THE GARDEN

Evening Star, Issue 19841, 14 April 1928, Page 20

THE GARDEN

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SEASONABLE WORK I

THE VEGETABLE GARDEN The principal work in this department just now will be hoeing between the rows of growing crops to stimulate growth and to keep down weeds; lifting and storing potatoes as the tops ripen off; and clearing spent crops. Vacant ground should be manured and dug up for autumn and winter frosts to operate upon, more especially ground that is inclined to be stiff and wet. Never defer digging up ground until winter is past when it can be done in the autumn. Keep a watchful eye upon asparagus beds to prevent the seed from ripening and falling to the ground, or the seed will germinate and disorganise the beds. Cut the tops all off and clean up the beds as soon as they are ready for this work Plant out cabbages and cauliflowers. It is always advisable at this season to plant cabbages under what is termed the crowding system—that is, not more than Ift apart, so that in the spring, when the young cabbages are of a useful size, every other one may be cut, and those left will have room to develop to their full capacity. Earth up celery as growth demands. There is still time to make a sowing of garden peas to stand the winter and to come in early next season. Select a warm, sunny border for them. Old stools of globe artichokes may be taken up now and divided and transplanted, giving them deeply-dug and well-manured ground.

Plant out strawberries as soon as possible. By doing this there is a much greater chance of getting a fair proportion of fruit the first season than when late planting is adopted. THE FLOWER GARDEH

Sweet peas should be sown now for an early supply of bloom for next season.

The propagating of such plants _ as geraniums of all kinds, calceolarias, verbenas, and many others should be got on with now. Geraniums root very readily if they are prepared in the usual way, and the cuttings pricked out into seed boxes and placed in a rvarm, sunny situation. Calceolarias require more attention, although they root freely if they are pricked out into rich loam, leaf mould, and sand, mid kept cool and shaded in hand lights or closed cold frames. Verbenas are so easily and reliably raised from seed now that rooting them from cuttings is raiely adopted, excepting where one color is required for bedding purposes. Many kinds of lilies which have ripened off their tops may bo lifted, separated, and replanted. These should have deeply-dug and well-prepared ground. Dig up and properly prepare beds for various kinds of bulbs, most of which may be planted now. Gladiolus.—As soon as these have ripened or partly ripened off their tops lift and top them and place them away to ripen off, taking care to label them. When quite ripe and dry clean off the tops and store until planting time. _ Transplant early layered carnations in well-prepared hods, but' avoid making the bed they are to occupy too rich with manure, as they are inclined to grow too coarse at the expense of the flowers. What they like is fresh gritty loam dug and worked up to a fair depth. A little dusting of lime on the surface when planting will prove beneficial.

Chrysanthemums should be kept securely tied to supports, and where goodsized flowers are the object in preference to quantity strict attention must be paid to disbudding, or, properly speaking, taking the bud, as I have previously explained. Many of the herbaceous plants may bo lifted and divided up now, and other plants, such as scabious, that have past their flowering will benefit by lifting and dividing. Where possible give them a charge of soil or situation, as nearly all flowers like a system of rotation.

