GARDEN NOTES

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 38, 8 November 1919, Page 12

GARDEN NOTES

(By "Kowhai.") NASTDJttTIUm

So accustomed are ivc to seeing nasturtiums growing luxuriantly in the poorest andAmost noglectcd of gardens that wo tiro .apt to overlook their many charms. Tho plants'will grow and givo a brilliant display of flowers in tho poorest soil, and will quickly cover an unsightly spot and turn it'.into, absolute beauty. In nearly every garden there is !■ dry, sun-baked spot where nothing will grow satisfactorily —nothing but nasturtiums. Such a spot is an ideal homo for them. They will creep over it lovingly, and in a, short time there will bo a blazo of colour. Scarlet, orange, cream, pale yellow, and dark red flowers appear like magio rißing abovo a cool-looking carpet of pretty green leaves. The hotter and drier tho soil tho more (lie plants will /lower. It would look as if absolute- neglect is what they most appreciate. But there are really threo things that nasturtiums must havu if they are to flower well, aud to continuo flowering well. Thcso are sunshine, dryness, and room. Tho first two are generally accorded them, but not so the third very important requisite. Unfortunately for the plants, nasturtium seeds arc cheap, and are consequently sown generously. But to get really good results tho plants must be given plonty of room. The seed should be sown very thinly, and the plants afterwards thinned out to at least a foot apart each way. Tho vines will soon creep over tho intervening spaces, and will bo all the stronger for the better rooting space. For covoring a wall or a fenco 'quickly tall nasturtiums are splendid. Where spaco is limited, dwarf nasturtiums should bo growu. Tho plants are charming with their dark green leaves, and ■ bright red flowers, and are most useful for filling up spaces in the front of a mixed border. The double nasturtium is very beautiful. It is r-ather susceptible to frost, hut as cuttings root so easily, a batch of new plants can be raised each winter, in a sunny window or on a sheltered verandah, and these can be planted I out when all danger of frost is over. Of the value of nasturtiums for decorative work too much cannot be Baid. They aro excellent for table decoration, and arc arranged easily and effectively with only their own foliage. I ROUTINE WORK. In most districts sweet peas are beginning to flower freely, and havo already reached the stage when they provida a littlo daily worn for the amateur gardener. '!'o keep the succeeding blooms largo and the stems long it is necessary to pick the flowers every day. If possible this should bo done after sunset, leaving the half-developed blooms to burst into flower tho next morning. Tho blooms that have been cut may bo taken inside and placed loosely in a deep jug of water. This gives them a good drink before they aro arranged in the vases tho next morning. Tho latorals (tho little shoots that come out by each leaf) should bB rubbed out carefully with tho fingers. If they aro left ou tho vines they produce shortstommod, unsatisfactory flowers, and in doing so rob tho main vine of strength. Tho soil must be kept well stirred. This needs to bo a daily operation, because when one is picking the flowers it is impossible to avoid treading, on the ground round tho plants. In many districts the weather is exceptionally dry, and sweet peas must. bo given occasional thorough waterings. Water if possible in the cvoniug and follow it up by thoroughly loosening tho soil with tho hoo in the morning. v What is hotter than anything else is to supply a mulch of well-decayed manure. This keeps the soil cool, and water may bo supplied through it to tho plants without fear of subjecting them to the misery of a caked surface soil. Hut ovon with a mulch, tho soil must occasionally bo loosened by tho hoe. In the shrubbery rhododendrons aro making a great Bhow, tho 1 ushos being literally a blaze, of colour, while pink and scarlet hawthorns, ceanothnscs, aud paulownias aro particularly attractive. Mock orango bushes aro covered with thoir fragrant cream-coloured flowers, and doutzias are a mass of white. The laburnum and the guelder rose aro especially dolightful, for both aro decked in their delicate new foliage. Prom tho laburnum hang pretty yellow chains of flowers; from the guelder rose hang Boft snow-whito balls. One lougs to have room for all the flowering trees and shrubß, for they aro bo Ml of charm, and givo so littlo trouble. In oldestablished gardens Banksias, honeysuckle, and wistaria have taken possession of fences and verandahs, covering them with masses of dainty fragrant flowers. Hoses of every description and colour are blooming profusely, while clove-scented pinks fling their tragranco from end to end of the garden. Auy thinning out of tho growths or shortening of the shoots that is necessary for spring-flowering shrubs should bo dono as soon aB the flowering is over. As soon as rhododeut dioiis have finished flowering the dead flower heads should be broken off. The early-lloweriiis gladiolos, Oolvillei Alba, "The llrido," tras been busy throwing up tail, flowering spikes for some, weeks past, and at lust the pure white beautiful blnonis have opened vut. It is surprising how much longer tho spray is, and how much larger and finer ihe flowers arc if the clumps are iifted every Second year, and the cor.ras sorted out syid planted back three or four inches, apart. The cornis increase- bo rapidly that they very soon become packed close together, and It is impossible for any of them to develop and produce line flowers. A little very weak liquid mitnuro is much appreciated bv Iho plants at their present sta,ge, and, during dry weather, a thorough watering, SALVIA. Salvia is so difficult to bring through tho winter that it is best to treat it as an annual. Salvia is nno of tho most gorgeous of the border plants, and shows to advantage best when grown in groups or in whole beds. The brilliant ecarlet flowers arc produced so freely that tho bushes become simply a blazo of colour.

