GARDEN NOTES.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LXXVI, Issue 9510, 4 September 1891, Page 2

GARDEN NOTES.

{I'ANTEItUURY TIMES.) EARLY SEEING FLOWERS. We believe that there has been a deeprooted conviction in the minds of some people that spring flowers are all yellow in colour, the primrose being a typical example. Very bright that colour is, dotted about a well-kept garden; and very sweet is the perfume of the fresh spring flowers. But we have been struck, this spring, with the numbsr and the exquisite beauty of the blue flowers. The shades vary from the palest azure to deep ultramarine. Palest of all is the triteleia, its stars being unfolded in wonderful profusion. Then come the scillas, delicately fashioned, and amongst the most desirable plants one can possess. We have seen at Naims’ a variety that xa new to us, one of the bifolia section, each stem of which bears a perfect spray of bloom. It is a decided acquisition. In the same nursery ground yras the lovely chionodoxa —a snow-flower, as its name implies—a very distinct star-form, with pure white centre and raither deep blue rays. It seems to be a free bloomer. Deepest of all the blues is ;£he gentian (aeaulis) of which we have seen some grand clumps at Abbot’s—the mat-like foliage robust, and the cup-shaped flowers standing above it in tempting profusion. Nor must another blue flower that Mr Abbot showed us be forgotten. It is one of the hepaticas. Those who know it certainly have not failed to appreciate its delicate habit; those who do not, should by all means make its acquaintance with the least possible delay. Amongst other very early flowers we have noticed two of the trumpet-shaped narcissi, major and minimus; both really good. The helleborus niger has made, as usual, a fine show of white bloom; and Nairns have been pointing out a new variety, helleborus punctatus, the petals of which are curiously spotted. A NEW GOOSEBERRY. Nairns arp propagating a new goosehery, Whinham’s Industry, which has some distinct characteristics. Jt is of robust habit, and very prolific. The fruit, which is of enormous size, is of a rich red colour; and the flavour—we have nob tasted it—is said to be ail that can be desired. English gardening contemporaries refer to it in terms of unstinted praise. HERBACEOUS PHLOXES. Florists who have not tried the pretty plants known as herbaceous phloxes—the young growth of which has a curiously dwarf-like 100k —ought by all means to do so. It is a good time of the year to propagate theseplants from shoots that are sufficiently long to serve as cuttings. Sever the shoots just below a joint, put the cuttings in sandy soil under handlights, and shade them from bright sunshine. The cuttings quickly make roots, and if they are planted in a deep rich soil fine heads of bloom form in the autumn. For ordinary borders, plants may be increased by cutting the clumps in two or more pieces. It is always better to reduce the size of the crowns of phloxes, or thin out the shoots at this season. A DESIRABLE PEAR. A contributor to an English contemporary writes of the Doyenne du Comice pear as follows : —ln the immediate neighbourhood of a large smoky town like Birmingham, this variety of pear succeeds admirably, notably at Edgbaston, about two and a-half miles from the centre of Birmingham. The trees are grown by Mr F. Mole, a keen fruit cultivator, and who pays much attention to root-pruning, thinning the blossoms and the fruits in the early stage, and pruning closely. He obtains crops of fine fruit from his trees, which are on a south aspect, showing plainly that a great deal may be done in the way of fruit-growing in town gardens, when thought is brought to bear, and proper varieties of various kinds are planted. PICKLING ONIONS. Very suitable sorts for growing for the above-named purpose are the Silver Skinned and The Queen, both of which are handsome in shape and of a pure clear white, colour, and of suitable size if not grown on rich open ground. The better way to manage with them is to sow on a plot that has not been dug,, but which is firm and poor, as then instead of big bulbs, or such as are considered too large for the pickling jar, they come only a little bigger than marbles. In sowing the seed drills should be drawn about six' inches apart and the seed scattered therein, but not over thick, as no thinning then is necessary, and it is always advisable to have the onions stand rather close in the rows, and not to be disturbed after they are up, which thinning would do. The Queen is likewise a first rate onion for sowing towards the end of August to stand the winter, as it forms bulbs some time before any of the others, and is soon fit for use. It is also very mild in flavour, and good for growing to pull young, for those who like onions mixed in the salad bowl or to eat uncooked. UNCROWDED PEAS. In innumerable cases if less seed by about ona-halr was sown in a drill, and a less number of rows to the extent, say, of a reduction of about one-third, tbe same amount of ground being devoted principally to this popular vegetable, the chances are, far heavier and more continuous crops would result. There is some excuse for sowing the earliest varieties somewhat thickly, as these do not, as a rule, branch strongly even if given more room, and besides, a quick rather than a continuous crop is desired from these. But when we come to the stronger-growing Marrowfats, including Telephone, Duke of Albany, Stratagem, and such like, then ought their strong branching habit to he taken into consideration. Supposing the ground has been freely manured and deeply dug, the plants if given good room will grow strongly, branch freely, and give a longer succession of largo well-filled pods than would be the case if grown much more thickly together. Few or no second early, maincrop, and late peas will fail to branch strongly, and in most cases one pint of sound seeds would be ample for a row or rows equal to a length of thirty yards. Rather wide drills ought also to be drawn for them, this being far better than crowding the seeds into narrow drills. Few gardeners can have failed to note how extremely productive isolated rows of peas usually prove, and that, too, in exposed positions where fine rows would have been least expected. Cottagers rarely sow more than two or three good rows of peas, and these are usually in different parts of the garden. Manure is not often very plentiful, and it is not often the rows are given water or liquid manure, unless exhibition pods are required, yet the plants grow strongly and produce abundance of pods from near the ground to the top of the haulm. Mildew is a complaint which seldom affects these isolated rows, but is frequently very troublesome to the private gardener who arranges his rows of peas somewhat closely together and in sheltered quarters. RENOVATING FERNERIES. This is a very good time for'overhauling ferneries, replenishing and re-arranging the plants as may be necessary. If left much longer the new growths will be advancing, and injury to the young fronds will ensue. The first thing to observe is to closely scrutinise the ferns for scale; many of the fronds can, now be spared where they are much infested, those which are already fading being removed. By doing this in an effectual manner now, much trouble will be spared later on, par-

