THE GARDEN

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLVI, Issue 176, 26 June 1926, Page 11

THE GARDEN

THE FLOWER GADEN.

There is not very much that can be planted out now in the annual plant line, but cinerarias are one of' the things you can plant under trees and in shady corners. They are good plants to cheer up unsightly places and, although they will not stand frosts in the open, as long as they have overhead shelter it can freeze as much as it likes outside. A good way to prepare a bed for them is to grub up the soil under trees with a grubber and then to cover it with some well rotted manure and over this put a few inches of fresh soil. The cinerarias can then be planted in this fresh soil and will come away wonderfully. The reason for this is probably that the fresh soil is quite deep enough for them to grow in and, as the trees are not growing, they are making no inroads on the manure which is in the right place for the roots of the cinerarias. The new tree lupins that have been raised in boxes or pots for planting out should bo got into the ground as soon as possible now. They like to be planted early and will soon begin to flower if this is done. The old plants do not require much pruning beyond removing old flowering stems. They are curious plants in the way that they will stand moving from one place to another when they are quite fully grown, and are probably one of the easiest of all the family of the leguminosae to transplant. Some of the newer hybrids are both rich and rare in colouring. Unfortunately, they do not always come true from seed, but still, if you have a piece of ground to spare, it is well worth while to try a few and then to pull out the colours that are not wanted. Stocks can be planted out now in the open border without taking any harm; If you have a rock garden now is the best time to overhaul it and to trim back anything that is getting beyond its allotted space, and it is also a good time to plant any new plants that you may wish to introduce into the rock garden. The place these plants are to go into should have as much of the earth that was in' them taken out and a new lot put in. It is always possible to put in something that suits the plant as a sort of pocket is made. Take care when you are putting in new soil for plants to grow in not to put it in layers, but mix all the different kinds well together in a barrow, or on a board, before putting them in the hole. Leaf mould and well rotted clippings from a lawn are splendid materials to mix up with soil for a rockery, and the coarser the sand that can be got the better. The best way to get coarse sand for mixing with rockery soil, and indeed for anything in connection with plants in boxes or pots, is to sift it with a fine sieve out of a load of gravel. It will be cleaner and sweeter than fine sand from a river. QUESTION. "Adam” says: “I would like to know if plant propagation is the work of a specialist, or is it work that any novice might embark in successfully. The reason I am asking is because where I am living at the present time there is an old garden full of strange and rare trees to me. There are magnolias, rhododendrons, and azaleas which I would like to room specimens of, and take away with me when I leave this place in about two years’ time. If you could tell me how it i could be done without spoiling the trees I would be very thankful.” All the trees and shrubs you mention can be successfully layered and propagated by anyone who is willing to go to a little trouble in the matter. Make up some nice sandy soil to put the branches that you desire to layer into and then work this into the soil below them. When you have done this, bring the branch required as close to the ground as possible and cut a groove in the underside in the same way as a carnation is cut. Pog it into the soil and cover the cut with a few inches of soil, and if the ground is very dry water it well and cover it up with an old sack which will help to keep the moisture in. It is always best to select branches as near the ground as possible and to layer the tips about a foot long. It may take them some time to root, but as, soon as they have done so, they can he taken off and planted up in nico soil, and can be taken away when required. BORONIAS. Boronias are quite hardy in this climate although they are Australian plants, but there are many gardeners who do not seem to get them to grow prpperly. They aro generally sent out in pots or as balled plants, and if gardeners would only give the pot or ball a good soaking in water before putting them in the ground we think that they would be more successful when planting them out. Another thing is that the soil they are to be grown in must be well drained and no manure must bo allowed to come in contact with their roots. If the soil is well drained prepare some leaf mould and sand to mix up with the earth around them. If the plants are balled it is a good plan to remove the sacking around the stem, but not to take it off the lower part of the roots as they are generally well through by the time they are planted out in the garden, and to remove it means that many of the new roots will be broken off at the same time. Plant as firmly as possible, treading the soil well round them, and keep the surface in a good state of cultivation. After the plants have finished flowering it is a good plan to cut them down to about

