Garden

Manawatu Times, Volume XLIX, Issue 2313, 4 December 1925, Page 5

Garden

(BY “LiORNA.”)

Cold rough -winds have played havic in those gardens which have very little shelter, and very little growth is noticeable among the newly planted annuals during the last week. Roses are still blooming freely and the spent blooms should be picked off the plants; also keep the sweet peas closely picked to prevent seeding. Many perennials should bo sown now in order to procure strong sturdy plants for next season’s flowering, which should include delphiniums, Iceland poppies, sweet william, gaillardias, anemones, ranunculus, hollyhocks and canterbury bolls. A variety of bedding pantls may still be planted with success, including zinniks, salvia cosmos, sunflower, cclosia, cockscoobs petunia and amaranthus. Dahlias, gladioli and chrysanthemums may still be planted. The Vegetable Garden. Plant brussels sprouts, celery, leeks late cabbage, tomato, cauliflower and broclli. Seed of all those previously mentioned may be sown for rotation crops and where space is limited fill up the ground available from the early potato crop. If seed is sown now it will only be a matter of a few weeks before the plants are in readiness. Make a sowing of lettuce and radish in partial shade if possible. Sow dwarf and runner beans according to requirements: also carrot, beet mangolds and swedes. Bamboos The present is a good time for planting and transplanting bamboos. They soon get established and commence to root if moved when they aro In good growth. Bamboos are more characteristic of tropical climes, although there are many hardy species which hail from Japan, China and the Himalaya. Asia is the great bamboo producing continent. Many of the species are of purely tropical origin ahd are of very little value for cultivation In this ountry. Bamboos ‘-‘at {their best?’ arc* amongst the most charming evergreens we possess, with great decorative possibilities. They are not however, suitable subjects for every position, and instead of mixing them in shrubberies with other shrubs or including them as isolated lawn specimens in prominent places, they ought, wherever possible, be given a position to themselves, or be grown with such kindred plants as anmdo and miscanthus. The reason for this is, that whilst bamboos are peculiarly attractive for six or seven months of the year, they are decidedly dingy during the winter and spring months, when other shrubs aro at their best. The first cold winds of winter cause tlie loaves to turn brown, a condition maintained until the now loaves develop. An idcrU. site for a bamboo garden is a semi-shady position sheltered from cold winds but, not im. poverlshed by the roots of trees. The banks of a pond or stream may bo utilised with charming effect, the proximity of water lending an additional advantage for fheir successful culture. The different varieties of bamboo range from 12 feet to 100 feet in height—some with lai’ge leaves, ranging down to leaves an eighth of an inch in width. A particularly dainty species from China is a nltida which forms masses of slender arching stems clothed with the daintiest of pale green loapage, there are about forty desirable hardy varieties in cultivation including many variegated •specimens. Every spring the old spent looking wood should bo cut back close to the ground, the stems of 1 ho sfronf? erect growing varieties are often utilized for fishing* rods certain poles, and in the making of furniture. Bamboos planted in largo pots or tubs are useful for the decoration of large rooms, and beyond watering give very little trouble. A Pond Garden. To the garden lover the most valuable asset that any site can possess is the presence of water, either as stream, pond, or lake. One often sees scattered up and down the country, derelict pools and ponds that in their present condition offer nothing in the way of attraction to the senses. Their advantage not being realized they have been neglected until overgrown with rubbish, filled with the muddy deposit of generations of fallen leaves and ■ they become stagnant, dismal and unwholesome. Delightful possibilities which provide inspiration for the artist, unbounded joy to the gardener are to be found in the making of of a water garden. Water as a necessary adjunct to the garden has been recognized throughout the ages, because the desire to have water in the garden has been so great it has in some instances led to gigantic understandings at an enormous expenditure of labour and money, sometimes with magnificent results and sometimes otherwise. But the most charming and th c simplest method is to beautify by natural planting any pond, lake or stream. Sometimes the water may be a long way below the level of the surrounding banks, and the initial mistake that most people make is in concluding that because the banks are near the water they are necessarily moist. Many good moisture loving plants have lost their reputation by being planted in such positions. If there is’ a desire to plant moisture Loving plants on the margins, the banks must be sloped. But many plants grow successfully on these hanks including irises, monbretzia; flax, pampas, and ornamental rushes and grasses. Clumps of such rambler roses as Dorothy Perkins give a delightful effect overhanging the banks with the ends reaching the water. If there are trees near the water which keep the banks in perpetual shade some should be re- | moved certain plants love moisture j but they do not thrive in semi darkness. If the trees are good always j leave some, as the variation of light,

and shade on the water’s surface is as valuable as thc colour of flower or foliage, first considering carefully what trees can bo removed to admit sunlight and air to such portions of the pond which are to be planted with sun loving objects. Trees should bs at least twenty feet back from the waters edge, in shady portions, plant li'ax, bamboos and rushes, and where cultivation Is possible primulas and cinerarias. Many varieties of the iris family will flourish at the waters edge, but must be in a sunny position while many beautiful water lilies may be planted in the pond, where their lovely leaves and blossoms will be seen floating on the surface. Where a clay subsoil is in evidence, an artificial pond may be made with little expense but when making these avoid straight iines, an irregular outline, is much to be preferred Trees however should not be planted too close as the roots would penetrate the clay and cause the pond to leak. In planting a wise restraint should be observed about the numbers of different plants that are to be seen at a glance. If many different kinds aro seen together, restful enjoyment of their beauty wall bo, lost. One good thing at a time In fair quantity, or two at most is the better way, letting this go on for some yards and before introducing another kind leave an interval. The effect will then be quite natural, in planting do not overlook the finer of our hardy forns which are very effective when grouped.