RIOT OF COLOUR.

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 50, 1 March 1939, Page 9

RIOT OF COLOUR.

FLOWERS IN DOMAIN. I i i

REVEL IN THE DRY SPELL. I i ■

PATTERN BEDS PROMINENT.

Scarlets, pnrplee, bronzes and all the shades "and combinations in the spectrum compete with each other for attention in the glorious blazes of colour that touch the flower beds of the Auckland Domain at present.

Despite the dry summer—or perhaps because of it—the varieties of flowers that have been planted under .the direction of Mr. T. S. Aldridge, superintendent of parks and reserves, have thrived to an extraordinary degree, and afford pleasure to the thousands of citizens who visit Auckland's civic spaces on Sundays.

This season has been a prolific one for plants of tropical origin. Zinnias, ranging from the most delicate of cream shading to. the intenseness of the deepest scarlet mixed with phlox and verbenas of all colours, interspersed with petunias, each containing in its bloom the colours of the rainbow, add to the splendour of Auckland's largest reserve.

Michaelmas daisies, too, are out —a month, before their time. The cooler weather, followed by the warm spell, has perhaps been responsible. The idiosyncrasies of the season were also revealed by the fact that the hydrangeas flowered on to the end of January 11 in unusual quality and quantity. Pattern Bed Display. In the Domain to-day penstemons of all varieties, marigolds of the' French and African and dahlias of the dwarf family, Coltness Gem, are side by side with the gorgeous displays of colosias, carnations and cannas. There are, too, the pattern beds containing the fibrousrooted begonias, with alteriianthera and irisine—:the two latter colour-leaf plants acting as a background for their mpre showy brethren.

A great deal of clearing has been going on lately in the Domain with the result that the trim lawns and freshly turned beds are looking particularly attractive. The winter gardens have been making steady progress. The pergolas of the court joining the two big glasshouses are now almost smothered with creepers, so rapidly have they grown. Roses, wistaria, begonias and solanum wendlandi are prominent among these.

The flower beds at Albert Park are also a very pretty sight just now, and a visitor could easily spend an hour there enjoying the varied beauty of the different displays. In the big border by Princes Street dahlias and cannae take prominent place and in both there is a wealth of variety in form and colour. Zinnias, phlox, Michaelmas daisies in many shades and penstemona are flourishing there.

The dry season has made no difference to the splendour of Auckland's civic gardens. x In these modern days, with supplies of water available, it is possible to counteract the driest of summers. Further, the system of planting adopted here is such as those flowers blooming now are peculiarly adapted to heat and a dry soil.