IN THE GARDEN.

Press, Volume LXIX, Issue 20904, 11 July 1933, Page 5

IN THE GARDEN.

—♦— WORK FOR THE WEEK. (upsculi/st writti:; eos ibe :?sesj.) [By J. T. SKCLAIR] ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 2.1;.P.—Y0u are Quito Tight, the schi/authnii a good plant I'or Ri-uwinpr/ in ;i lian,-in, basket. Bo sure to select ono of v. natural!. bushy, spindly nature, as one of ilovo kinds is more, adapted for Irniniurr hv-t tho sides of tho basket. Use niosr, m line the inside, ot' the basket, iillin-- in with good Koil, mul place tlio plan in ■' Iho centv*. .As it ry.nws, tio the I evenly over the sides, fcjee that it do".-. 1 not get dry, especially vhen the soil is full of roots. Si planted cow and attended through the winter, it will add considerably to tlio grcenhouso in spvin;,when in flower. \ S.C. —The manure which you have j.-.v.- in , your garden is useless to make ui> in!" j a nuibhroom bed. either in a sled or out ot doors. The. manure must be Crc..!i. Fuchsia—ln September 1 sow your fuchsia se«.<ls I-1 Gin deep in pots filled -■, it!i lijjht sandy loum. Cover with -'lass hini paper till seedlings appear, then pot in,' Miiß'y. Seeds need a warm arc. nhoti.-c temperature. About ," .'> d e :-■. A.b.-M..— (1) Ground lii-n a.t the rale of ••(..■ a. square yard would do more s.'• (■ »I than soot to the clayey L---.il you have lurned up. It would render il lucre friable and fertile. rZ ) Lime the -found nfaa you lift your anemones. i:! i If ;.oc do not rp,-,i aliout doinx !.ib-.rii.,u.- v.m 1 , t.i :;et rid "f frrtvss trrub in >"ur he n. try frequent rollir. S s all th- sea-.0, with a heavy roller. This i« the vs-on bowling greens have not a tia.it ib.il ot lu.lher with the ,\'rub. .\ train, ;oi can drench your hr.vn with 1-11 pint ■•!' any of the carbolic, preparations on tho market to four Kalloi.s of water. The law:. i:ms! be thoroughly saturated by rain.bet'ore duinp; tho worl.. A'ine—lt will lake a youus vod about thn e years to reach the top of tho house ]>u)-ins tho iiret prowin; scn«on do nei stop tho youne; rod, but allow it to run up tho rafters as far as it will prmc. f'ut it back to one-third of ils 1.-riirtls next winter. The second year lei it extend ar> far as it will srmr, pruning back to two-thirds of its lou-ih, cuttins hack the laterals to two bods aI. tho pa mo time, The third jow it will reach to the top of I lie roof, uln-re it should be cut at prunMi- time. 1»> not, taLo off many bunches of c.apc.i until the rod is at its full length. CURRENT WORK. Do not attempt any digging while the frost is in the ground. In suitable weather this work can go on, always getting the ground prepared first which will be wanted for early crops. A site that will not catch the sun's rays too soon in the morning should be selected i'or the earliest plantings of potatoes, the reason for this being that very often, if they get frosted, there is a chance for the frost to be off the plants before the tun reaches them. If one has the advantage of having a fpame or greenhouse, a few seeds of lettuce, cabbage, and cauliflower should be sown now in boxes, sowing sparingly as not many plants are wanted. Once they are up, keep close to the light and grow sturdily by admitting air on all favourable occasions. Horse Tadish is often relegated to any out-of-the-way corner of the garden. To get good roots for the kitchen they should be given good treatment. If the ground is in a suitable condition, roots can be planted now, using pieces of root about eight inches in length, taking care to keep the crown end up. Sweet peas grooving in pots or boxes should have small stakes or twiggy branches placed to them; three stems will be enough to leave, removing all others, alsp any tendrils. If in frames remove the lights in daytime during fine weather, replacing them at night, and do everything possible to encourage strong, sturdy growth. At the first opportunity prepare tho site for sweet peas. If it is convenient it is wise to give them a fresh placein the garden every year, otherwise the ground must be deeply worked and plenty of good rich manure worked in deep enough to encourage the roots to go well down. Freesias, daffodils, hyacinths, tulip;-, and so on, in pots, should have a good, light position near the glass in the greenhouse, and see that the freesias" do not want for stakes or twiggy branches to keep them in an upright position. We have now reached a period of the year when the garden is dull and dreary—when the conditions of weather are often such as do not conduce to the carrying out of out-door operations in comfort. By mid-July, indeed, not a few amateur gardeners regard the season's work as finished; they are content to wait complacently until the arrival of warmer, brighter spring days before they allow, their interest to be revived. One can sympathise fully with such an attitude, especially when the ground is very wet and the possibility of useful spade work upon it seems very remote. It is a mistake, however, to give way either to lassitude or despair in regard to opportunities of useful work in the garden, even, at this time of the year. To the gardener who looks ahead, who allows his imagination to have full play, and who bears ever in mind the ideal he hopes to realise in the coming. summer, plenty of work will be found in the present month. Cast a critical eye over your garden, and you will probably be surprised at the multitude of suggestions that will crowd into your mind for improvements and changes. I use both words advisedly, since it can hardly be denied that all changes are not improvements. The enthusiastic amateur gardener will, however, find that a change which is only a change, and nothing more, will give him satisfaction. The cardinal error to avoid in gardening is stagnation, whether it be in the realm of ideas or in the region of practice. Look around the garden, then, and now that it is stripped and little more than a shadow oj its summer beauty, consider whether there is not room for considerable changes that shall really be improvements. Here Js a border which is not, I will venture to say, more than three feet wide. You have planted it, and, perhaps, over a series of years, have put a great deal of work in it. But disappointment has dogged your efforts. The plants speedily overcrowd one another; they were in consequence stunted in growth, and the resulting display of bloom was not so satisfactory as you had expected. Wherein lay the cause of the failure? Jf; can be traced back to the initial mistake of the person when he should have made it nt least six feet wide if it was to serve its purpose. The remedy is now in your own hands, however, and you now have an opportunity before next soring to remedy the defect. If you double the width of the border and spread out the i plants so that they can obtain adequate root and air space in which to thrive, you will be surprised at the resultant vigour and beauty of your plants when blooming time comes again. You need not be deterred from undertaking this valuable improvement on the score of expense. It will cost you nothing more than your own labour, ingenuity, and the exercise of as much skill as you possess in tho rearrangement and replanting of the occupants of the old border. The work of replanting, of course, should no! be attempted in frosty weather, but it may be undertaken at any time during the winter and spring on mild and. fairly dry days. I Next, the presence of defective drainage catches your eye. It is not difficult to detect in days of wet and wind. Perhaps it has shown itself in a circular bed cut out in the lawns, in which you have tried, not with much success, to grow roses. When rain is heavy and persistent, the water stands in the bed for days together, and seems never able to get away in a downward direcjtion, but only-by evaporation. The

