GARDEN NOTES

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2641, 11 December 1915, Page 15

GARDEN NOTES

1 (Br "Kowiiai.") , ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS'. . "Mnuukn," Belmont, writes:—"l should r be grateful if you would toll me what causcs tho buds of sweet peas to wither and fall. I can collect a large bunch, al- . most daily with no tops. lat first put it , down to birds or strangulation, but on j closer examination I found that moro ; than half tho stems affected were not j touched by tondrils. Also,- I camo acToss several stems with buds just about to fall, ) and tho merest touch dislodged them. Tho vines aro between five and six, feet 5 high, and to the amateur eye appear quite j healthy." • A cold change in the weather, cold I nights, or cold winds will cause tho buds ; to drop. Also, too much feeding will ; have the same effect. j "Strawberries," Groytown, writes: "As 5 beginnar at gardening I read your 'Gar- [ den Notes each Saturday with pleasure and profit. Can you tell me how to preL servo strawberries from ants? I put in j some young plants last April, weeded, j watered, and manured them, and put wire • netting to keep off the birds. About half i 1,, P, ?, lreTo bearing in October, but j latterly nil the ripo fruit is full of holes, [ Rnd m_ every hole two or-three ants. Is ; it possible to spray them with anything j that wilj kill the ants or keep them off without injuring the plants or fruit?" ; Anything used to destroy the ants would i also injure tUa_ fruit. Your best pllin ; is to try trapping the ants. To do this, ) take a large empty flower pot, block up ) the drainage hole with mud, and invert j tho pot near.the strawberry bed, drawing . tho earth up about tho edges of the pot. i J n l a /ew days the pot will probably be ■ full of earth, ants, ants' eggs, etc. Take a bucket of boiling water with you when you [ go to examine the trap. Raise the pot carefully with a 6pade, and if it has boon . successful in trapping any ants place it ; at once in the boiling wafier. Afterwards j set it again. Another method of trapping j ants is to smear lard over plates, which j are then placed .near the straveborry I plants. These should bo dropped into a ; bucket of boiling water to kill tho ' "catch.' Always take the water with I .fon, as, if you examine the traps first, j and then go for the water the ants will ; probably depart during your absence. The 7 ants bring aphides to the strawberry . plants in the first instance' and stay to j guard them. In time the aphides .generally reach the roots of tho plants. To get rid of the aphides spread straw over tie plants next year before the leaves appear, and 6et fire to it. What is wanted is a layer of 6moke that will destroy all eggs before they hatch out. It would bo ' as well to do the burning on a day, therefore, when the smoke would han» about ; on the ground-. A fierce smoke is not > wanted. J "J. H.. Ward," Woodville,* writes: "I ' find your notes invaluable, and would be much obliged if you would give me a few hints as to tho care of grapes. Last year my grapes rotted before they were pro- ' perly matured. The fmit has a kind of « whitish powder on the skin, and the vine, ' in places, has a lot of little black dots." " If any dead fruit was left 011 the vines from last year it should immediately bo I picked off and burned. Also any leaves having black dots on them should be picked off and burned. Spray the vines with Bordeauxunixture, using summer strength —41b. of sulphate of copper, 51b. lime, 50 gallons water. During the next few months dust the vines thoroughly with flowers of,,snlphur eveiy thi'ee weeks. Spray again with Bordeaux mixture soon after tho leaves have fallen, and ■ again next year when the third or fourth leaf is showing. The surface soil should be kept free from weeds and thoroughly cultivate » ' SWEET WILLIAMS. 