids hydrastin* aikt fcSSj tinine are extracted. The prw tfu£ roots has risen from 5/ per _i i «2 to 20/ or more at present. "r_? :^2 difficulty with this plant i*. to 'fmSM proper conditions for im. mmmmaa-' ' .cultivation. Whether there w^'^l'ir, ! fiibility of New Zealand becos_«r« source of supply for any of JMiis open to question, but there at*^S 1 quantities of foxglove and o_j«r njS? wihidi are growing wild which- it ■ wS, >b e an advantage to be able to sapehTfc the materia medica. : ... --™* "--. PLANTING SWEET H_ 1» OTHER SEEDLINGS. Most people are very careful Via transplanting seedlings, as possible should be left on th^Mei '. Mr. W. J. Unwin, of Hiaten England), the well-known sweat t_Mt pert, disagrees utterly with this ife. He shakes off the soil whin plastics. Others go further and say: "y(be_l»i receive your plants you them thoroughly, either in ordinarysiaj""'" and water, with a little sulyhur Aim, or any good insecticide." ',: Th» eTsiSt 7 pions of these methods claim that "dais roots will take to the new aou tet*» 7 than those with old soil upon Him* There is, no doubi, : "a" good argument a favour of the practice, and H K'lis which could be followed with mesa* Of course, it must be understood tml thep lants need lifting just as eartt_"ty because although they recomWete tk» soil, to be washed off-the roots th» is not advocate the-loss of any nasi. . .... . . -: CLEOME BOtOU.

cleosce Roema. This is a plant which is -satj'.H'i seen, and yet it is one that V,<fl| growing. It grows about • 2ft m&jm2the heads of spider-like flowers' beautiful rose or flesh colour. The plant is raised from sesd,-y»lfl|7, should be sown in early spring is a 0m tered place. The p'lsnte mmmtt 9t planted in a light, rich asfl !_„"-"-$ warm position. . f. HAJLDT PEB-_nn___i I'M «■ BOBBEB.

Thalictrum DipterocarpumvaidrttjA Adiantifolium (known to many r «|:|!l' -hardy maidenhair") are, among-tna„*S valuable of our border plants^ajJ^'P!"'•the finest of the verbaseums i* Caledonia, V. Phoeniceum,. W"7itJ Olympicum are very fine indeed.. ,va last, by the way, runs to 6ft "ft&fSf:: 6i!very-downed leaves and y.ell <> .'|r ; 'SjS"7I should include as among *t?*7?yj? .-. useful .plants for bordehs also 'gygftS' gaillardia and coreopsis, 7.M?sßffi?7 daisies and perennial sunflowei*, ffjij white lilies, white and : .««^*vß!ffS- : delphiniums, dorohicun*, **" ; 'tß*2Ja&, phlox, ailkanet, gypsophila, pinke, pyret"iruii_, sjWgW Ja.p. anemone, columbine,: -TSBSfi ecbinop6. rud-beckia, Itipins, : **??£• and foxgloves, spiraea, 'pen.tsfti»&-**P bvetia, ecabious, red-liot nokef, • trplllg. . chrysanthemum max.., inula, . geum, and achillea , of these can bo obtained, and s,l '™'7" sown as soon as pweib'"?: it P<"°_?vJ treated, many c- '!i«u wHI iaks - next year. - 7-"■■*-V^^__wi