Now or recently-sown lawns should have a good rolling as soon as possible after the grass is well through to settle the soil about their roots and to maintain a smooth and firm surface. Roll and mow established lawns regularly to prevent weeds from seeding, and keep them smooth and neat. Clip verges of path and flower beds to put a neat and tidy finish to the total. THE ROSE GARDEN Attention should be paid to the removal of all seed puds from rose bushes, as this is a needless drag upon tho plants, and means that a great deaf of energy is lost when these are left on until tho time of pruning, which is very frequently tho case. Consequently, 1 need hardly state that those who neglect these little points cannot hope to compete with more energetic growers. Another point is to pay attention to what is termed summer pruning, that is, to clip out in addition to the seed pods thin, useless, and overcrowded wood. By clipping tho surplus wood away more light, air, and room are coven for the fuller ripening and expansion of the wood, which is to give the desired blooms for the next season. Hoot out suckers whenever seen, and rub or cut them off the steins of standards. Stir the surface of the beds to keep down weeds, and admit air to the roots. By this means the soil is kept sweet and .healthy for the plants. When new beds are to be made no time should be lost in getting the ground properly worked up and manured in readiness to receive the plants later on. The ground should always be given time to settle and the manure to get into a suitable condition before planting takes place. Another point. Do not leave the ordering or selecting of varieties until late in tho season, or disappointment may follow—not only in regard to varieties, but in the quality of the plants. The good old rule still exists —first come, first served. Climbing roses should have tho strong leading shoots tied in, and some of the old wood removed. Long shoots nos only of climbers, but the long, strong shoots of dwarfs should be shortened back a little to ease the roots in the case of strong winds. Look over budded stocks of manetti and remove excessive wood where the buds look weak. ANSWERS “Roses.”—You say your King Edward potatoes were badly blighted this year. The ground was heavily manured and limed. You ask if you plant potatoes on the same ground. (1) I should advise lifting the potatoes as soon as possible, as the longer they are in the ground the worse they will get. it would be much better to change both the ground and the sets. The potato is an exhausting crop to the ground, and should not he planted on the same place two years in succession. it possible get your sets from another locality—a change of soil. (2) Ibe following are three good yellow roses — Margaret Dickson Hamel, Golden Emblem or Mable Morse or Souvenir de Glaudine Fernet. (3) Three pinks: Ethel Summerset, Lady Ashtown (an old variety but good), Madame Abel Chataney.

“F.G.”—(l) American pillow rose, o.- a cerothus veitchii would be satisfactory to train on wire fence. (2) You wish to plant late geraniums and fuchsias outside, and you ask what Is the best time to plant.—Wait until the frosts are past in spring. (3) You intend sowing sweet peas where garden peas and runner and butter beans are just dying down. Will they require different treatment?—Good, deep trenching and manuring is about at! th ) sweet peas will require. “T.C.L. —For your ground I think you could not do better than get a load or two of the old mortar rubbish such as that at the pulling down at the old Post Office. It would both open and lime the ground at the same time. Otherwise I should prefer ground agricultural lime. ft goes farther, although it is a little dearer than the common shell lime. Wood ashes or burnt garden rubbish are excellent materials Tor opening up the surface soil on stiff or heavy ground. Spread over the rough, newly dug ground, and fork it in later on, just before cropping. —H.C.

