GARDENING NOTES.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 27 May 1935, Page 6

GARDENING NOTES.

*. Routino Work in the Borders Continue to plant nil manner of bulbs; also ranunculi and anemone conns. Lift all the late gladioli from the borders. Plant Carnation*, and all kinds of hardy annuals and perennials. Eefill all bare spaces in the rock garden. Plant roses and shrubs as weather and soil conditions permit. Lift dahlias.from the borders and refill tho bare spaces with any early flowering plants. Plant primroses, violets and aubriePrune the hydrangeas and plant for-get-me-nots at the base. The dwarf, deep blue variety provides a striking display in the spring. Where more colour is wanted in the 'hydrangeas, give the pink varieties a good dressing of lime and the blue ones a,generous dressing of alum. Continue to sow hardy annuals and perennials under glass. Plant irises of all kinds, and give tho bearded varieties a dressing of lime. Plant primula malacoides, lily-of-the-valley, campanulas, forget-me-nots, and cinerarias in shady nooks. Stake and tic the early sown sweetpeas. The vegetable Garden Thin out all the r.utumn sown root crops. Sow more lettuce, cabbage and cauliflower, under glass. Plant out onion, cabbage, and cauuiflower plants. Plant a few shalots. Plant all kinds of herbs and prune back existing plants of thyme and sage. Plant rhubarb and asparagus. Plant strawberries and all kinds of fruit trees. - ; Strike cuttings of gooseberries and currants. Deeply dig, manure and raise all beds intended for early plantings or sowings of vegetables, finishing with a surface dressing of lime. Sow broad beans in the open ground. Lift all root crops where the plots are needed. Bedding Schemes Plans for bedding schemes now occupy the gardener's thoughts. The weather is stil kind and alows much to be done in this line. Where the tulips are growing, plants of the dwarf forget-me-not may be set among them; aubrietia, and dwarf white abyssum are also pretty. An early bed of orange colouring can be planted now. Antirrhinums in the background, groups of Iceland poppies fronting these, finishing with orange or yellow Tom Thumb antirrhinums. Chieranthus or other wallflowers, and calendulas, especially the new Campfire variety, may be used. Pink and red shades, too, are easily catered for with groups of both shades in antirrhinums, and the effect is prettiest if the pink shades are so planted as to gradually merge into the red. Larkspurs in these Colourings, godetias, elarkias red and pink viscaria, the new crimson candytuft, and crimson Virginian stock for finishing off. Violas may be utilised in the rose borders. Pansies appear to great advantage when massed by themselves. !Stocks associate well with fragrant: garden pinks, night-scented stock,' mignonette, and mixed Virginian stock, while a round bed filled with rich-col-oured polyanthus primroses is a joy over a long period. Plant generously of aubrietia, and catmint is most useful for dry spots. Cobea Scandens A very useful climber is the above plant. Where shade is wanted during the heat of summer this plant can be grown to fill the'.position, as it will flourish well in tubs or in the open ground. In shade or sun, in any position, it still thrives well and gives continuously of its pretty, trumpetshaped or bell-shaped flowers, which vary in colour, some green, some mauve and others deep violet. After the flower has dropped off, the green saucer-like base remains on the plant for a long time, gradually taking on a purple tint. Others develop a hugh seed pod, reminiscent of a growing passion fruit. In all stages much use may be. made of this plant's products for decorative purposes. It is easily raised from seed and will always provide interest and attraction on account of its varied changes. Calendulas Calendulas planted now wil give a feast of colour throughout the winter and early spring months, provided the site chosen be a well drained and sunny one. The spent blooms should also be removed in order to keep the flowers as large as possible. These are often called marigolds and are particularly pleasing when used for fronting a border where the background is devoted to blue anchusas, or cynogloasum. Calendulas will stand dry conditions well and the modern types with their large double blooms are well worth a place in the garden, if only for brightening it up on a dull day. The livingrooms are enlivened'' on dull days when bowls of these gay flowers are placed to advantage. The variety Campfire is the brightest obtainable, while good yellows and deep straw colours add variety. Importance of Good Soil ? i Some amateurs consider the kitchen garden an expensive department, but that depends entirely on- how it is managed. By correct management, on either a small or a large scale, the culture of edible plants may be made very profitable, as everyone who has practical experience of it knows. On the

other hand, it is quilt' an easy matter .lor those who lake no interest in a garden, or have very hazy notions of economical tiling!, to pay very dourly for those commodities. The nature of the soil has much to do with the success or failure of plants, and some kinds will grow luxuriously in the ordinary soil of the district without much help from artificial means. The great value of tilling and working the surface soil is net generally- understood. It; is also important that all ground which has carried a crop of vegetables should have a good dressing of "lime. II: the above two items are attended to, together with the aid of a little fertiliser, liquid manuring for celery and runner beans, and the dig-ging-in during the winter months of ail roUed weeds, etc., and the burning of rubbish on vacant plots where possible, the garden will continue to give satisfaction and eventually become a paying concern. The hoc, used frequently, is"one of the secrets of success in both vegetable and flower culture. The Large-rowered Clematis From Seed. The raising of these magnificent climbers from seed is very interesting, and brings them within reach of everyone, as the seeds are offered by most ot our leading seedsmen for a few pence. A little patience is required, but this, is well worth while, as quite; a percentage turn out to be lovely varieties, and then there is always the glorious uncertainty of something of more than usual merit turning up. Most smallflowered species come quite true from seed and can be flowered quickly, but the possibilities af the hybrids are many, although they take a little longer. The method is to gather a little seed from each in the autumn and sow in early spring, an occasional watering being given, and at the same time the following spring one may look for the seedlings to appear. Rock Gardening The present is one of the best of times to build the rock garden, as the plants can be set in and become well established during the winter and early spring months. In the building of a rock garden it is always well to bear in mind that Nature has always 1 a tendency to err on the side of modesty. It is not the stonework that is of paramount importance, but its leading feature should be the provision of suitable homes for the plants. The construction of a beautiful edifice of stone takes one farther from, rather than nearer to Nature, and to overlook the plain truth that nothing is really ornamental that is not natural-looking in a garden. There is a prevailing notion that one only needs a few stones and a heap of earth and the thing is | done, but experience goes to show that the greater the space and scope the easier will be the conception and construction, and that the smaller the design the more skill and ingenuity demanded. While one may, indeed, make an excellent miniature alpine garden in any odd corner, such an undertaking is not the work of a moment's thought, and demands a degree of skill out of all proportion to its extent. There is, however, always the comforting thought that however badly we build it, it can always be pulled down and reconstructed as one gains experience. Eock gardens, planted with suitable and well chosen plants, will display masses of colour and bloom of which at one time one never dreamed. Most gardeners are growing, or trying to grow, plants they have never grown before and the rock garden possesses the advantage that a great variety of plants may be grown and soil can be made up to suit any type of plant. The cultivation of alpine plants should be accompanied by a general advance in knowledge of both the habits of plants and their cultural needs. Enthusiasm in rock gardening is widespread and will eventually lead to much greater j heights, both in the way of building, and in the choice of plants. A wellplanted rock garden is attractive throughout the year, as with many species the foliage is at its best during . the winter months and the inclusion of some of these types should not be omitted from the list.