THE GARDEN.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIV, Issue 108, 6 April 1934, Page 9

THE GARDEN.

Notes are published under this beading, 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.

THE FLOWER GARDEN. At the present time there is nothing except chrysanthemums to receive special attention a.nd it is only when these are being grown for large blooms that they get any special care given to them. At this time show blooms are being given liquid manure in a very weak form, but when the flowers are about half opened this should be stopped and a cover of some kind fixed over the plant to stop water or even a heavy dew from getting into the centre. When these large flowers get too much water in the centres they are liable to damp off. Too much water at the root will cause the same trouble, hut it takes a lot more there than it does on the top. The best method of covering the blooms will have to be left to the grower because some erect a skeleton shed over them and cover the whole lot with canvas; others cover the plants only, using boxes, tins, or anything else that comes handy, this flower would be a more popular one for general cultivation as a gulden plant if it was not for the fact that the late' blooms are likely to be injured by frost. If they were grown in pots they could be moved under the cover of glass. In those gardens where dahlias have mot been touched by frosts they are still blooming strongly, and will continue to do so until it gets too cold for them. In some parts of the country their best days are already past and nothing further can be done lor them except to draw some earth well up to their stems to keep the frost from getting down to the tubers. Many plants are lost every year through the frost netting down to the tubers which are too near the surface. As the plants grow there is a tendency for the tubers to lift in the soil rather than sink down, and by putting more earth over them you are protecting them from possible injury before they have to be lilted. , , , p Clean up and fork over the whole ot the herbaceous border now before tne soil gets too wet. When the weather is cold it does not take very long for the soil to get wet and then digging or forking is out of the question All herbaceous plants that have finished flowering can be cut down to the ground and the old dried stalks pu on the fire. They would be useless on the compost heap as they take a loim time to rot and there is not very much in them when' they have done so. It is not worth while to hoe borders now except for the purpose of stirring up the ground. A\ 7 eeds that are cut with the hoe at this time of the year will only grow again as soon as it rains; but when they are put underneath the soil they rot and will help the general manuring plan. Continue to plant ranunculus and anemones; when they are planted in succession they give a long flowering season in the spring, and gardens are not as a rule too plentifully supplied with flowers at that time of the year. Lachenalias are as easily grown as freesias and the flowers last so well that it is surprising there are not more of them grown. Try a dozen bulbs in the open and see. A BUNCH OF ROSES.

“Rosarian” says: “Head this ‘A Bunch of Roses’ because 1 have just been out in the garden and have picked a bonnie bunch. Some of the best are Mrs E. Willis, that beautiful coral pink all admire when they see it, and they see it fairly often in my garden because I do not think it ever stops blooming. It is one of those plants that will give you plenty of flowers at all times, especially if you spray it to keep away mildew and black spot. To my mind it only has one fault and that is the stem is a little bit weak. There are two blooms in my bunch and I hear you say, Ah! two plants. Wrong again, I have got six and would like six more. That creamy yellow rose is Golden Dawn, and what a delicious scent! Another rose that gives me plenty of bloom is Raised in Australia, and I consider it the second best rose grown. Sprayed once or twice in the season and not a spot of mildew or black spot. As well clothed as mv little bantam and she has feathers down to the ground; yes, I have six plants of that one, too, and am adding another three this year. Ojblielia has done well, but I am not sure I do not like Mine. Butterfly better. No, not that, is it J. C. M. Mensing? The v are all free bloomers and as they have been sprayed they arc doing wonderfully well. That red one is Scarlet Glory and a wonderfully good doer, though I am told by my friends that they cannot grow it. For a season or two it did no good with me, and then I got Etoile de Hollande. Jealousy made it grow and now it is trying to drive the other away from me. They are both beautiful in their own way, but the last one gives a lot of good blooms and then one that is nearly single. I like single roses, but not on a plant that is supposed to grow double ones. The yellow one is Canary, and thereby hangs a tale. I like yellow roses and have tried a lot of them. The first was Rayon d’Or; colour quite good, but I lost three plants one after the other from debility. I tried hard with spray and manure, but it was hopeless. Then I got Uhristino, a beauty, but it pined away. Then came Mabel, another good one and clothed in such raiment! The foliage was wonderful. It grew fairly well the first year and then went back. However, I got another, which is doing well and I shall get another if this one wishes to go, but Canary is a grower and a free bloomer even if the foliage is not as good as Mabel Morse. It is the best yellow I have and that one in the bunch came from a tree, not a bush. It is over four feet high and quite healthy. The one with the slight streaks in the petals is Admiration, one of the best autumn roses we have when kept clean. Have you ever smelt anything like that for scent ? I am sure you have not. Well it is almost scentless in the spring. The last one there is that old favourite of yours, Shot Silk; one of the best, easy to grow and will bloom for all time; does not mildew badly. Not enough petals, you say. Look here ! If it had any more petals it would be done to death by show fiends. I like a rose that is a rose whether it is good for exhibition or not. A bunch of flowers is all I ask and when I can get one like that I am satisfied.” BIENNIALS AND PERENNIALS. April is a good month to plant out biennials and perennials that have been raised from seed. When they are planted out now they will become well established before the winter comes on. In many gardens there is a tendency to plant them too far apart, thinking

