GARDENING NOTES.

Evening Post, Volume LXXI, Issue 142, 16 June 1906, Page 12

GARDENING NOTES.

[Bl EXPEKIEXOE.J Hedges— One of the first; considerations in. laying out a garden i B to provide shelter. What to plant for hedges is.a thing that puzzles many. The temptation to get something that will run up quickly oft« f hl°?lh l°? ly J consi **ation, far too wrong thing, to their lasting sorrow. For the aforesaid reason cupressus macrocarpa VI jYf- TUis P lant answ «s on^y *^ L hedge ! ? t0 be a lar S« °ne; it wall not bear continual close clippinjr It W A fOTe £ tlee ° f Bigantic dimensions, which will not conform to any other habit, forced or otherwise. It is exceedingly unfortunate when trees keep dying in a hedge ; it is rendered, unsightly for years, whatever may be done. Another thing that is unsuitable is the Chatham Island ake ake. In this case the reason is quite 'different. Its habib is all righto, and it; grows quickly, but, in this district at least, it is subject to a worm that eate into the branches', and destroys them. I have seen quite young hedges completely destroyed by the worm. The Taupata (coprosma ■ bauriana) is satisfactory near the sea. coast, but where subjected to shnrp frost it is; quite useless — it) is cut down every winter. A plant which I believe will make one of the best of hedges is olearia macrodonta, .also called O. illicifolia; it is a' native plant similiaT to til© well-known ake ake, olearia fosterii, but much darker in colour and more rapid in growth.. The Australian salt bush will also make avery ■ fine hedge ; itl is of more ' rapid growth even than the olearia., stands clipping to any extent, and is perfectly hardy, bearing even blizzards from the sea without injury. Its colour may not please tho people ; ill is a very light grey, _ The Chinese privet (Ligustrum sinensis) makes an ideal hedge of moderate'dimensions, is quick growing, and con be clipped as often and as close as one may wish. The privet should be planted about twelve inches iypart; the others, being of stronger growth, will do at eighteen iucnes armrt. Pittosporum crassifoiium is well known as a shrub; it make o an excellent and a quick-growing hedge. Common euonymus makes a hedge hard to beat where the soil is fairly moist throughout the sou. son, and has this advantage — if it gets too high or too broad., as hedges will, it can be cut back to any extent and is again quickly clad with new growth. It is not considered wise to plant it) near an orchard, as it provides a good breeding' ground for scale insects. Similarly the laurestinus, which niakes an excellent hedge, harbours thrip and red spider, both bad. things to get on fruib trees. Berberis darwinii makes a rather slow bud pretty hedge; the common barberry (berberis vulgaris) makes a good liedge, but it> cannot} be considered ag ornamental. Ib is very good, however on the boundary of an orchard, etc; if allowed to widen out itl is almost impenetrable. After all, there is no hedge that equals the English holly, unless it is the English yew. Both are slow in the first few years, but as fast as anything when tlhe -oots get well spread; both make a very close hedge, and are suitable for boundaries or prominent positions. The ground where a hedge is to be planted should be broken up to a depth of at least 20in; it would, of course, be better if the surrounding ground were, also broken tip — it would be easier to' prevent water lying about the roots. This must be prevented by some means. If the situation is damp the soil should be dug up a bit from either side so as to raise the soil where the plants will be a bit above the surrounding surface, but fhis should not be done where the situation is naturally dry, or even normal, or the young plants woald be likely to suffer from extreme drynes6 until the roots worked down. If the soil is not naturally 'fTch, some well-decayed manure should be worked in, or applied as a mulch after planting. Screen and Shelter Trees — This is a phase of gardening which k deserving of more consideration than it frequently gets. Judicious planting is a matter of taste, combined with knowledge. It is ainistake to crowd things together in the hurry to get quick shelter, it results more often than hot in the best things getting crowded out, or at least spoiled by th© crowding. Tho first thing to do is to arrange th© planting of trees that are intended for the main feature of the 'place. To do this well a knowledge of the habit of growth and ultimate dimensions of each tree is necessary. Such giants as pinus insignis should he kept well back, and varieties of abies which spread at the- bottom, must also have ample room. Such things must be upwards of 20ft apart; other things should be at such distances from each other as will allow for their proper development without crowding, and> usually it will be advisable to choose trees whos© dimensions and height will be less and less, as the arrangement works inward, as by this arrangement a more comjrehensive view is obtained of the various trees. After planting as indicated, there will still remain a good deal of unoccupied space, which will require to be filled temporarily until the permanent trees fill up the space allotted to them. Shrubs only should b© used for this temporary purpose; they will provide sjbelter for slow growing or delicate subjects till they get a good start, without overshadowing them, and they are easily destroyed when no longer required. THE FLOWER GARDEN. Dahlias may now be cut down. What to do with them afterwards should depend on conditions of ground, etc. There is no doubt that many more ar© lost that ar© lifted than is the case with those left in th© ground, th© chief reason probably being thai they are often stored in unsuitable places. They are also often destroyed by slugs and snails eating the buds away, and wood-lice also destroy them. They get onto the hollow stems, and feed till they eat the life out of th© collars; the plants then foil apart as though from dry rot. They are best stored outside ; a shed would b© too dry, and the tubers are likely then to shrivel and the buds perish. Under a large evergreen tree or tucked under the side of a hedge aro good places ; they should be out of heavy rain, and away from th© influence of drying winds. If there is fear of vermin cover them up with sand or fine soil. But if the ground where they are growing is well drained, and th© tubers not in the way, it is just as well to leave them wher© they are ; there are seldom any losses in that way. Roses. — Work among these is plentiful npw, planting, pruning, manuring, and digging. Now ijs a good timo to begin pruning, any transplanted after this timo snould b© pruned before being replanted. Whatever class th© ros© may belong to, it should be cut hard back when transplanted; many disappointments are caused by neglect of this. Cutting well back induces th© plants to break away strongly, and make satisfactory growth, th© resers© is nearly always the cafes under the opposite treatment, j

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