THE GARDEN.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CIII, Issue 12242, 30 June 1900, Page 3

THE GARDEN.

WORK FOB THE WEEK. Kitchen Garden.—The weather experienced ' during this month has been: very favourable for garden operations,'-and there should be no arrears of work. If these are any, get them up at once, for the busy time of spring -will soon be here. Ground that was trenched early in the autumn should be forked through npwi so that the lumps may be -broken, and ,a fresh surface exposed -to too weather, The old system of putting the soil up in ridges has much to-recommend it, aa ; it exposes .a maximum surface: to toe weather. After frost® go over toe cabbage bed, and should any have been:lifted tread them down firm. ’ Keep all decaying loaves removed from Brussels sprouts, kale,- etc. Lift any parsnips which have not been 'used, and store them ih ashes or- soil but not in a dry shedif‘allowed, to geo dry: they shrivel and lose much. of their crispness. Potatoes should be examined on wet days. Those for seed should be exposed' to. tpo light so that'they may,,make stjirdy‘ eyes,', ready for .plantang out .nezt month. 1 Those for ; the table should have toe eyes ’rubbed off, if any : have; started to grow. The growths should always bo rubbed off before they get. very long, or. the quality of . toe potato will deteriorate.. Onions should be examined, and any that are- sending out roots should be used first. , H a pinch . of’ seed is aown in a cold frame, or Under, a north wall, the .young onions ]will found very useful for many purposes. Manure .for mushroom beds should I be turned about every other day ’ until it is ready for use The pains taken in this direction will ensure the heat keeping up lor a-much . longer period than if the bed is only half prepared.

. Flower Garden,—lris ?tylosa (unguicularis) is one of the very few plants flowering in our gardens at the present season. It. is a plant of sasy culture, and Should be grown in greater numbers to supply flowers for house decoration during the winter, when flowers are scarce. The flowers are very fragrant, and the shade of blue is exquisite. There is a white form of this useful plant, but it does not flower so freely as the blue variety. Erica Pyramidailis Gracilis is another nseM plant for the flower garden. It gives ns an abundance of white blossoms all through the winter, no matter how cold, or rough' the weather may be. It is quite hardy, and will thrive, in roost soils.and situations. The only attention it needs after being planted is a moderate pruning every spring after the blossoms are Sided, Hyacinths planted in exposed beds ■or borders should be watched, and when they begin to push' their trusses of bloom through the.soil they should be covered up with some, fine, soil or ashes, to .'prevent the hard frosts' injuring the spikes "of:-Bloom, Ordinary frosts , will not harm the; common’ varieties, hut’ the choicer varieties;: are, sometimes .injured by the changes; from cold ,to heat, and vice Versa--Pruning Roses.—The other daywe a gardener] roses, and ’as had practice Is '’ more often copied than good, we warn our readers that it is a great mistake to prune roses before ' the month of August,, and' here in Christchurch, August 20" is quite early enough to make, a Start.' The risk of, the: very early, pruning is.that the late frosts may partially ■ destroy the first crop of roses ; there is but little .risk' of the plants suffering any injury, except a few of the teuderest of the tea-scented' varieties ; bub having pruned the bushes, the back eyes start into growth, the first crop of buds ore formed early, and 'the September frosts will destroy many, and injure most of the buds some time before they can be seen. The result is seen when the , flowers begin to open. Many of the petals will appear as:if they had been, eaten on one side by caterpillars or grubs of some kind, but if the flowers are examined it will:be found that the petals most injured are on that side of, the bud that wigs most exposed; and if any buds were in any way protected they would not show the. same amount of injury as those which were unprotected. Therefore, defer pruning until August, 1 and then the position of the garden, the amount of shelter, 'eta, must bo considered before a date is. fixed for the work. ‘ . , (! Greenhouse.—Glass-houses are very convenient for preparing plants for house and window decoration, even cold frames can be used for this purpose, with-most satisfactory results. ‘ Plants that, have been in a dwelling-house for some time .are much benefited by a change to either a glass-house or a cold frame. A very useful frame can bo obtained at a. moderate cost, and the value of the plants saved by their aid in one season would more than,.repay the cost of providing a frame. Calla tittle Gem is a first-rate plant for window or greenhouse decoration; it is easily grown, and when not in flower its foliage is very ornamental. It is very dwarf, and flowers very freely, in the late winter and early spring. _ The larger variety is too large for a window, but most useful for greenhouse work. They need good soil, plenty of water, both, at Jhe| roots and over the foliage, to keep thte green, fly away. It is a good plan, to stand each plant in a saucer filled with water.. . Sweetscented flowers axe at all times welcome, mignonette; especially.. This can ba had all the year round by sowing a few pots every . three. mpotb^

plenty in the garden, but if a few pots axa prepared for antosm, winter and spring ffij'. it will be very acceptable. Liliums. aze .not grown in pots and tubs so much, as then: decorative value should warrant. They are very useful for house decoration, lasting a long time in flower, and are easily grown. The Lancifolium and Harrid varieties nssra easily forced, and with a little fire-heat they can bo had in bloom the greater part of too summer. The plants should be started in a cold frame, and graduaUy introduced to a higher temperature. Good turfy loam, a little leaf mould, . and manure is all they require, but they must have constant attention in watopug, for-if allowed to gee dry green fly will soon attack them. Fires.— During the'frosty vreathe r . keep , the day temperature of houses down as, low as •is consistent with the .well-being of the- plants in them. By. keeping a low day temperatore toe plaafe'wdl.nofe suffer from,toe. cold nights as much "as they would if the fires were kept burning■ during the day.- Zonal* pelargonihMs'toould’ bfe'kept as dry as possible ; even if dtmt dry they will not suffer, but if they axe kept too wet trouble willsoon be experienced. Show and decorative pelargoniums should be moved, and turned occasionally, so that the plants get an equal amount of light and air all through, to prevent them bong drawn, or growing onesided.