OUR GARDENS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XVII, Issue 981, 5 April 1862, Page 5

OUR GARDENS.

The showery weather that has prevailed during the summer just passed has been very favorable to vegetation; and nothing can be complained of except the injury to the cabbage tribe by blight; All other vegetables have been, abundant We had green peas in November and have them still. It is no exaggeration to say that they will come fresh upon our tables for six consecutive months. Think of that, ye English epicures who pay at times a, guinea a quart for them ! Of gourds and marrows we have an abundance; and other esculents, grown to a perfection unknown in Great Britain, are being produced in large quantities. Small fruit, as currants, gooseberries, and raspberries, have been an immense crop; and peaches, apples, pears and plums have weighed down the trees. In our comparatively mild climate the peach attains a size and perfection in the open air unknown in England. So plentiful is this fruit that we have heard of fair samples being retailed at a penny per pound. Apples and pears grow to a very large size here. During the present season we have seen them averaging sixteen to twenty ounces each. By the efforts of our botanists, horticulturists, and florists, we are changing the aspect of Canterbury from a desert to a garden, and in a few years we hope to see this province the favored abode of Flora and-Pomona.