GARDEN NOTES

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2444, 24 April 1915, Page 11

GARDEN NOTES

(Br "KowhAi.")

These notes are written solely for t\o amateuv gardener, for the busy city m&a who likue to 6pend an £our or two in Mb garden after shut up all day, for the woman who derives groat pleasure from growing a few plants to brighten her home, but to whom it would be a weariness to study garden books, and for all those who are endeavouring to keep a small garden bright and attractive all the year round. To these I say do not attempt to grow too much. Choose what plants you want for your garden and for supplying the house with cut flowers, and whatever you decide upon grow the beat of its kind that is to bo obtained. Readers aro invited to ask Questions. SWEET PEAS. As soon as ewcet peas get their ithird pair of leaves the tops should be nipped off. This encourages the growth of 6trong shoots from the base. Keep the young plants growing well and they will bo strong and healthy. A strong growing plant will always Tesist disease better than a weakly one; also it wjll stand bad weather better. As soon as the plants are two or tW®' inches high place little twiggy sticks in the ground beside them for Ithern to cling Jo till ; they Teach the fence or whatever su^° r >ts they are to climb. Keep the grouflft hoed, .round the roots. A lumpy soil affords harbour for slugs, which are very °* young peas. Give the seodlings a eliftlW during of soot once every few weeks. N oo ' must be exposed to the atmosphere for several days before being used. Also jv>uag plants must never be given a heavy tng of soot. Mr. Thomas Stevenson, to his book on sweet peas, says:—''Soot is one of the finest manures, if given in small quantities. , The effcct it lias on the colour of the 'blooms is astonishing, this being brought home to me very plainly in one season, when I fed. a batch of plants in pots with soot oniy, and the colour of ithe flowers was exceedingly good." See that the earth round the roots is kept very fine, and be careful not to drag the earth away from the roots when hoeing. Good treatment, good flowers. But on no account, coddle the young plants. They must be made perfectly hardy so that they can withstand any severe winter weather. Just one other word of caution in case I forget to mention it later on in the year. Don't loosen the earth round pea plants during 6evere frosty weather. MIGNONETTE. Mignonette that was sown a few weeks ago is now ready to be thinned out. Give the ground a good watering 60ine hours before, thinning out, and the seedlings will come away more easily. A sharp stick or a kitchen skewer is. a good tool to lift the young plants out with. Loosen the earth round the remaining plants, and then give them a good watering with water to which nitrate of soda has been added (Joz. of nitrate of soda to lgal. of water.)

ROSES. Last week I told you how I prepare .the ground for roses. 1 will now give you a list of good rosea to grow for all purposes. In making out the list I have boeu very particular to mention only those that I have grown myself, or that I have seen my friends growing. Only experience can teach you which roses will grow well in your particular soil. Should you find that any rose does not do well in spite of good and correct treatment, or should you lind that some roses are very liable to disease in your garden, then my advice is as follows: —Dig them out and burn them. Rosea are cheap. Buy others that aro more suited to your garden. But don't be in a hurry to get rid of any plants you have—give them first a fair trial. Don't blame the plant for what uiay be due to your own neglect. 'Ben Cant, deep clear crimson, with slightly darker plushes; sweetly scented. Billiard et Barre, largo golden yellow flowers; beautiful when, half open. Corallina, deep rosy crimson; very free and constant bloomer. . countess of Gosford, salmon pink and rose pink intermingling. _ , Caroline Testout, clear bright, rose; large, sweetly perfumed rose. Dean Hole, silvery carmine, shaded salmoil. . Evelyn Dauntesey, strong, Tigoroua grower, free and very perpetual. Colour, 6oft salmon with deeper centre. Frau Karl Druschki,. pure white. A most vigorous grower and good all-round rose, in spite of its German name. General Gallien.—Of this rose I cannot speak too highly for a garden rose, and una for out flowers. The rose is a' perpetual .bloomer, and tho flowers last a long time in water. Colour, a mixture of metallic red, pink, and yellow. Jubilee, very dark red. Also a good rose for cut flowers. „ , . , Killarney. beautiful flesh pink. Lady Hillingdon, deep orange yellow. Lady Afilitown, rose shading to silvory P Lady Roberts, reddish aprioot, edge of pctnls pale lemon-yellow. A beautiful rose and a strong grower. _ Liberty, rich velvety crimson. Lvon, an exquisite , rose. Colour, a mixture of shrimp pink, salmon, and s ti°ad'am Melaine Soupert, pinkish yellow. Pharisaer, a rose everyone should grow. Colour, silvery rose. shading to salmon centre; long, tapering flowers. Sunburst, a rose that is well-namod. Colour, yellow, with orange Mntr o . X advise readers to try. this beautiful, rose. For. full description consult a rose eataViscountess Polkstone, creamy pink, centre salmon pink. Free and early bloomer. ~ Dorothy Perkins, Dorothy Dennison, William Allen Richardson, the Banksms, and briar roses are all splendid for covering arches, summer-houses, etc. TULIPS. Tulips thrive best in a light, welldrained soil. Make a heavy soil light by the addition of sand or road grit, leaf soil, and a little well-decayed stable manure. Tho ground must be well drained. Many people fail with tulips through growing them in soil that has been too richly manured. They need just ordinary well-drained garden soil. In Holland tulips are grown in rather poor soil, or in ground that has been considerably exhausted by a crop of hyacinths, which are greedy feeders. Hyacinths, on the other hand, are grown in ground heavily manured with cow dung. I think if people would only realise how easily tulips aro grown, and what splendid flowers they are for cutting, a great many more would be seen brightening spring gardens. Tulips do just as well in little town gardens as they do in country ones. Iho bulbs should be planted about four inches deep in light soil, three inches deep in heavy soil. Place them on a layer of sand, and sprinkle saud oyer them before covering with soil. Tulips are divided into four classes—single (early and late), double, Parrot, and Darwin. Single (early). Belle Alliance, brilliant scarlet. Canary Bird, canary yellow Cottage Maid, rose striped with whito. Crimson King, crimson scarlet. Golden Standard, yellow self. lloso Gris do Lin, bright pink self. Single (late). Bonton d'Or, golden yellow. Ulcgans, brilliant crimson scarlet. Gesueriaua Major, dazzling scarlot.

