THE GARDEN.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LII, Issue 86, 11 March 1932, Page 4

THE GARDEN.

Notes are published 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.

MICHAELMAS DAISIES,

A gardener says: “I have a nice show of michaelmas daisies in niy garden in spite of the very dry early part of the season. I find these flowers most satisfying as they will mix with anything else I care to grow in the borders. Little Boy Blue is a dwarf fellow that will begin to flower from the earliest and keeps its blooms well; although, perhaps, a little stiff for some people, they are splendid for all garden purposes. Little Pink Lady was one I got as a companion flower to the former, but I am afraid that either I or the raiser must be colourblind. I think this.one is a decided lavender. I have heard that soils make a difference and perhaps that is what is the matter. Howevbr, I am quite content with it as it does not need staking and my old back is be-

| ginning to give way under the strain of stooping and tying. Pioneer is the | best of all the so-called pink shades though Sensation runs it very close. By the way, I cannot find the latter in any- catalogue. Miss Elsie is a beautiful flower with long petals curled at the end. It is a lavender mauve and flowers well and long. Some of the best blues are Climax, Anita Ballard and Jupiter and all are good bloomers, but they also need staking. For the back of the border they make a charming picture. One of the most interesting varieties that I have is a yellow one with small flowers about the size of a threepenny-bit. I do not know its name, but like it very much as a change (probably Hybridus lentens). There is a small section which should be more grown called the alpine section. Some of the varieties are only six inches high and are single flowered carried on erect stems. I only know of three, but have been told that there are more. King George is an amellus and I have had considerable trouble to establish it. Last «ason it did well and is doing better still this year, but, I say, beware and do not cut pieces from the side to give away or it will sulk. I know this to my cost. The heads of this flower are large and are closely arranged and unless severely disbudded it is no good for home decoration. On the other hand, there is one called Frikarti which is decidedly good. The flowers are a cool clear lavender and are perfect in shape. lam told it is not an amellus, but if it is isn’t it should be. Like the other, it must not be moved or cut up until it is a large strong plant. All the other sections I take up each season and after well manuring 1 replant small pieces, but with King George and Trikarti I place manure round them and fork it into the ground so that they are disturbed as little as possible. There is an erigernow which is well worth growing in conjunction with these plants and that is Quakeress, but it must be taken up each season and a small piece replanted.” SOME OF THE NEWER ROSES.

Some of the newer roses are proving that they have come to stay. Although this season has not been what one could call a good rose season, some of the newer kinds have shown that they possess goou qualities. The Daily Mail scented rose has bloomed consistently during the whole season and, although it has not produced that bloom so beloved by exhibitors, it has given m plenty instead. When we first saw this rose we were inclined to think that it would burn or scald badly, but as the season passes w - e have seen less burnt blooms on it than on sprue of the older kinds. Royal Scot is a yellow rose with a picotee edge of old rose. It is only a semi-double bloom having from fifteen to eighteen but the flowers last well ■when. cut. *lh© plant is rather a dwarf grower, but is an extremely free bloomer and is always admired. Golden Dawn is an Australian raised rose of wonderful quality. It is a fairly strong grower and a consistent bloomer. The blooms are quite full of exhibition form and are sweetly scented. The name is rather misleading as the bloom is rarely golden, but rather a deep creamy yellow. This rose should be grown in every garden where this colour is wanted. Julien Potin is a good yellow exhibition bloom when shaded, and there are few roses of its colour that will stand as much shading as this one. Grown as a garden plant it is rather disappointing and for this purpose Madame Henri Pate is likely to beat it very badly. This is a deep yellow rose of good strong growth and deep rich green foliage. The form has all that can be desired and the flower lasts well when cut. The new red roses have been rather a disappointment with the exception of W. E. Chaplin and Rubra Druschki. W. E. Chaplin has good form and substance and will be heard of again where red roses are required. The other one is a strong grower with Druschki-like foliage and well formed nicely shaped blooms. The 6cent is one of its strong points and this rather reminds one of some old rose that was common years ago. Director Rubio is a cherry red and has shown great promise this season. In the garden where -we saw it the plant was doing well and had given bloom after bloom that was good enough for show purposes. Unfortunately, scent is not a strong point with it, but then this season has not been a good one for scent in any rose. Barbara Richards is a rose that can be claimed for the exhibition class and we do not think that it will ever prove itself as a_ garden bloom. The colour may be variable, as it sometimes comes a light honey yellow and at other times has much deeper markings than at others. It has a fairly strong scent in the young stages. (To be continued.) GARDEN WORK.

