GOLDEN FIELDS.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 20039, 22 September 1930, Page 13

GOLDEN FIELDS.

AMONG THE DAFFODILS. I VISIT TO ' OTAHUNA. I \ Nestling at the foot of the sheltering i hills, and bordering on the miniature lake in front of .Sir Heaton Rhodes' I beautiful home at Otahuna, the'.field* i are a glowing, living' blaze of gold | and cream, untold' thousands ..of daffoi dils breaking from their winter retire-Ims-nt anJ opening their fluted : tramp I pets. At the side of the houses m,'the i special nursery where the experimental flowers are grown, are thousands I again, while at the back of the house, on the hillside, is another patch, where I all manner -of new and strange £eed--1 lings make their first appearance: i About 100 members and of I the Workers'* Educational Association. i made their'annual trip to OtaMnaon 1 Saturday afternoon, and spent-three delightful hours wandering ; through s the spacious-grounds and admiruig'tne I golden show. Arrangements had-been , made to provide afternoon tea, and shortly after four, o'clock the party broke up'into groupeand. picnicked. Owing to the' late season,- the full rush of the blooms has not yet come along, but the.showing on Saturday was magnificent".. To those who,are, 1 not specialists < the size and colour of the display were .a revelation, but to the specialists the plants in.the special nursery w«>re of < sufficient, interest to hold tnem' until the list'moment. I Although- Jk% flowers tare known-by is ,-twp njmes-rdaffoails and jOTro-rV' 'they'all belongto°"the .one faTO».;»Mk .*, narcissi. * ' wrowing in "naaaabi Jt m' the £ open .as"they do fefcHHahtina,/' 1 the * Golden Trumpets | pressive showing" by >vtrtue * that'the deep, richness;©! overivhelmed'lthe'more/deKcate scheme of *. " «,T,' <,'*£# Coming'to a'closeJeaaanination^ybcnr-' hever, "the"double /markings ■> c?''«|Cl»-'\\i colours which have the rich gold 'tram- \. pet in the centre, and the delicate „■} ~ cream of the main petals/marked-theniv ;,< in a class-alone; while "for decorations \ tfiev' are nnrd "to -"rivaL" Then 1 * there J ? are those with'orange trumpets, and M one main variety* named' from-*- we war, - which seemed' - ti* 'in." "»**J;4] blooms something-of the flash, % of the big guns, ' ' v " Counting «• the" 'unnamed " seedlings,' \i there are 1000 varieties *on the perty/many of "which hare'been on'the plane. ;Wheff it'is'rememjber<^& ) that the* gardener has to waif*four-Af -years' after crossing I>wp var£efcjes<hei ■ ifore he can' see"'the, resultantvbloVta,'.! and-as that-it Is ouly-one v out/of\ao'*ea» .--.' 'so treated thatf slightest 'prom l ise,' : it"is*no woude£?flta% ?.* prices running up to*£so aM<iiei4 y lbr *V*i single bulbs. - ♦ =■*»*•# -, tf Upon the hillside at'the back of 4he';, house, the bees do "some remar3a£bU, |jr work, and> in the worlcshopwnei#*thVvv head gardener, "Mr- A. * WHson/Pnides m |f his < secrets some remarkable ■ blojbms j $/ were to-be'seen. Sorae'jnf them'were *$ doubles and one, -a flower of remark-; % ablesjze. '/ ' r *. ' '*''< *** K^f Among ' the ' main' 'varieties . nor '"J flowering,-in-addition "to tfcose alrady -".-? mentioned, are thethe Inooni3 t which have" a^shbrtetfjoup,' A and Leedsii. Those thalr will'be conv -', tng out from now on inolude Poeticus J and Triandm., which are i the last' to " : i flower. t , '«s' Seeing the mass of blooms all, io-"' Vl gether m the open, it is difficult ito '; realise that they-are much different"' from those to be seen in the gardens , around the suburbs. It is only when. A > some of the blooms' are-.'jplaced along* ' side those of the amateur >gardenar that the realisation is brought home' < that the smallest .of the .Otahuna ,*" blooms - is- a giant by ,comparison.'