DESIRABLE BULBS

Brodiaea.—Brodlaea (better known, perhaps, as Triteleia) uniflora (spring star flower) is the chief favorite; it is a charming little flower of October, lilac-purple, and the stems are only oin or Gin limb. It thrives well under trees; Brodiaea laxa, 18in, pale .purple, October; B. grandi flora, _ 15m purple blue, November; and B. ixioides, loin, yellow, October, are other attractive sorts. The bulbs are planted in early autumn. . Bulbocodium Vermun.—lms is an early spring bulb, of which the rosy purple blooms are similar to those ot the crocus; the flowers come before the leaves, and the plant therefore lacks somewhat in attractiveness, but they open very early, often before the crocuses, so that this is some compensation. The bulbs should have light soil and a sunny spot. Chionodoxa (Glory of the Snovv).Most popular of the Chionodoxas is G. Lucilliac, with beautiful blue and white flowers, like glorified squills, m September. It will thrive in all sorts of odd corners, and apparently unpromising situations; and is, too, very cheap. C. sardensis is taller and more vigorous, and has blue flowers. The bulbs ought to bo put in not later than tins month. , , Colchicum. —The meadow sattion (Colchicum autumnale) is a charming March flower, and is especially welcome in the rock garden then, for comparatively little is in bloon* there. Ihe leaves of Colcliicums do not begin to put in an appearance until alter the flowers have faded. In addition to the meadow saffron one might also have 0. Bornmulleri (lavender rose), 0. speciosum rubrurn (rose red), C. cilicicum (rose), and C. variegatum (m which the blooms are rose marked with purple). All these blossom in March. The bulbs should be planted in summer, during January or .February. Crocus. —There is no n?ed to say much about the showy spring crocuses, in white, yellow, or violet blue, though those who care to go to the extra expense will find that some of the named varieties are liner than, the common sorts. But in the rock garden one ought really to plant a few bulbs of the crocus species, the wild types from other lands. Some of them are very beautiful —for example, C. biflorus (pale lilac), C. chrysanthus (yellow), C. Imperati (pale purple), C. Sieberi (deep lavender), and C. tomraasinianus (pale lilac). Then there aro some attractive autumn-blooming crocuses, of which the rock gardener would do well to plant a few. Bulbs of these should bn put in the ground in January. Among the best may he mentioned C. speciosus (purple blue), C. pulchellus (lilac blue), and C. laevigatus (white with purplish marking). Daffodil.—Of the many narcissi suitable for planting in the rock _ garden none are so pleasing as the miniature kinds. The hoop petticoat (Narcissus bulbocodium), angels’ tears (N. triandrus), cyclamen-flowered daffodil (N. cyclamineus), the small trumpet variety (Queen of Spain), and the tiniest of all daffodils (minimus). Such as these are worthy of a choice, welldrained spot, where they can have more than usual care. As for others, it is best to choose those distinguished by •grace rather than boldness of bloom, such, for instance, as Water witch, Mrs Langtry, Duchess of Westminster, W. Goldring, and innumerable others to be found in catalogues. The triandrus hybrids, with pale drooping blossoms, are very charming. Bulbs ought to be in not later than April, though earlier planting is preferable. Eranthis.—The exquisite little winter aconite (Eranthis hyemalis), with its cup-shaped yellow blooms in the midst of a ruffle of green leafage, is the earliest hardy flower ,of the year. It should be freely planted, especially beneath the shrubs and on the outskirts of the rock garden. Eranthis cilicicus is very similar.

Eremurus (King’s Spear).—The Eremurus is the noblest of the plants classed in this section; the roots are thick and numerous, and radiate from a central bud or growing point. They should be planted in early autumn, about Gin beneath the surface, in welldrained, loamy soil, and covered with leaves or old ashes during the winter, for they start growing very early. They ought to be planted in some conspicuous spot on a fairly high part of tho rockery, so that their tall spears of bloom may show to the best advantage. The , flower stems of E. himalaicus, white, reach a height of 6ft or Bft, and those of E. robusuis, palest pink, grow even taller. Both bloom in November. E. Bungei, about 3ft or 4ft high, is of less robust type, and has lovely yellow flowers in December, Erythronium (Dog’s Tooth Violet).— Several of tho Erythroniums are indispensable rock garden flowers, blooming in spring and early summer. They like a moist, peaty, or leafy soil, and do well in the bog garden. The commonest kind is Erythronium Dens-canis (so named from the shape of its roots), with drooping, lilac rose flowers, on stems 4in or Sin high, in September. E. giganteum, white, with yellowish shading; E. Califorhicum, almost white; and E. Americanum, pale yellow, are other beautiful kinds. Some of these plants are additionally attractive from the fact that the leaves are prettily marked with _ a second color. The roots are planted in early autumn. Fritillaria.—The fritillarias, with their showy, drooping, more or less hellshaped blooms, are very attractive, and less often grown than they deserve. The commonest and easiest of all is the snake’s head fritillary (Fritillaria Meleagris), with pale blossoms, spotted with purple crimson. Tho Crown Imperial (Fritillaria Imperialis) is a wellknown cottage-garden favorite, having clusters of drooping yellow or orangecolored flowers on stems some 2ft high. Room might wejl he found for it, as it gives rich color in October. Fritillaria armena (yellowish) and F. pyrenaiea (purple and yellow shades) are others that are satisfactory out of doors in well-drained, sandy soil. Tho bulbs should be planted in March and April. Galanthus (Snowdrop).—One can

