UNCOMMON SPRING DISPLAYS

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 86, 12 April 1941, Page 22 (Supplement)

UNCOMMON SPRING DISPLAYS

A LITTLE forethought and comparatively small expense will ensure a glorious display of flowers next spring. Fortunately there is no lack of material, and wonderful and varied effects can be obtained by the use of a little imagination. The mainstay of tlie spring is, of course, bulbs, and for beds and borders of formal design the tulip is the aristocrat of spring, providing bloom from early October until the end of November. September brings the daffodils, which look least at home in formal beds ;md are most pleasing when naturalised in grass or among shrubs. Crocuses are admirable as edgings for beds and borders. Colour in Borders Tulips and hyacinths are the principal bulbs to use in finishing the spring beds ,1 ml borders of formal design, and as companions to them there are wallliowers in rich and varied colours and the vivid orange of Cheiranthus Allionii or the lilac of C. linifolius, the Siberian wallflower, hardy perennials, both varieties of which do well round Auckland. There are also forget-me-nots in white, pink and shades of blue; largeflowered double daisies in white, pink and red; the red and white miniature

Dresden china daisies; also polyanthus, primroses and violas in many shades of colour. The flower beds should be dug over, and if the soil is poor a dressing of decayed manure should be incorporated. Light soil should be made firm by treading before planting. Bonemeal, at the rate of 2oz per square yard, is beneficial. Hyacinths bloom in October. Bulbs of second size should be purchased for this purpose, as their spikes are less massive and solid than those from top>ized bulbs. There is still time to plant the bulbs, four inches deep from the top nf the bulb and eight inches apart. Massing Tulips Glorious effects can be achieved with tulips, commencing with the earlyflowering singles and doubles, used cither separately or in combination. These are admirable for filling beds 011 the lawn or in other parts of the garden. An edging of a dwarf forget-me-not, such as royal blue, prolongs the attractiveness of the beds. The double varieties last longer in bloom than the singles, and for this reason they are often planted in association with the singles. What could be finer than a wide, long l.'order planted with a selection of, say, three dozen varieties of Darwin and

cottage tulips in a glorious range of colours, the strong ones at the back and softer shades in front, among blood red, gold and velvet crimson wallflowers. The border could be edged with myosotis, or wallflowers dispensed with and forget-me-not used throughout. Background Effects Blue forget-me-nots form a lovely groundwork for the white cottage tulip Carrara, and pale yellow wallflowers, polyanthus or alvssum saxatile citrinum is charming between heliotrope and purple tulips. In all cases the plants for the groundwork and edging should be set out first, planting them alternately in rows 12 inches apart, the tulip bulbs being placed irregularly among them about 10 inches apart. A dainty display can also be secured with Iceland poppies grown in conjunction with ornamental grasses or barley and wheat.