THE GARDEN.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIII, Issue 313, 1 December 1933, Page 9

THE GARDEN.

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

THE FLOWER GARDEN. The work of staking and tying plants is one that must be taken in hand before the plants get too tall. Once the stems become bent they .never look as well as good straight ones, and bent stems are often broken while they are being straightened up for tying. Although the stakes may look out of place for a while they should be put in so that they will be the height to which the plant will eventually grow. Some plants will be satisfied with one stake, but a strong clump will sometimes need three or even four. Dahlias are generally supplied with one good stake to hold the centre stem, and this is loosely tied to it. Tire outside flowering branches may. be looped to this or another smaller one may be put in to hold it. This sort of thing is entirely at the discretion of the grower. Delphiniums are better when a stake is given to every strong shoot and these shoots are tied independently of one another. Michaelmas daisies are best when grown on single stems, but very often there are a clump of them having anything up to ten or twelve stakes and these clumps should have stakes all round; three or four will do, and they can be joined together with ■ raffia or binder twine, leaving the clump open and free between. Bunching them together is not only unsightly, but it spoils more flowers than anything else. There are some plants which are grown in beds and which look very well when a length of four-inch wire netting is stretched over it and the flowers are allowed to grow through it. The wire netting must be kept a foot or so above the plants and no further staking will be necessary. The wellbeing of a lawn during summer depends a great deal oil keeping the mower in good condition. During hot weather the oil that is used is liable to run out very quickly and this should be attended to at frequent intervals, especially if a lot of mowing has to be done. Another thing that is important is to see that the mower is cutting evenly, both sides being the same distance from the ground. To an old hand this trouble is very apparent, but there are others who have not had the same experience and these leave the surface very, uneven. A lawn that is not used as a special playing area can have the grass left a little longer than for a playing surface. It is not so liable to dry out and get brown. When there is very little grass to be cut, use the mower without the grass catcher. The cuttings will soon disappear and will help to feed and keep the roots of the grass cool and moist. A well kept /lawn is a thing of beauty in a garden and enhances the value of the beds and shrubs growing in it. When seedling plants have been taken out of boxes and planted up, .turn the soil out of the box and wash it out and then stand it in the sun to dry. It is unsightly to leave the boxes about the ground and, besides, if boxes are given a little attention and are washed out they will last for a considerable time. Pots ■ and any other receptacles used for plants should be gathered and washed before storing away. They are easier to clean and are ready when wanted for further plants. " , THE CARE OF ROSES.

It has been said that rose culture is one of the most absorbing of all pastimes because it keeps the enthusiast busy during many of his leisure hours during the year. We have found that even a busy man will find or make time to pursue the work belonging to his hobby. There are dead and dying blooms to be picked and the plants must be sprayed if they are to be kept free from mildew. Never begin watering until you are compelled to do so; this can be put off for a long time by keeping the surface of the bed well cultivated with the hoe. When water has to be given, the early morning is the best time to do it, before the sun has got too strong. The day alter watering the soil of the bed should be stirred up. When the surface of the bed becomes caked, the moisture evaporates very quickly. Lawn grass makes' a useful mulch when spread over the surface of the bed, but it must never be allowed to become caked down. Give it a stir up with a hoe or rake, and even when it is dry it is doing its work. When cutting rose blooms, make the work a kind of summer pruning and cut with a good length of stem. The cut should be made close to a good strong bud so that the next flower will be on a good strong shoot, The best time to - cut roses is early in the morning while the dew is on them, and they should immediately be put in water deep enough to give them a good soaking. Some growers peel the bark off the stems for an inch or two and split the stalk up so that they will take up the maximum amount of water. An aspirin tablet put in their water will help them to retain their freshness. THE ROSE SHOW.

The show held at Palmerston North last week was a very fine one, especially in the decorative section, which we can safely say was the finest we have ever seen here. One side of the hall was covered with bowls and vases of work of a very high artistic value. There is no doubt that a show without decorative work would be very poor indeed, but in this case it dominated the whole of the exhibits. The roses were not as numerous as usual, and we have seen better, but there were plenty of blooms which were quite good. It has occurred to us that the value of the rose section could he considerably enhanced by the addition of some classes to be exhibited with good stems and their own foliage for quality and effect. After all is said and done, roses are- not grown entirely for exhibition ; in fact, we could safely say that there are many more thousands of decorative roses grown than there are exhibition roses. There are dual purpose roses certainly, and many.

who grow them never think of exhibiting them otherwise than as decorative flowers, if they exhibit them at all.'-.; We have not got as far as the English growers, who exhibit them in baskets, but it will come. In the meantime, let us get away from the flat boards and short stalked blooms that are shown now. Such exhibits would help to brighten up the show and would bring more exhibitors into it. The vegetable section was a fairly good one and the vegetables all showed good culture. Some immense gooseberries were noted in the vegetable section. DAHLIAS.