scarcely have too many snowdrops in odd corners of the rock garden; they are charming early in the year, and one likes to look upon them as heralds of the alpine loveliness still to come. Iris.—The bulbous irises include the December flowering Spanish and English irises, as well as many charming sorts that bloom in spring. They are easily grown in pots. Muscari (Grapo Hyacinth) .—One can scarcely plant too many of the lovely grape hyacinths, of which the little, erect, blue flower spikes are so showy in late September and October. They are very accommodating, and will thrive in all sorts of unlikely spots. The finest lot I have ever seen was on ahcdgebank. The variety heavenly blue is the most brilliant of all. M. botryoides (blue) and its white variety (alba) and M. conicum (blue) are others commonly grown. The bulbs are planted in March or April. Scilla (Squill).—The squills arc dainty flowers of early spring, and are well worth planting freely in tjio rock garden, for the decaying leaves are very little in the way. Scilla sibirica and S. hifolia, both blue-flowered, are usually grown. S. fostalis is the common bluebell, and this, of course* is very lovely in May, but it needs to be abundantly grouped to give a good effect. The Spanish squill (Scilla hispanica) is a charming plant; it forms a tuft of narrow leaves, from which the flower spikes, ]2iu or loin high, rise in November, hearing the pah blue blossoms ; there is a pink variety called rosea. «

ELECTRICITY FOR HEATING

Nurserymen in different purls of the world are experimenting with electricity for heating glasshouses and hotbeds. A firm in Germany carried out extensive experiments with an elec-trically-heated glasshouse some months ago, and a general bulletin has been recently issued by the Agricultural Experiment Station giving the method of making and results of the use of an electric hotbed, also a comparison between the use of manure and electric hotbeds. After working with' the two hotbeds for a season it was found that the electric hotbed iliad some decided advantages over the manure hotbed, and few disadvantages. The advantages of the manure hotbed lie in the facts that (a) it is inexpensive if good manure is obtainable dose by, (b) easy to build, (c) heat requires little attention, (d) manure may be used as fertiliser after serving its useful purpose in the hotbed. Its disadvantages are that (a) need to refill with new manure every two to three months when in use, (b) 1 difficulty in obtaining good manure, (c) manure disagreeable to handle and requires considerable labor in preparation, (d) cannot control amount of heat. The advantages of tho electric hotbed are that (a) it is always ready to use, clean, and agreeable’to work with; (b) may be converted into cold frame by turning off the electricity; (c) readily moved; (d) easily manipulated; (o) can be used in numerous ways. As may be imagined, tho most important disadvantage is tho first cost of making and the higher cost of operation. The cost of making may he spread over a period of three years, and it finally works out very little higher than that of a manure hotbed—that is, provided that, the manure has to be purchased. Another point in favor of the electric hotbed is that it can he put into use at any time of the year by simply switching on the electricity.

RHUBARB FROM SEED

Raising new rhubarb plants from seed is an easy matter. The seed may he sown thinly in fairly deep hoses and covered with a sheet of glass to keep the heat in. The seed germinates quickly, and in about four weeks tho young seedlings will he largo enough to transplant into other boxes 3in ■apart. in about four weeks From transplanting the seedlings will he large enough to plant out into their permanent position, where they will commence to yield the following year. When a rhubarb bed is beginning to lose its vigor and yield thin, spindly stalks it is always advisable to raise a stock of new plants in the manner described. Certainly tho practice in some gardens is to lift and divide old crowns, planting tho split pieces, hut it is doubtful if that is as satisfactory as starting afresh with new plants.

VOTING COMPETITION

Each visitor to the recent dahlia show at Newmarket (Auckland) received a card upon which to write down what he or sue considered the best twelve varieties shown. The result of the voting was as follows: 1, Mabel Lawrence, 248 voles; 2, Jack Hobbs, 227; 3, Shudow’s Lavender, 218; 4, Champagne, 195; 5, Berengaria, 187; 6, Kitty Rogers, 181; 7, Golden Queen, 172; 8, H. B. May, 157; 9, Sheila Ward, 142; 10, J. L. Crowther, 99; 11, Jericho, 91; 12, Tommy Atkins, 88. The winning competitor named the twelve varieties in the correct order (as established by the voting). Two competitors tied for second place, each naming eleven varieties.

