THE GARDEN.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XCVI, Issue 14386, 31 May 1907, Page 10

THE GARDEN.

WORK FOR THE WEEK,

Flower Garden.—The present is an excellent time to effect any proposed alterations—the weather is mild, and thero is not that pressing demand on the gardener's time that there is in the spring. Lawns should be examined, and any little depressions raised by lifting the turf and putting a little fine soil in. tho hollow, then replace the turf. Some lawns are troubled by moss. A good corrective for this is a liberal dressing of sifted ashes from a rubbish fire that has burned slowly and left a lot of black ashes. Red or white ashee are of but little use for top-dress-ing mossy lawns. Slow-acting manures, 6uch as bone meal or basic slag, should be applied now. These being rather insoluble, it will be several months before the grass plants get the full benefit from these manures. Flowering shrubs will give much better results if they are assisted with manure. Good farm-yard manure, about half-decayed, is about the best for this purpose but unfortuuately this is not often available. Others, nearly as good, can easily be obtained; rotted turf is a great help to these plants, so is leaf mould, bone meal, or any of the artificial manures. Spread the manure around the stem of each plant, and carefuDy fork it into the ground, taking care not to injure tho roots. It may not be possible to manure all in one autumn, but do what is possible, and prepare material for the others during the coming summer. Examine rockeries, and remove all weeds and leaves that have lodged around the plants. Some of the stronggrowing subjects may need a little cutting back in order to prevent their encroaching too much on tho plants of smaller growth. A little fresh soil may be needed around some of the plants. Others will require sand, road grit or broken rock. If this is applied beforo the hard weather of June arrives, it will assist the plants to pass through the winter safely. A few plants, such as liiy of the valley and Solomon's seal, should be divided at this season if increase is desired. Lift the clumps and pull them apart, breaking them up into single buds (or and replant them in good rich soil. Solomon's seal, with its long arched sprays and bright green leaves, is a most useful Elant to cut for decorative purposes, ily of the valley deserves better treatment than it receives. In most gardens, once the crowns are planted they are left to take care of themselves. After a time they get crowded, and the spikes of bloom become fewer and smaller. Lily of the valley, before n. begins to deteriorate, should be lifted, divided and replanted. It is not wise to lift all the plants in one season, but treat, say, half one year, and tho other half the following year. It should have good soil, a liberal amount of manure and a sunny position. Too often these plante are put in a. shady, damp, sunless corner whore, owing to the absence of sun, the growths cannot, ripen, therefore it is impossible for them to bloom. In Europe, where they are cultivated for sale, they are planted in open fields in rows about eighteen inches apart, and liberally manured every autumn. The results from plants grown thus would surprise those who plant them in the shade. Hardy Fruits.—Apples and pears will need almost constant attention, especially where spot is present. This induces decay, and one fruit that is rotting will eoon oause others to decay; therefore carefully separate the sound fruits from any that show signs of skin trouble. Apples and pears should be kept in a dark rather than a light store. While ventilation is necessary, it should be at the top of the store, and arranged so that it does not make a draught to dry up the moisture from the fruits. If it were not for the difficulty of examining the fruits, they might be put into a clamp and treated the same as potatoes.