Notes are published weekly under this heading, and readers interested in gardening are invited to send in questions relating to matters upon which they wish expert advice; answers will be published with the weekly notes. ,

two-thirds of their height, as this induces new wood to form for next season’s flowers. ' . DRAINAGE. In most cases gardens are made in close vicinity to a house,, and it is really surprising how plants can be got to grow in some gardens that are on a heavy clay sub-soil. No provision has been made to got the water away, and all the winter it collects cn the land and soaks it to its fullest extent. This does the soil no good, drowning all the goodness that is in it, but if that garden is well drained the water falling on it through the winter does good rather than harm, because it carries food particles down to the lower ..stratas, where the roots of many plants will eventually reach. The problem of draining gardens seems to be one that the average gardener does not worry about if the examples one sees occasionally are any indication of the subject. Water can only be got from one point to another by flowing over an inclined surface, and this is one of the points that is forgotten when many drains are put in. There are two ways of getting rid of surplus water, and the commonest one is to conduct it to the lowest part of the section, or into an open drain; the other is to dig a hole down deep enough until it reaches some porous material, such as sand or gravel, and to conduct the water into this by means of pipe drains. If this plan is followed it is not Eecessary to keep the hole open. It can be filled with stones, brickbats, old tins, or anything that will allow the water to run through. In any case, the outlet is the most important part of the work, and once that is provided the next thing is to consider the drains that are to lead into it. If the section is a narrow one, it will not need more than one main drain, and the rest of the drains can be put in as laterals to this. If the soil is heavy clay the closer the drains are together the better. About twelve feet apart is the usual distance to allow in heavy soils, and as the subsoil gets lighter they are placed further apart. The depth to put the drains will depend upon the class of soil to a certain extent, but for heavy clay soils two feet from the surface should be the minimum. Drains put just under the surface are wasted. They may carry off a little surface water, but as far as the rest of the ground is concerned they need not have been there. When the drain is dug to the required depth and there is an assured fall for the water, then it is time to lay the pipes in it, and for this purpose it is a good plan to cut down an old shovel or to get a blacksmith to cut one down to the same size as the outside of the pipes, and then by going along the bottom of the drain with it a small groove is made into which the pipes fit and no trouble is experienced by them rolling from side to side as they will do in a drain opened with an ordinary shovel. Covering the pipes with the clay and soil taken out of the drains seems to some people to be quite wrong in principle and they will go to endless trouble to get 6oil and other things to put on top of them. This is unnecessary, because once the clay has been broken up it will never harden back again as long as the drain is working, but for all that if the clay is very wet it is a good plan to just fill it in and allow it to settle down in its own time and in its own way, and then afterwards the soil can be put on top of it. If the drains are made of stones or any other material, it is often necessary to put something on top of the stones to keep the earth from falling down between them, and bliere is nothing better than rushes for this purpose. They can be cut and laid lengthways along the top of the stones and the clay filled in on top. It will answer the purpose for many years. The longer drains are in the ground the better they will work, because they have an influence on the lower parts of the soil which is very hard to see, and water will form channels to them. The main thing to trouble about after they aro laid is to sec that the outlets are kept open. POVERTY IN SOILS. Verv often the cause of poverty in soils is due to the water lying on and in them, causing them to turn sour. Another cause is coldness, and this again is due to an excessive amount of water lying in them. It has often been proved that, if a soil is properly drained, the temperature will rise several points in a very short time. Lime is a good agent in correcting the acidity of a soil, but it is useless to employ it on wet soils. To get the most benefit from it the land must be water free. That is to say, it must be holding no surplus water. The cause of land being warmed by drainage is because the drains carry away the surplus moisture and, as the water level in the soil becomes lower, the air which is always warmer than the water follows it and warms the soil. There is also another reason and that is because the sun’s heat, instead of being used up in drawing the water from the soil, is used up in warming the air, and this penetrates into the ground. It is a good plan to trench drained soil as soon after the drains have been laid ns possible, as this will help the air and sun to warm it up to a greater depth than if it is left in its natural hard condition. The longer a soil can be trenched before it is used the better, as it allows it to sweeten up by the process of aeration which is the most natural one of all.