GARDEN AND HOME

Evening Star, Issue 19001, 24 July 1925, Page 12

GARDEN AND HOME

MR TANKOCK EXPOUNDS RELATIONSHIP ~ i Mr D. Tannock’s lecture on homebuilding, delivered in the Y.M.C.A. lecture hall last evening, was entitled ‘ The Garden and Exterior of the Home.’ The speaker said that a homo without a garden was a poor home indeed. In the same way a home with a neglected garden was an indication of lack of industry, thrift, good taste, and wasted opportunity. In a paper on 1 British Ideals of Gardening' it was stated that the great difference between gardening in England and other countries was that in England the cottage garden set the standard, whereas in other countries the standard was set by the palace and the villa. The roa- ; son for this was that, though circumstances had made them herd together in towns, they remain at heart a country people. Their hearts were never in the town, even when they were forced to live in one, and their idea of improving it was to make it as like the country as they could. The British ideals o' gardening were those followed in New Zealand, and the fashion in gar-, dening in Groat Britain was the fashion in gardening with them. They wore fortunate in living under climatic conditions very similar to those at Homo, and they were still more fortunate in being able to grow to perfection all the trees, shrubs, and plants which could be grown in the open air in England. Sections varied in size, but in Dunedin most could be classified in two distinct groups; (a) The level section found on the Elat, in Anderson Bay district, St. Hilda, South Dunedin, St. Clair, parts of Cavershara, and the north end; and (b) the hill sections j found in the greater part of the Anderson Bay district, Mornington, Roslyn, Maori Hill, North-cast Valley, the Kaikorai Valley, and Opoho. Among landscape gardeners there were two schools —one which they called the formal gardener, who set out all his paths, beds, borders, and lawns according to a defi- . nite pattern, the plan being prepared with the office ruler, a pair of compasses, and a foot rule; and the natural gardener, who laid out his garden according to Nature, taking full advantage of all natural features, and grouping his plants according to their likes as to soil and exposure, and to some extent their botanical characteristics. The formal plan was suitable for gardens on the flat, and the natural plan for those on the hills. The natural system called for more individuality "than the other, and a certain knowledge of the likes and dislikes of the various plants to enable them to ! be placed under the right conditions and to group them in an artistic and pleasing manner. In the natural system there were no straight lines, but at the same time care should be taken not to produce meaningless wriggles. In landscape gardening it was stated “ that ne wins all points who pleasingly confounds, surprises, varies, and con- i ceals the bounds.” And the chief aim should be to make the section look larger than it really was, and to provide variety and interest at every turn. The one .drawback to gardening in New Zealand was the cold south-west winds. If they could be shut out there was a difference of several degrees in the temperature. By keeping 1 the house well to the south-west side of the section the greater portion of the garden would bo in the sun and shelter, with more room for carrying out artistic grouping. Another important point was to have all the soil removed from the position the house was | to occupy and placed on the vegetable ’ garden, or where it was likely to be j required, b efore building was com-1 menced. The first operation should ho j to trench the whole section' to a depth 1 of from 2ft to 3ft. If this were done i in the first instance, and all weeds and 1 grass buried well down, there would be less trouble afterwards, and the growth of all kinds of plants would be much more satisfactory. In the matter of hedge planting, there were quite a number of suitable hedge plants, such as escalloniaj olearia Fostera, and olearia Traversa. The olearia Traversii was fonnd to be very suitable, and so was the holly, which was a quick grower when properly treated. The latter had the advantage of being easily transplanted at almost any age, and was in great demand at the present time. The privet, too, was quite a satisfactory hedge plant, but the best kind of fence was no hedge at all. (Laughter.) Enclosing gardens would not bo tolerated were it not for stray dogs and horses. The latter would soon be a thing of the past, and dogs were now being better controlled, Mr Tannock remarked. Paths were an important feature in connection with any garden, and he favored concrete. It should, however, have a proper foundation, which should be permitted to sot thoroughly before having the concrete laid on it. Toppings, ot very fine screenings, also made a good path. “Crazy paving” was also popular in some quarters, as j it permitted of the growth of plants, such as wild thyme. The laying down of lawns was important work. It was quite a good idea to take a crop of potatoes off the ground before sowing down a lawn. Autumn was the best

time for sowing the grasses, which should be Poverty Bay ryegrass, for preference. This was a quick-growing plant. Crested dogtail was also a good lawn grass. A lawn should be and mown frequently. If beds were made in a lawn they should be either round or oval-shaped. With regard to beds, the iris, which was practically a new plant, was a good one for small gardens. Peonies and delphiniums also made good beds and border plants. In the average garden there was much scope for trees. Flowering apples, Japanese and plums and peaches were quite suitable as garden ireea. The copper beech was also a suitable garden tree. They must not, however, forget some of .their own native trees ; many of which were eminently suitable. Shrubs should not be neglected, but “ rubbishy ” laurels and suchlike should bo eschewed. Veronicas and other native shrubs could bo grown to advantage. There was a in every garden for climbers, of which wistaria and clematis were the pick. If roses were planted they should not bo grown against a wall or close boarded fence, otherwise they would become blighted. Every garden should have fruit trees, such as gooseberries, currants, and raspberries. As far as the vegetable garden was concerned, the principal t-v ng was to cultivate deeply and to manure generously. Seeds should not he sown in large quantities, but frequent succesaional sowing should be adopted. Mr Tannock concluded by giving the following three maxims;—The first was that the house should be built before a start was made with the garden; the second was to take advantage of all the natural features; and the third was to secure suitable shelter. A vote of thanks was accorded the speaker by acclamation.