There is no doubt that more than half of garden work centres itself in a proper preparation of the soil to receive the seed or plants that have been set out in it. Soil that has only been half worked may be al-

right in an ordinary season when there is plenty of rain, but it will not stand up to extra duty when the w©ath©r is dry lik© it hxis t>6©ii tins season. In every case those gardens that have been deeply dug and well worked have stood up to the test better than those that have been surface dug for years. Now is the time to set about preparing the soil for the garden. It may mean a certain amount of hard work, but it will also mean easier working later on when the time comes for putting in crops. The first and most important thing to see to is drainage, and. the drains that are put in must be lower than the greatest depth to which digging is to be done. If drains are put in and the soil is dug deeper than they are set it stands to reason that the drains will not be able to function properly and will soon get silted up because there will not be enough water going through them to flush them out. The soil below the drains will get sour and heavy from stagnant water, and when the roots of plants get down to this they will fail. Give the plants a goo cl sweet root run and they will ropay the trouble taken with the preparation. Another very important matter is that the deeper a soil can be cultivated the longer the watercontents will last. Soil water and ordinary water are the same thing, but soil water is that part which clings to every particle of soil and is given off to the root hairs of plants as they call for it. The casual observer has no idea of the wonderful system of the roots of plants which permeate the soil in every, direction in search of food and moisture. The deeper the soil is worked the deeper these roots will go and the better the plants will be for it. Food and moisture in relation to plant life are one and the same thing tor the simple reason that a plant cannot take up any solid matter at all, and all that passes to it is in the form of water charged with those things that go to make its body and which are filtered and simplified by the cells of the plant itself. In many of our soils there are sufficient plant foods to last certain kinds of plants for a while and then they become exhausted. Another class of plant may find what it requires, but this comes under the rotation of crops and will be dealt with later. The main thing for the present is to work the soil in as perfect a manner as possible. Having arranged the drainage with a good outlet for the surplus water to get away, the next thing to do is to trench the soil. Real trenching means bringing up the subsoils to the surface, but in very few cases can this be practised and* the system that should be followed is that known as bastard trenching. This kind of trenching is done by moving the top spit of black or chocolate soil and breaking uj> the subsoil underneath which is generally clay of a more or less sticky and tenacious nature. This subsoil can be greatly improved by having material of a strawy or coarse sandy material worked into it to make it more open and porous. Any kind of farmyard manure is good, but it should not be left in layers but worked in amongst the clay that has been broken up as small as possible. The next strip of soil is put over this and if it is turf this should be put turf down on top of the clay. The crumbs on top of the clay can be shovelled out and put on the top of the dug ground. A little practice will be needed to keep the surface level, but this can soon be done bv anyone who has the work at heart. * When the piece has been finished, the first lot of soil taken out will be available to fill in the last trench, but we have found that it is a good thing to leave this last trench open as it can then be used to begin the next strip from. Any land that is being used for vegetables will be better if it is well limed. About half a pound to the square yard is generally considered enough, but in heavy, wet land a heavier dressing than this can be given and will prove a boon and a blessing. After a while the effects of lime begins to wear off and dressings should be repeated as required. _ A NEW ROSE.

In the season of 1933 the Christchurch Horticultural Society are putting a new rose on the market that has been presented to them in memory of Lady Rhodes, by Mr Alister Clark, of Glehara, Victoria, the noted Australian rose hybridiser. This rose is said to be a good strong grower and produces blooms the whole season through. It is a twiggy grower and every eye produces a large bloom. The plant is a seedling from the old Comte de Rochemur and partakes something of its colour with a good scent. A NEW CABBAGE.

We have seen a new cabbage which we think will be an ideal one for small gardens. It has not got a large head, the biggest being about six inches across and as hard as-a bullet. This variety is called “Primo” and is one that can be grown the whole season. Plants set out in the middle of January last are now being cut and are wonderfully tender and crisp; the flavour is very mild, rather reminding one of good Brussels sprouts rather than a true cabbage. One of the great points about this cabbage is its quick maturity, but for small gardens it has another and that is that it can be planted one foot apart every way. In the early part of the season this is a great advantage as it does not take up a great deal of room. It is said to keep quite good until it loses its outer leaves.