GARDEN NOTES

Press, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 27040, 15 May 1953, Page 11

GARDEN NOTES

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Friday, May Ur IM3, I VEGBTABLB GABDKN Onions, canots. btet and cabbage Cabbages and winter greens are growing well, and should be ahead of butterfly grubs. Ahpis will be present. This pest calls for an insecticide spray applied with force. Trench arty vacant ground. Leave it in the rough tor frost to get into it Apply a liberal dressing Of carbonate of lime to ail ground, bto taper-off on the piece which is going fo be the potato patah for next season, as too much lime will.bring the potatoes Up in Surface scabs. As the Brussels sprouts grow, keep picking off the bottom leaves, leaving a thick tuft at the top. Aphis thrived on these plants. If .they-make slow growth, water with strong aniipal manure. loosen the surface soil, mulching With three or tour inches of 5a -good, light animal manure. Ail tomatoes can be pulled up. and, the stems tied up in the’ shed tor the, green fruit to ripen under cover. If dear of disease, the stems can be composted; otherwise burn them. FLOWER GARDEN Hasten the planting of all springflowering bulbs now that there is a spell of dry, warm weather.Associates for bulbs tor spring displays can also be planted. These include wallflowers, sweet william, iceland poppies, Canterbury bells, beauty stock, and polyanthus. 1 , Little need be left of previous displays. . The few frosts we have .had will have finished what was left of marigolds and similar plants. These can be pulled up. the ground turned over, and a sprinkling, of lime added, either to foe left for spring planting, or planted up how. Lilies are always popular, and happily almost a dozen varieties do well here under average conditions, if a very dry position is avoided. The popular lily auratum is by no means easy to grow, and many other species should be preferred. > Dahlias are almost finished and can be cut down to 'six inches before lifting. A strawy mulch will protect the crowns from frost. Make sure that plants and bulbs have legible labels. Hedges can be trimmed. Although this ir a winter job, no harm will be done by making use of the present fine weather. Lawn weeds can be killed with a dressing of sulphate of ammonia or a hormone weed killer if the weather stays fine and warm. The effective heat for successful results with hormones is 50 degrees or hotter. At least one or two fine days are necessary after application. If there are signs of moss appearing on the colder patches of lawn, apply lime at the rate of about eight ounces to the square yard, or sulphate of iron, one ounce to the square, yapd. ' BLUE AS THE GENTIAN Most people realise the beauty of the gentian and esteem it for .its charm and intense colouring. Probably-the two best varieties are G. acaulis, the wonderful spring-flowering tert, with its large bells of brightest blue, and the G. sino-ornato, which ta flowering now. Both are very amenable to cultivation, making quite large patches of growths where a fairly cool, semipeat slope is given them, for good drainage is more essential than sun heat.

Both do well on the rockery, for there the stones give the roots the coolness they love. Once established, these gentians spread out into close mats, in their seasbn producing freely their striking azure bells on short stalks. FRUIT GARDEN Tree planting will soon be in order, and some preparation can be made once the sites are definitely known. If possible, plant trees about 14 feet apart and seven feet from fences and paths. Good drainage is essential, and often an untidy dump can be disposed of far this purpose, as long as it is buried three feet deep. Old tins, bricks and bones will all be useful. Put the bigger things at the bottom and work up to the small things at the top. A layer of straw should be put on top, to be covered with the soil. If one part of the garden is damper than the rest, plant the pear or quince there, as they" thrive on mois.ure more than the other kinds. Stone irnits should be put in the dryer patches. Gooseberries and currants should be five to six feet apart. THE GREENHOUSE Though work in the greenhouse may not be so onerous during the winter months, the interval will allow of Other preparations. ' Empty pots can be gone over, washed and stacked. Labels may have to be renewed. Supplies of soil, sand, and peat can be taken under cover, ready for spring potting work. Pot plants should hot be overwatered. Fuchsias and geraniums, as they finish, should be stood down. Cyclamen, primulas and schizanthus can be potted up to fill the benches. These plants revel in a half-compost soil. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS “Marine Parade,” New Brighton.—-I am afraid your raspberry canes have contracted a serious mildew disease. This, means that there can be no further propagation from them. They may be quite healthy-looking up to flowering time and then wither away and collapse. The disease is caused by a root trouble, and ruins many stools, which should be dug up and destroyed. It will be better to start a new bed somewhere else, if possible.

“Barnett Avenue,” Sydenham.—As your cyclamen plant is probably from a heated greenhouse, your problem will be to keep it in an equable temperature, away from cold draughts and dry, hot fire neat. A sunny room or veranda should suit it, with protection from frosts and cold winds. Watering the earth once a week or when dry should be adequate.