Most dahlia growers will have set their plants out for exhibition purposes, but it is not too late now to put in others for a special show in March. These late plants would be at their prime at that time. When they are being grorm, give them a special bed to them elves rather than plant up amongst/ the earlier ones. Heavily manured land is not advisable ; wait until they are making good growth and then remove some of the soil near the base of tlve stem and put some manure here, covering it up to keep it moist. Any water that is given to them will be worked through this and will carry the plant food down to their roots. When the buds are showing, a mixture of superphosphate and potash can be given to them and this will help to strengthen the wood and give the plants substance to carry the heavy blooms. When grown for exhibition, the plants require more room than when they are being used for bedding purposes. From four to five feet should be enough, but late planted stuff will have enough room if the rows are four feet apart and the plants about three feet apart in the rows. One important point to remember is to plant firmly and to leave a depression round the plant which will make it easier to water them. Later, this can be filled in by drawing the earth up to them. SEED SAVING. Seed saving is a phase of gardening that is gradually becoming more general over the whole length and breadth of New Zealand. Daffodil growers have many enthusiasts in their ranks and some of them are growing their bulbs for the purpose ol raising seed alone. The results they have attained are well known at our shows, where home-raised seedlings are often at the top of the prize list. It has been our fortunate experience to have been asked to inspect a bed o£ nemesia plants grown from home saved seed and planted alongside a bed from imported seed. The verdict was wholly in favour of the homo saved seed bed, not only in the quality of the flowers, but also in the growth, which was stronger and better than in the imported. Another bed in the same garden consisted of home saved seed of stocks. In: the bed there were four colours and the plants the seed had been saved from were from an imported lot. There was no other bed to compare them with, but out of the 100 plants inspected there were 76 good doubles and the other 24 were singles. This is a good percentage, as we have seen it noted in the Nurseryman and Seedsman that a good percentage is 66, or two-thirds. Sweet peas have long been grown in New Zealand and the seed saved here has found favour in other countries. Growers go in for a rigid process of loguefinding and every plant with a variation is destroyed. Seed saving would add considerably to the interest and pleasure of gardening and is a thing we would like to. commend to our readers VEGETABLE CULTURE. It is a good plan to prepare trenches for celery some time in advance of planting, and there are several good reasons lor this. For one thing, the sub-soil has an opportunity to sweeten and become cleansed of insect pests and the soil between the rows can be used for growing a quick maturing crop such as lettuce, radishes or spinach: The trenches for celery should be fit least one foot in depth and about four feet apart. The best plan is to grow two rows in one trench and to set the plants out, zig-zag fashion, a foot apart. When the trench has been made, work in plenty of manure with the sub-soil, forking it up well together. A dressing of kainit and superphosphate spread on the surface and worked in at the rate of one ounce to every two yards will be helpful. /

It is hardly possible to make the soil too rich for celery. By making the trenches some time in advance it is possible to work the soil and manure at the bottom of the trench so that it is well mxed together before planting has to be done. If you have young plants pricked out into boxes, see that they are kept well watered and are not allowed to flag. Well-grown plants are better in every way than those that have been stunted.

The asparagus bed should be allowed to rest from now on and if it is given a good dressing of manure it will be all the better. The manure can have some soil thrown over it from the sides of the bed.

Sweet corn, or maize as it is sometimes called, is a vegetable that is often forgotten. It is a handsome plant and can be grown in such a way that some more delicate crop can be sheltered by it from the wind. This crop likes a well manured soil and a warm position is essential to ensure good crops. Set the plants out in rows about two feet apart. Red beet is a crop, that should be gL_ tor_succession. If a lot are put in at one L..1T~' v >any of them are liable to grow too large for use and the ground they occupy is wasted; but, by making suceessional sowings, good sweet, tender roots can be had right through the season. They are always relished when salads are made and are useful for sandwiches and quick lunches. The apple-shaped cucumber is another good salad plant which must be quickly grown. This cucumber is a very prolific one and if there are too many to use raw they make an excellent dish when they are cooked whole in the same way as marrows. Set out tomato plants liow in ground that has been manured for some previous crop or in ground that has been dug from turf.. The manuring should be left until the first bunch or two of fruit has set, and then potash and liquid manure can be given to them to help the ripening process. Do not turn water on to the- plants because they are not growing properly; rather j stir up the ground round them with the hoe and wait for rain to moisten the soil. Tomatoes will stand more dry weather than most people think, and once .von begin watering them you will have to keep the process going. If the requirements of plants were better understood there would he much less water used.