drainage of the ro.se-bed is utterly defective and should be remedied. Jt may be that some of my readers adopted the advice I have given on several occasions that during' summer, when the garden is at the height of ils beauty, they should make a careful note of the general effect, should mark down failure of arrangement and individual well-being, and then determine to apply the remedy at the proper season. That opportunity has varrived and it will last until soring is almost merged into summer. Perhaps it has been noted that there is a border which fails from lack of sun. Its occupants have been sunloving plants, and they have languished and failed in their uncongenial surroundings. Here is a chance to make good. In a shady border, plants such as saxifrages. Solomon's seal, lily of the valley, hardy ferns of every kind, anemones, phloxes, pteonics. and perennial asters wiil give good returns. On the other hand, there may be a spot in the garden where the summer sun stifles nearly everything. In such places spring and flowering bulbs can be planted, to be replaced later by geraniums and petunias. Other useful operations that suggest themselves are the repairs of paths, the returfing of worn patches on lawns, the making and rearrangement of rockeries, the pruning of shrubs, and of small fruit bushes, and other fruiting trees, the repairing and strengthening of fences, the tying in and training of climbing roses. For those who have the convenience of a greenhouse there is the washing of floweroots. and the preparation of shallow boxes and labels in readiness for tlie seed-sowing campaign which will begin next month. These are only a few of the nctivilic-- with which the ardent amateur can busy himself in mid-win-ter: there are others that will probably present themselves to him. but enough has been said to show that there is no excuse for idleness or relaxation of effort if the best results are to be achieved. It is better to do these things now than when the rush of work begins in several week's time.