It is rather lute now to sow fined?, but nurserymen should have' strong young plaute ready for bedding-out. A REMINDERAt t-hii time of tho year many annuals are being s own, and it ehoukl be remembered "haf one of tho greatest a,< 1. to their successful growlJi is o eo =!. use of tho hoe throughout the fcumniei months. VEGETABLES. PICKLING ONIONS. The bed for pickling undergo the careful P'f a " ,ta 7 n l ?£ '^ rgrou.:;^^ut^c2^ss wenrisoino thinmng-out is nccos»ar> as in tho ease of large onions. KOUTIXE WOKK. P Ce C IeV Plant in well-prepared trenches Sow, Where necessary, the following "purankin marrow, pie-melon, and cucum-Jr-TsSwllniole,, filled and welWecaved manure. When sowmg, uo no lav the seed flat and cover it with Wth y but push the seed, ed e eways for about an inch into the f'° f Savoy cabbage: Sow m seed-pans lot Brussels .sprouts: Sow- in aeed-nana for transplanting. Celeriac, (turnip-rooUd celery): Sow in rnw<i two feet apart, in well-worlted, wellnrieheY ground! Thin out the see ngs to six inches apart in the rows. Celcmc does not need like celery, for "seLfet-rumSr beans:'' Sow in ground that has been trenched and manured. Sow Ow seeds from .is to eight mches apart, and about two inches deep. French beans: Sow in dnl s two fee apart, and have tho seeds sjx .inches apart in the rows. Dust bonedust in the drills at tho time of sowing the seed, and give a slight dressing of superphosphate as soon as tho seedlings are a couplo ol beans: A further small eowing may be made. Pinch the tops off plants as soon as they aro in flower. Radish: Sow broadcast in rich firm gr Oarro't: Sow thinly in drills 12 inches ai Peas: Sow in drills from two to .three feet apart. Ground should bo trenched and manured, and should have woodashes miied with it. . Dußt bonedust in the drills when sowlnßeet: A light, sandy soil is the best for beet. Sow tho seed in drills IB inches apart in ground that •was manured for a previous crop. Fresh manure would be harmful to tho roots. The ground should bo doeply dug and made firm again before sowing tho seed. Dust bonedust iu the drills when Bowing. . ~„,... Lettuce: Sow thinly m drills 15 inches apart, and thin out to 9 inches in the, rows. The ground should be deeply dug and enriched with well-decayed manure. Keep the hoe at work anions all growing erop3. j. "Garden Sotcs" next week will contain seasonable notos about:-Mulchiug, routine work, aud vegetables.