IN the GARDEN

Manawatu Times, Volume LXV, Issue 1459, 10 November 1911, Page 2

IN the GARDEN

/ BY " THE AMATEUE." i Amateur mil be pleased to answer any questions in regard to the garden. ROSES FOR EXHIBITION. Young exhibitors are often at a loss to know which rosos to choose for the show-board and should therefore make aire that they fully understand what a good rose is. The types and ideals required by the National Rose Society must be studied and learnt by heart so that a good "show" rose may be picked at once. The first thing to look for is " form" which comes before colour. A lop-sided flower or spray may be picturesque, but it is only formal beauty that is answerable to the strict rules necessary in competition, A mass of badly formed flowers may make a, very pretty object in the garden or.landscape, but they are not what is required for show purposes A Kosarian soon becomes accustomed to look upon'form as the primal beauty of the Rose, and to look upon colour, though necessary, as a secondary consideration. There are no proper or technical terms in which to desciibe the different types of form in roses. The National Society uses about fivo different expressions such as, imbricated, globular, highcentred, cupped and flat. Imbricated is right enough tor it fully describes that type of form, [t implies that petals are regularly 'and thoroughly reflexed upon each other with a small knob in the middle like a camellia. It is principally the tyre of the older varieties of roses, few modern ones coming under this heading. 'Globular' is the term which is generally used to describe such roses as Baroness Rothschild, which at its best is like a incurved Chrysanthemum. Cupped does not mem that the centre is hollow but that the whole flower is the shape of a cup, Flat describes such, flowers as Souvenir de la Malmaison when expanded too far being a typical example of this shape. It is considered very faulty for exhibition. « High-Oentred " is a term that may be applied to most of the modern roses which are considered show flowers. MamanOochet and Mrs W J. Grant are good examples for the novice to study.

With a good high-centred bloom the outside petals will stand well away, but there will still be enough petals to form a centre and keep the eye from being visible. The outer edges of the petals will make the whole bloom appear round to the glance when looked at from above, and the rich colours at the base of the outside petals will also show. There is another thing to consider in form, and that is whether the centre is full or quartered. In a full-centred flower the petals all overlap evenly, but a quartered flower looks as though the petals in the centre have been pressed in on one side with a blunt knife. Mildred Grant is very bad in this respect especially when >it has been forced along to open for a show, A small full-centred bloom is to be preferred to one that is larger but j quartered.

_ Colour is supposed to come next in importance, but with many judges I am sorry to say that colour is often quite overlooked. The effect of the sun on unshaded roses is very peculiar, for while in some it heightens the colour, in others it draws the colour out. The tea roses with yellow in their colouring require close shading, but on the other hand It increases the red flush that some blooms have, Most of the H,P, section? come to per. fection best during qOoI weatJ«w! and should be shaded in the hot sun, Naming is important and should be done in all cases, as it is easier to set up a number when they are named. If one or two should happen to be wrongly named, it would make no difference as a rule, for judges take little notice of it except that when the flowers are very close in points, named ones have a decided advantage over unnamed ones. When the blooms are cut from the plants, if they are taken with good long stems they will have some ot their own leaves to decorate them with.

DAFFODILS.

Because the flowering season is over for the beautiful flowers the amatuer gardner must not run away with the idea that there is nothing further to be done to them until planting and separating time comes again. If he does this he will find that next year ; his flowers show unmistakable signs of deterioration. The surface soil i must be as constantly attended as if . the bulbs were blooming. A long growing season is what the bulbs should have to make them grow good flowers next year, and to secure this all weeds must be kept down and the soil stirred occasioi ally to keep it • sweet. Never cut the leaves of bulbs or the plant will suffer; If (hey are unsightly tie them up with apiece of raffla, neatly, and you will find it easier to work amongst them Continued on page 3).