THE GARDEN

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLIX, Issue 79, 2 March 1929, Page 11

THE GARDEN

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

HERBACEOUS BORDERS. That herbaceous borders are growing- in popularity is . unquestionable and everywhere one goes into gardens they are to be seen in increasing numbers and variety. One thing that makes them so popular is that there are plants for all kinds of purposes; some like shade and others are sun plants. Some are grown in damp situations and others will not do well unless they are fairly dry. Then again, we have flowers for the winter, spring, summer and autumn, from crocuses in autumn, irises in winter, closely followed by helebores and so on. The great improvements that have taken place in such plants as lupins, delphiniums, carnations, aquilegias, poppies and so on have provided us with material that can be used with good effect in any garden. The main thing about herbaceous borders is to put the tallest growers at the back and to bring the plants down to a low edging in front. We do not believe in planting shrubs and trees in herbaceous borders unless the ultimate object is to have a shrubbery there and the herbaceous plants are only to be a stopgap until the shrubs are grown enough to fill up the space. PREPARATION OF SOILS. In connection with the above we would advise all those who are thinking of planting any shrubs and trees this season to begin the soil work as soon as they can now. It does not matter what is being planted; soil cultivation is the essential thing to success -and unless this is properly done even the hardiest of plants will not be as successful as they should be. When rose growers are preparing a new bed they will go to infinite trouble to make tho soil and subsoil as good as possible and why should the other plants not have as much trouble taken with them. The main thing when beginning a garden is to make a plan of it and to decide where the beds and shrubs are to be and then work to that plan. In many of our soils drainage is the first thing that should be considered and where it is wanted put it in at once and always below the greatest depth to which it is intended to work soil. An outlet must bo provided and there are many ways of doing this even if it is only a hole in the ground deep enough to allow the water to run away through the gravel below. When you are ready to begin the work of trenching get some manure to work in at the same time and bury all the rubbish that you can collect.

QUESTION. “Lily” says: “Ever since I have had a piece of ground of my own it has been my ambition to grow lilies of all kinds to get a succession of bloom and perhaps to have something that other people do not have. In all mv wanderings abroad I have never seen, a representative collection in any garden. One grows candidum well; another has a good patch of Henryii, and so. on. I have imported seed of many kinds of lilies and have succeeded in raising lilies in pots and have grown them up to flowering size when they disappear, which is very disappointing. My last attempv was with a packet of L. Krameri and I have got'about ten bulbs of it about two inches long and thick. 1 am afraid to plant them out in case I lose them also. Could you give me any idea of the requirements of this lilv or any of the others?” Krameri, and in fact all of tho lily family, must have perfect drainage to begin with. If you cannot get this it would bo better to continue growing them in pots, choosing larger ones as the lilies grow in size. Candidum is probablv the easiest of this family to cultivate and is the only one as far as we know that thrives on limo in the soil and all soil will grow it where this is present. Tho others do not like lime and often refuse to grow at all where it is present. If'you have good drainage, when planting the bulbs take out the soil to a depth of about a foot and fill the hole half full of sand and leaf leaf mould well mixed together, on top of this place the bulb and cover nearly to the surface with the same material. No water should be necessary beyond ordinary rain. L. Auratum when once established should not be disturbed for many years and then only to make fresh plantations of it. A great deal ot the necessary feeding for lilies can be mdae from tho surface of the ground by giving them a liberal dressing ot sand and leafmould each year. Regale and Krameri are two lilies that are very much alike in almost every respect, and where one will grow well the other will succeed equally well. Croceum and Speciousum and its varieties will succeed in ony good garden soil as long as the drainage is good and there is a fair proportion of sand in the soil round the bulbs. L. Giganteum likes a deep, rich sandy soil in partial shade and where the plants flower will send up a large strong shoot seven or eight feet high which will die right away after it has ripened its seeds. A number of small bulbs

will appear at tho base which must not be disturbed. These will take four or five years to come to maturity. Lily growing is a thing that one has to study separately from ordinary garden work. WORKING LAND. During a season like the present, with long dry periods, we have many complaints about the poor growth ot trees and shrubb and in fact plants of all kinds—especially those that have only been planted this season. The fault is often put down to the wrong source and the nurseryman is blamed for the trouble. In a few cases this may bo right enough, but we are convinced that in most cases lack of proper soil cultivation is at the bottom of the trouble. In many soils around this district what is known as a “hard pan” exists which consists of a layer of hard, unbroken soil below the reach of a spade and which stops moisture from rising to the surface soil. Last season this was very evident in one garden, and to make matters worse the hose was used almost . continuously. We advised taking all the plant out in the winter time and remaking the garden by working the soil to at least two feet or more. This was done with one half of the garden and the rest was left as it was before. The owner now writes to say that the work advised last season has been a complete success on the part that was re-made, but that there has not been half the growth on the part that was left. He says: “In spite of water being used there is still very little growth as compared with tho trenched portion, although the both sides were given equal quantities of manure. In my opinion the manure put on the untrenclied side was so much manure wasted. As an instance of what growth is like the flowering apply atropurpurea on the trenched side has made growths quite six feet long, while that which we thought was the better plant (the same variety) on the other side has only grown about two feet. The same thing has occurred with other shrubs to a smaller degree certainly, but it is still very noticeable. We are going to treat the rest as suggested.” This is the kind of thing that is happening in gardens al lover tho country and I until the owners realise that they can !do so much towards growing plants there will always be trouble and the blame will be attached to the wrong place. Soil preparation entails a good deal of work, but it pays handsomely in the end and, although it may cost a little more in the beginning, it is easily saved by extra growth and better results in the end, and, besides that, it saves tho additional trouble of watering. Any manure that has a water holding capacity will be found helpful when worked in with the lower spits. CLUB ROOT.

An old gardener says “that club root or the disease known as finger and toes is spreading to an alarming extent in this country and that unless some steps are taken to check it it will bo impossible to grow any of the brassiea family in tho near future. When I was in an English garden we were faced with tho same trouble and had to be very careful about the plants wo grew and the rotation of our crops, it took some years to discover the fact that the only thing that would check the disease at all was fresh slaked lime of the best kind. Ihis was spread on all tho affected land at tho rate of four hundredweight per square chain and was well mixed into the soil by digging and hoeing. Peas were then sown for digging in and the soil was cropped with any plants other than this family for at least two years before any further attempt was made to grow cabbages or cauliflowers in it. Even then these crops wore avoided if possible. Great care was also taken to have tho soil for the seed beds quite fresh and free from any chance of infection, using lime on all occasions when sowing this seed. VEGETABLES. When potatoes are wanted for seed it is not necessary to see that they are quite ripe when they are dug. In fact, the best seed is saved when the tops of the plants are green. We believe that better crops would be secured if special roots were put on one side as the crop was dug. These roots could be put in a box or tray and exposed to the sun and air for a while to green them. They could then be put in a cool airy shed to be kept until wanted. Those who grow winter spinach should sow the seed now in well worked and manured ground. It is a crop that gives a good return when green stuff is required in the winter time. Keep all peas and beans well picked and they will last in crop for a longer time than when the pods are allowed to set. As soon as a crop has been harvested the ground should be cleaned up and dug and if not required for anything else at once sow it down with some green crop to dig in. This is ono of tho best ways to replenish the soil with the plant food that has been worked out or it.