that one or two plants will make a good display; but if these plants are set out in clumps of a dozen or more a good break of colour can be got and tliis is what is really wanted. When jilanting out early there is no need to make the soil over-rich. A little manure worked in will help, but when too much is used it generally means coarse growth at the expense of tho flowers. The main thing is to have a deeply dug soil with plenty of drainage to carry away the surplus of water. Some of the perennials are decidedly lime lovers and like a good dressing of old mortar rubbish worked into the soil. If some soot can be mixed with it so much the better because soot is a good thing to drive away milepedes and such vermin that infest the soil and attack the roots of various plants. In some gardens these pests are getting so bad that they are doing a considerable amount of damage, and something must be done to rid the soil of them. Napthalene soil fumigant is very good, but it should bo worked into the soil at least three weeks in advance of planting, and if tho soil is dry it can be given two or three waterings before planting takes places. The use of old soil in boxes that the plants are grown in is another source of infection, and is a practice that should never be followed. Either treat the old soil first or use some that is perfectly fresh from the heap. Garden soil that is used year after year is sure to get contaminated by something, and one cannot be too careful. THE TURF HEAP.

In gardens where seedlings are grown in the spring there is always a demand for ea-rtli to fill the boxes, and this should be prepared some months ahead of the time when it will be required. To make a really good heap of soil for boxes, some good turf from an old pasture should be got and stacked up, with the grass side down. On top of the first layer put some leaf mould and rotten manure and another layer of turf on top of this. This building up can go on as long as you can get the turf. When finished, leave the heap alone for at least three months, when you can begin cutting it down with a sharp spade. That which is cut should be heaped up and turned over two or three times before it is ready for use. When you are ready to fill your seed or pricking out boxes, you can work it through a quarter-inch sieve and use the coarser pieces to fill into the bottoms of the boxes to act as drainage. The finer particles can have some coarse sand mixed with them to keep them open, and can be used for filling the rest of the box. A little lime or mortar rubbish will be found useful to mix in at the same time. Soil made up in this way will be found useful for any potting that has to he done and for putting round the roots of roses when they are being planted. It is also useful for topdressing round various plants in the rock garden when this work has to be done. It is invaluable for any purpose, and one can never have too largo a supply on hand. Even if it is two or more vears old, it will be found quite as good as the fresh stuff. Get a. supply ready now and when you see the need coming make another heap so that you will always have some on hand. QUESTION. “Tulip” says : “I would like to know how to plant tulips to stop them from being eaten by bugs or some small insects. For a iong time I have grown them with more or less success, hut during the last two years they have done very badly and I am losing them very fast. Is there any manure that is sa.fe to use on them? The bed they were growing in last year had been manured the season before for pansies, but is now full of small insects of all kinds. I am not going to plant until lean find a clean pieco of ground. How long can L keep them out of the ground? They do not show any signs of shooting yet.” You can keep the bulbs out of the ground until the end of April, but it would be better to get them in before that if possible. It does not pay to plant tulips in ground that is too rich. Manured ground is fatal to them. The !>est thing you could do would be to dig up a bed in turf and plant them there. When planting, put an inch or so of sand in the bottom of the trench and lightly press the bulbs into this, then cover them with more sand up to their necks and the earth can then be filled in. The grubs and insects are attracted by the manure you have been using and will attack any part of the bulb that begins to die and will make the damage worse. Such ground should be treated with one of the soil fumigants such as napthalene. This must be used a couple of weeks in advance of planting, at the rate of four ounces to the square yard. If this is followed out we think you will get rid of most of the grubs and the soil will be quite safe for another kind of crop. Millipedes have been very bad in gardens this season, but this soil fumigant drives them away or kills them. THE VEGETABLE GARDEN.

All crops that are ready for storing and can be stored should be lifted now and put in a safe place for the winter. Potatoes should be carefully dug and dried before they are taken inside. When under cover they must be kept in a dark place or covered with sacks, or the potato moth will get at . them and lay its eggs in the eyes, with the result that when the young grubs hatch out they will eat their way through the skin and spoil a great part of the tuber. . Pumpkins and marrows can be put in a dry place away from frosts, such as under pine trees or a hedge. When a pumpkin is nearly ripe that part of the stalk which joins the haulm begins to wither. A marrow does the same, but the skin also gets hard. Onions should be stored as soon as possible or they will begin to send out fresh roots and their keeping qualities will bo spoiled. Preparations should he made now for sowing onion seed for planting out in the early spring. All that is wanted is a clean, fresh piece of ground which has been well worked and made as firm as possible. Sow the seed in drills so that the plants can be hoed when necessary. Cabbage and cauliflower plants for spring planting can be sown now. A piece of land that has not grown this crop liefore is the best to use and even then it should have a good dressing of lime put on it to keep club root at bay. Sow in drills a foot apart and then the plants can be kept clean. It may be necessary to spray them once or twice with arsenate of lead during the late autumn, but in the winter they can take care of themselves and will only need an occasional hoeing.