GARDEN NOTES

Dominion, Volume 23, Issue 80, 28 December 1929, Page 28

GARDEN NOTES

(By

“Kowhai.")

Geraniums. Geraniums have lost a good deal of their popularity, .scvermciess tiiey cau tie depended upon to give a uriiuaut snow during tne summer moutus. They are useful, too, lor brightening up corn greenhouses, porcbes, auu verunqay. Auioug up-to-daie varieties are some reauy uuau.Hui ones, with Huge heads ot bioom. due iuuiviuuai pips are very large, auu tile colours glorious. xit oue nme geraiuums were so largely ana geueruuy used tor bedding tuat people grew tireu ot tne monotony of rue oeus, aud antirrhinums in lovely new shades oi pnili a'iid orange scarlet came as a distinct relief. These, too, ipiglit have become monotonous nad not bedding dalilius oi the •■Lunness Gem" type! “ ud dwari pofyantha roses followed closely on their heels. Now-a-days we have a wealth of lovely things to choose from for bedding, and every year newer and more lovely varieties are added. Geraniums are still dear, and the heart of every gar.deU lover, for in a mixed bed, especially oue devoted to perennial plants, they make a great show towards the end of December and during January. This Is rather 'a dull time in a perennial border, for late spring and early summer flowers, such as uqullegias, delphiniums, perennial poppies, lupins, campauules, etc., are over, and perennial phloxes, Michaelmas daisies, heleniqms, salvia patens, and most of the autumn things have still to come. I

Dahlias begin to flower early ip January, and ]ate-planted gladioli at tjie same time, and with a little thought, a really wonderful effect can be planned with geraniums, clicttiii dahlias and gladioli. Among named varieties obtainable in New Zealand are at least thirty or forty to choose from. A few of the loveliest are: Barbara Hope, salmon pink; Chaucer, deep rose pink; ClidVarri Hefinanos, vivid scarlet with Jorge seml-doublo flowers; London, bright cerise; Madame Laudry, deep salmon, enormous flowers; Sir Frederick Trenes, intense crimson with a white eye; The Sirdar, large amglle scarlet. ■Geraniums are easily propagated from cnttlngs, young tips an Inch or an inch' and a half being taken. Plants should be cut hard back once a year to keep them to young wood. An occasional dose of very weak liquid manure during the flowering season helps to keep up the size of the blooms. TRITOMA-GOLD ELSE. Gold Else is a dainty thing. The flowers are pale yellow, find are borne on long slender stems. Plants begin flowering early in November, and as long as spent flower heads are removed, new ones keep pushing up from the roots, making a long flowering season. The plants appreciate a good watering during dry weather, and an occasional dose of weak liquid manure. Gold Else is charming when grown at the back of a mixed border, or in clumps at the front of a shrubbery, for the long thin stems, and slender pointed flower heads are very graceful. ' LITHOSPERMUMS. Lithospermum prostratum is one of the loveliest Of hardy rock garden plants, for It spreads over a flat rock or down a slope, ■and 'during spring is a sheet of gentian blue. It is propagated from cuttings Which may be taken now, The best are young shoots that have uot flowered. If they are planted firmly In sandy soil, in a semi-shaded position, and kept moist, they will soon form roots, and by autumn will be nice little plants ready for moving into the rock garden. The soil for them should be a rich light loam. One point to remember in their cultivation is that they do not like lime, and will not thrive when it is present in. the soil. Now that flowering is practically over, plants like to be top-drcs»ed with a little gritty 11 broiis loam. It should be worked in among the growths, and loose growths should be pegged down. This gives plants a fresh start, and they then keep on flowering a little all through the summer. HYDRANGEAS. It is still early in the season for hydrangeas, but already many bushes are showing wonderful heads of bloom, and of good colour. This is especially so where the plants have been well fed and watered. Some people think that ft Is useless to try to grow hydrangeas unless they can give them a shady position, and good supplies of water. But really they are the hardiest of plants, and once established do well in suu or in shade, and in quite dry situations provided they get ah occasional good watering. In a fairly damp, seml-shaded one they are more easily established, and they grow quickly. As a rule, too, the colour is more Intense. In an open sunny place they are sometimes a little difficult to establish, aiid at first need frequent good waterings and a little shelter to help them, but after the first year they generally grow freely, and flower profusely. There are not many plants that give such a long and big display, and that give so little trouble to the gardener. Once planted in well-prepared soil there is not much to do for them, except cut them hard back early every winter. Or, what is better still Is to cut hard back each flower stem as a flower head fades. Then one is almost never without flowers, and in winter the huge heads are wonderful—sometimes pure green, but often green splashed or edged with fed. Just now plants enjoy all the water they can get, and if liquid manure can be given, the colour of the flowers is much deeper. Where it can be had, too, a top-dresSing of good humus‘y soil helps the plants considerably.

Hydrangeas show quick response to good treatment. Where the soil has been well dug and manured before the plants are put in. and where plenty of water is available during the summer months, the plants produce enormous heads of bloom, 'and the colour is intense. It Is a good plan to buy plants now in pots, while they are iti floWer. ■ They should be planted out immediately into well-dug and well-eurlched ground, for they are, apt to go back if left long in the pots. , ’Some of the most outstanding among varieties are: AmOrante, Goliath. Helge, La Lorraine, La Marne, Marshal Focli, Parzlval, Madame A. Riverain, Rubis, Ithelngold, Sensation. ROUTINE - WORK. Dahlias should have weak liquid manure once a fortnight, after a good watering. As soon ,as they begin to flower . freely, the manure may be given opce a week. Perennial flowering carnations may have a pinch of superphosphate pricked in round them every few weeks. Or a very little dry chicken manure, that has been stored for some time, may be used alternately witli superphosphate. Chicken manure |s strong and care should bo taken not to overdo the use of It. Sowings may be made during the next few weeks of perennials such as'delphiniums, cineraria?, wallflowers, aquilegias, pentstemoils, carnations, anemones. Sweet Williams, gypsophila, Canterbury bells, Oriental popples, antirrhinums, sweet scabious, and thalicttiims. Sow wallflower seed in drills. If the soil is dry. first pour,water Into the drills, and then sow the seeds when it has soaked in. ' Cineraria seeds should be sown in a mixture of soil, sand, and leaf mould. Seeds of primula malacoldes may be sown now In seed-boxes, so that the seedlings, will be ready for planting out In March. Argentine peas may be cut back as soon ns the flowering is over. The soil should be loosened and thoroughly saturated with water. A mulch of cow manure should then be placed round the plant. When preparing the mulch, It is best to soften the clods of manure in a bucket of Water, stirring them until a thick mixture Is formed. If this is spread round the rodts. any liquid will at once soak into the wet soli, and the Insoluble part will form a nice mulch. If cow manure cannot be had. work Into the soil a sprinkling of guano, and use a mulch of decayed rubbish.