Macrospila, crimson scarlet, centre black and yellow; sweet-scented, Picotee, white, margined rose. DARWIN TULIPS. Darwin tulips are quite distinct from the ordinary early Dutch varieties. They flower much later, coming into flower about tho end of September or early in October. They aro self-coloured, and have enormous flowers borne on long stems. They are splendid for cutting as they last such a long time in water. I strongly recommend all those who intend growing tulips to give first placo to Darwin tulips. I mention a few good ones:— Clara Butt.—An exquisite flower, which should be in every garden. The colour is soft, delicatc rose, with slight blush tinge on the outer petals. Europe.—Salmon-scarlet, shaded with rost on the outside, snowy white centre. Gustnve Dore.—Good pink shade. La Candeur.—White, slightly tinged blush. Lord Duncan.—Bright scarlet. Tak von Poortvliet—Deep salmon-rose. Madame Krelage.—Vivid pink. Tulips may bo planted during this month and next, but I adviso early planting. VEGETABLES. SILVER BEET. Silver beet is ono of our most reliable winter vegetables. It should be grown on ground that has been well manured and dug. Plants should now be making good growth, and should l>e encouraged to make leaf by weekly, doses of weak liquid manure (loz. nitrate of soda in 1 gallon of water). Hoeing must be done regularly and thoroughly, and all weeds kept away from the plants. In dry weather give a good watering with clear water before applying liquid manure. Silver beet can do with plenty of water. Greens to be nice must be quickly grown. LETTUCES AND RADISHES. Lettuces and radishes may still bo 60wn fcr salads. Lettuces should bo sown broadcast, and then transplanted to a warm, sheltered part of the garden. As soon as they have become established after the transplanting, they should be harried' on with doses of nitrate of soda and with frequent hoeing. Radishes need a rich, well-tilled soil. A good' placo in which to grow them is ground that has been well manured for a prevous crop of greens or peas. They should he soivm in drills and then thinned out. In our climate no ono need be without lettuccs and radishes all tho T oar round. cabb^qj;S . Cabbages may still he planted out for spring ]ise. Those who think they may be short of greens in the late spring may still Sow a pinch of seed in a seed-pan. in the young rivals coming on. In dry weather I find it. a good plan to sprinkle dry wood-ash over the plants, or even very dry earth. £ji?ot or ash scattered round the roots will v help to keep tho caterpillars away. Frequent syringing with soot water, or even ordinary clear water is also 1 good. cut for those who have only a few plants the best method of getting 'rid of caterpillars is daily 'inspection and hand-picking. Don't forget to hoe constantly. , Garden notes next week will contain seasonable notes about flowering verbena's, lobelia, liliums, and vegetables.

An inexpensive and convenient method of bringing sweot pens and other plants on is the "French Cloche" or miniature greenhouse, a hnndy contrivance said to ensure capital results, which is now on salo at Messrs. 11. C. Gibbons and Co., Ltd., Lambton Quay. The grsenhouse complete with 18 flower pots is epM fl t 3s. 9d., or larger size with i dozen ttots, 9s. Tho firm recommend this article as a thing quickly repaying its small cost.