5 There are Sweet Williams and Sweet 5 Williams. Unfortunately it is the latter 3 that wo so often see, and these make - us think rather slightingly of what are t really beautiful flowers. A common practice is to buy a packet of mixed seed, 3 60vr it, and then leave the plants to - grow as they best- can. ,Tho result is - a group of spindly plants with small - heads of flowor, and the chances aro t that thero are a number of colours In ; it which do not blond. f Sweet Williams are much better bought s in separate colours. There are such i lovely colours, too.. Beautiful shades of r 6almon, palo pink, rose, rich volvety red. 1 and pure white. Then' thero, are what - are called the auricnla-oyed Sweet Williams. These all have a clearly-defined 1 whito oyo. 0 Sweot Williams look very fine when they 9 are grown. in big clumps of only one L shade. A solitary plant 1 is Tather insig--1 nificant, but a bold group arrests the atp tontion of everyone. As the plants are a rather low-growing, they are suitable for j' placing in the front of a mixed herba- . ceous border. The plants in the group f should be given plenty of room, and if a they have a sunny position, and - a littlo _ Toad grit-and bonedust added to their 3 soil, tney will send up thick, strong flow--3 ering stems crowned with -huge trusses of showry and • sweet-sconted flowers. The perfmne of Sweet Williams is one of tho J most dolightful in the garden. Tho plants will come up faithfully, year after year, . and yield a plentiful supply of blooms without exacting any very special atten"tion from the gardener. When tho plants become too crowded, they shoidd be lifted, and strong young pieces should be .replanted, leaving the old plants to be t turned into ashes in the rubbish fire, t If seeds are sown 'now tho plants will - have a chance to becomo fairly largo beb fore the flowering season—next spring, or - seed may bo sown in the autumn. In 1 the house, too, Sweet Williams look best r when massed. A fairly large bowl filled f with tho flowers of Sutton's Pink Beauty ■- is a gorgeous sight. The salmon shades, 6 too, blend splendidly, and make a delighte ful bowl of flowers. s Sweet Williams have not tho popularity ■- they deserve. Their easy cultivation, their i, beautiful colours, and their delightful 0 fragrance, entitle them to a place in every gardon. j CHRYSANTHEMUMS. Chrysanthemum plants -have been mak--1 ing very good growth this spring. They [. should now Tcceive their final pinching, s No pinching should be done after the r middle of Deoembor. All growths that -. are about a foot long may have the tops e pinched off. If there havo been two pre--1 vious pinchings tho plants will be fine 0 bushy specimens by the autumn, bearing _ quite a number of fine, long flowering r stalks. So far wo have been directing most of our attention to the part, of tfie f plant that is above the ground, but from q now on we must pay very special atten- |( tion to the part that is below the ground —the loots. I do not moan to say that the leaves and stems need no further J attention at present. They do. There _ are caterpillars to be watched for. The ' leaves should be syringed with clear ' water in hot, dry weather to keep them T clean and free from disoase, and- thero , is always tho tying of the plants to the ]■ stakes as they gwnw But the roots are ® now doing very special work. Thoy are getting ready to snpport the beautiful 5 flowers that will come later. In a few weeks quite a number of new roota will be formed, and as they aro very near the surface of the ground we should give up forking round the plants and have recourse to mulching. After a good waterT ing, a mulch should be spread all round s every plant, and from time to time the mulch should be added to as necessary, d Tho now roots will then be protected ; they will bo kept moist, and they, will bo able to creep out into the mulch, and d so get a larger area in which to search for food. ; Those who have been storing vegetablo a rubbish in holes, and adding to it wood or rubbish fibre ashes, soap-suds, house1. hold slops, lime, otc., will have now some !, fino material' for a mulch. Tho whole e well-rotted mass should lie got out, should bs sprinkled with superphosphate, turned 0 over with the fork two or three times, and then spread round the ch-r.vsanthe-t mums. Grass clippings mixed with wood or rubbish fire ashes are good, "also road scrapings. Failing everything else, a good ~ covering of lawn clippings will serve the Surpose. Tip important point is that 10 roots should be kopt well covered with y a mulch of some sort, and it is bettor ir that it should not be- one of rich manure r * or the result may lie too much growth and not onougli flowers.-, • Garden Notes next week will contain seasonable notes,about: Scabious, Liliums, Mll idling, and Vegetables.