ticularly if another close examination be made a few weeks hence for any stragglers. Re-arrangement of the plants can often be done with advantage; perchance some free-growing kind will have outgrown its position, and such an one may possibly bear removing. Some kinds most luxuriantly and soon masses of growth. Too much of this should not be allowed, if the position is at alia good one for other kinds that will give greater variety. The deciduous ferns must not be overlooked or allowed to too much smothered by the evergreen kinds. Some of the former are most handsome; notably so is Adiantum podauum, which, for a cool house is well worthy of more recognition by fern lovers. Before any fresh soil is added, either as a top-dressing or for replanting, as much as possible of the old should be removed where it can be done without injury to the roots, and a good watering be given when the sou is at all on the dry side. Peat and loam should be used in a general way; some leaf soil will also he an assistance with a. good amount of silver sand. Rough pieces of peat are very useful for building up. VEGETABLE MARROWS. Where there is convenience for growing; on the plants when large enough seeds: may well be sown now, but unless this is, the case the sowing had much better be deferred. More often than not where theplants are raised early, they are starved in' pots, with the result that their vitality is ! considerably weakened, and even when set out, the plants are very slow in starting; into growth, and it is late in the season before the fruits form. Vegetable matrows raised early come in readily for planting in any spare frame which may have been previously utilised for potatoes or any other early vegetables. If the frames should not just then be ready for. planting out the marrows, a few roots in the centre may easily be removed, when : the marrows may be planted. Sometimes' the plants are put out on what is little better than heaps of raw manure, and although on such material they make a free growth, the produce is anything but satisfactory, the fruits turning yellow and dropping off instead of advancing to maturity. "What we may term epeuff hotbeds is a good position for planting, and the foot or so of soil employed for the previous crop forms an admirable rooting medium for the marrows. The plants may . also, be put out on prepared mounds by excavating a space 4ft square and 18in in depth, and filling up with fermenting material or .even old manure, the whole being well trodden in and surfaced with a foot of good soil, On these the plants, when ready, may be planted out underhand lights. For plants that cannot be protected when planted out, the sowing had better be deferred. •