THE GARDEN

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLIX, Issue 161, 8 June 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 which they wish expert artvice; answers will he published with the weekly notes.

THE FLOWER GARDEN.

LEAF MOULD

Chrysanthemums are practically over and should have their tops cut down to allow the young suckers to come up from below. It they are growing in heavy ground, it is a good plan to push a fork under them and gently lever them up. By doing this you ai\3 allowing them a cnance to keep drier, and they will “sucker” * more freely. When the tops of dahlias have been blackened by frosts, these tops can be cut away and the tubers can be left in tho ground until they begin to show signs of shooting, when they can be lilted and divided. If the ground they are growing in is wanted for some other crop, the tubers can be lifted carefully and stored away in a place that frosts do not reach, where they can remain until wanted again. When storing' give each one a good dusting of slacked lime.

Anemones and ranunculus can still he planted, esjiecially in heavy soils, but as a precaution against too much wet run an inch or so of sand along the bottom of the trench for the base of the tubers to rest on.

When cutting down the tops of such plants as paeonies, lilies and so on, plants that disappear when their tops are cut away, should bo marked carefully so that you are certain of their position in the ground when forking or digging the borders over. A plant that is often lost from this cause is pliysalis franchetti, the red Cape gooseberry that is so often used for decorative purposes. It grows from underground shoots and when these are chopped about they olten fail to come up again.

Antirrhinums, wallflowers, stocks, cinerarias and pansies can he planted out at any time now, hut the pansies will have to be watched for slugs, or the whole lot may disappear in/a single night. Frequent dustings with soot and lime are the best methods of keeping them free, especially if the dustings are given after dark. Tin's is a good time of the year to go over climbing roses of the hybrid tea and tea classes and cut out all the old and dead wood and to tie in the branches required for this season’s flowers. If this work is left until the proper time for pruning, it often gets neglected or only half done, blit if it is done now one plant at a time can be properly cleaned up and nil the old wood that is not required can be removed.

MAKING A GARDEN. When one lays out a new garden, it is generally looked upon as a permanent job, but no matter how well or carefully the work is done there will always be alterations or additions as new plants are discovered or bought. Every new plant that is put in will make some alteration necessary and it is this that makes gardening such a pleasurable occupation. Then, again, some changes become necessary because it lias been found that certain plants associated have taken up more than their allotted space. Some plants that were put in with the original scheme have proved to be failures and they either have to be replaced or their places taken by something more suitable. After a few years, some shrubs that were thought to ho dwarfs will have obscured the view from some ]>oint or another, and must either be cut back or removed altogether. It is only by thinking the whole scheme out I and planning accordingly that the I garden can be brought to anything like you wish it to be. We have often been told in reference to a shrubbery or border that it is not what it was intended to be, and this we can easily believe, because, however carefully you plan the scheme, when finished it will not look as you have pictured it. In tho short days and long evenings, get out pencil and paper and make all the changes to the shape of the beds and borders that you think are necessary; then carefully go over the arrangement of the plants in them and their association together. You will find this a most pleasurable occupation and one that will give you a clearer insight into the growth and position of your plants than you have ever had before. Perhaps the addition of a small rock garden will improve that corner or in another a larger growing shrub may be required to add tone or height. All these*things can bo worked out and will he a guide to future work. Then there are the catalogues to bo scanned for plants forgotten or overlooked. There will always be something that will add to the charm of the place in your own eyes. When tho ground is dry enough, make all the alterations you have in mind and do them early in the season because by the beginning of spring there will lie much other work to claim your attention and what you have planned will be lost.

Anyone taking up a book on gardening will find frequent references to “leaf mould” in it. but it is astonishing how seldom the advice given to collect as much leafage into a heap and rot it down is taken advantage ot. Gardeners generally look upon leaves as so much rubbish to be destroyed by burning, or get rid of it in some way. They do not realise that in the fallen leaf is tho most valuable plant food that can bo got. Leaf mould is valuable for any planting and when heaped up and rotted down comes in for all kinds of potting and growing seeds. Being a strong class of manure, it cannot be use dalone, but is mixed with sand and soil in suitable proportions to make a nice friable mixture. Every leaf should be saved and stacked away in some suitable place where it can ho turned over and moved about as tho process of rotting goes oil. Where hot beds are made tor. forcing, if leaves are used as part of the mixture, it is possible to keep up a much steadier heat than with stable manure alone, and the resulting rotted stuff is more valuable than plain stable manure alone. If there are signs of worms getting into the heap at any time, a Tittle lime dusted in when the.heap is turned over will keep them away.

HEDGES. Hedges are one of the most important features of gardening and the soil lor them should have just as much attention as that given to any other part. Do not think for one minute that, when once a hedge has been planted, nothing further is required. For the first two or three years at least the surface of the soil wants just as much cultivation as the rest of the garden. The question often arises as *o what to plant and it is that- that requires careful consideration. There is such a wealth of good hedge plants that one must choose for their requirements. Recently, near the beach at Castlecliff, we were very much struck with the neat appeurance of lniddlea salviafolia grown as a hedge, and were told that it was easy to keep in order and that it would stand the salt spray wonderfully well. Tho commonest hedge in seaside places is taupata and this with i>:s bright shiny leaf makes a good shelter. Away from the effect of salt spray there are so many hedgings that it is almost impossible to particularise. In one case, a splendid hedge was made by planting escallonia exonieusis alternately with a seedling from it called freytheyii. Tho first one bears white flowers and the second pale pink, and the combination was a delightful change. Privet makes a good strong hedge, but it should never bo planted near a border that is being wefl cultivated or it will rob it unmercifully. Matipos of various kinds are most useful and can be used for most places where a hedge is wanted up to about eight or ten feet: by careful cutting it can be kept well within bounds. Tonicera nitida, a small leaved shrubby honeysuckle, recently introduced from China, is probably one of tho best hedge plants that can be got when the hedge is not to exceed five or six feet in height. It is easy to clip and being evergreen always looks neat and tidy. Mixed hedges are no* uncommon and those who know tho habits of plants can often make them quite satisfactory by planting several subjects alternately.

FROST TENDER PLANTS. The question of frost tender plants is one that requires a great deal of investigation. During the Great War many plants were set aside in England that for many years had been treated as frost tender and had consequently been kept under glass during tho long winter months, and if frost got inside they were invariably cut. Outside, many of these plants survived the hardest winters without any protection at all. One of the principle reasons was because they were well hardened off before the winter came an, whereas, if they had still been inside they would have been still growing when the frosty weather came on. [f a plant is known to be cut by frost in one part of the garden there is no reason why it should be cut in another. Lemons, for instance, are not grown as extensively as they should be For the reason that they have been badly frost-bitten, but it is more than probable that, if they were grown in mother part of the garden, they would prove quite hardy. To find places for Lose so-called tender plants note vhere the frost lies heaviest or liglitist and plant accordingly. AVhen a ilant gets established it will stand noro than when first planted.