PLANTING RANUNCULI

BEAUTIFUL SPRING BULBS Ranunculus bulbs are quite hardy and may be planted any time from March till early June, although the earlier they are planted the quicker they flower and more growth they make before the colder months arrive. It should be noted that Ranunculus is very seldom successful the second year when cormes are left in the ground from the previous season. The bulbs should always be lifted immediately the foliage turns yellow, dried and stored until the nest planting season. Varieties to Plant: There are several types of Ranunculi, and the choice of varieties lies between the Asiaticus, a mixture of double and semi-double flowers, all brilliant shades and hues; the Turban, a larger and coarser variety than the former but with a bigger percentage of double flowers. The Persian and French are neater and more perfect from the florists’ point of view, although perhaps not so robust in growth ns the Asiaticus. All. varieties like a deep, cool soil with plenty of rotted manure and leaf mould added. Plant the cormes 2in deep and 9in apart. Soaking the bulbs overnight is a good practice if the ground is inclined to be dry. Constant waterings should bo applied during the warmer autumn months to help the growth along early. If artificial manure is being used", bonedust or slag are the best while the bulbs are dormant. Once they have started in growth quicker fertilisers may be applied if plants are backward.

GARDENING IK THE MIDDLE AGES

The Romans, during their rule of Britain, raised the twin arts of agriculture and horticulture to a flourish ing condition; vineyards were planted, and apples, pears, and mulberries were grown in the garden of the Roman official, but in the stormy days of Saxon and Dane gardening was neglected, and it was not until after the Norman conquest that “ Adam's Profession” began to lift its head once more in England, During the twelfth and thirteenth centuries gardens became common within every castle wall, and even the peasantry possessed cultivated plots attached to their cottages. However, the greatest measure of perfection in gardening then was attained by the monks, within the seclusion of the monastery, away from the frequent broils of baron against baron. Most of the plants grown were for culinary or medicinal use, and except in the town garden, where the merchant or craftsman and his family took their pleasure, flowers were little cultivated. Unlike the city dwelling of to-day, the feudal town house often had quite a large garden, and here roses, lilies, poppies, foxgloves, and violets were favorites. “ \ monkish writer of the twelfth century describing the ideal garden, savs: ‘‘lt should be adorned on this side with roses, lilies, and marigolds: on that side with parsley, cost, fennel, southernwood, coriander, sage, hyssop mint, vine, dettany, pellitory, lettuce, cresses, and the paeony (then cultivated for medicinal purposes rather than for its showy flowers). Let there be beds enriched with onions, leeks, garlic, melons, and scallions. The

garden is also enriched by the cucumber, the daffodil, and the acanthus. Nor let potherbs bo wanting, as beetroot, sorrel, and marrow. It is useful also to the gardener to have anice, mustard, and wormwood. A noble garden will give you medlars, quinces, the pearman, peaches, pears of St. Regie, pomergranates, citrons, oranges, almonds, dates, and figs.” In tho twelfth century we learn that vineyards flourished in Gloucestershire, apple orchards were common in western counties, and a market garden existed at Fullham. Many of the fruits and vegetables, cheap and plentiful to-day, were quite unknown in the middle ages. Carrots were introduced by the Flemings in the reign of “Queen Bess,” and for a longtime afterwards were rare and expensive. It is recorded that in tho reign ot James 1. ladies adorned their hats with carrot leaves. Gooseberries, raspberries, and currants, although probably known in the middle ages, were not greatly esteemed. The Crusaders, on their return from the East, hi ought with them many new plants and Decs; the hollyhock or mallow from the Holy Land bears testimony to this.