GARDEN & FIELD

Manawatu Times, Volume LV, Issue 6864, 21 May 1932, Page 14

GARDEN & FIELD

General Routine Work In the Garden.' Recent heavy showers have beon welcomed by the gardener as an aid to planting out, and to deep cultivation of the soil, which previously was very much on the dry side. Weeds continue to flourish luxuriantly, and in the absence of heavy frosts, will continue to do so. Early rains had the effect of forcing unlifted bulbs into curlier growth than usual, and ono finds odd flowers blooming most unexpectedly hero and there, oven to the spring-blooming shrubs. Iris stylosa has been blooming for quite a lengthy period, whilo anemones are doing likewise. Cut back straggly growths on carnations. There is usually a tendency to leavo theso alone, which, however, is fatal to their well, being. Stir some basic slag aTound the plants, and also sand, should there be a heavy tendency of the soil. Prepare soil for hedges, and as these are permanent, do not spare manure or labour, digging tho soil two spadedepths. Plant bordcrings of dianthus, or pinks. Plant all kinds of shrubs and trees. Continue filling up all bare spots in tho borders and shrubbery. Set traps for slugs. Bunches of weeds laid about among growing things will attract a great many to shelter beneath. Pour boiling water among the crevices of tile or brickwork where woodlico abound. These do a great deal of damage to small seedling plants. Plant all kinds of hardy perennials. Topdress existing clumps with well rotted, or artificial manure. Where fungus is present in the soil, heat or burn it before showing seeds. Fungus is responsible for the “dampening off” young plants just as they are forming tho second leaf. Seed should also bo sown thinly. The Vegetable Garden. Little can be done beyond tho harvesting of root crops, the deep cultivation of soil for future crops, and the sowing down of areas in greens for digging-in purposes. All growing greens should bo kepi free from weeds, with an occasional light topdressing of nitrate of soda. A warm, sheltered spot may be sown with the first early peas, early cabbage, cauliflower, lettuco and other salad plants, as well as the ever valuable spinach. Spare no pains i:i thorough preparation of tho new rhubarb or asparagus bed, Topdress existing beds with a dressing of strawy litter. Cover a few roots of rhubarb with boxes or barrels, with tops removed, for early forcing. Tho variety, Topps Winter, is now producing a good supply of stalks. Plant fruit trees as soil conditions permit. Cynoglossum Amabile. Those who love blue flowers should grow cynoglossum amabile, the blue hound’s tongue of China. Tho old English hound’s tongue, with its dark chocolate flowers and mousy simell, corn - } pared with this lovely lady, is as a nigger to an angel. In honour of her character and her birthplace, in my own mind, I call her tho “celestial hound’s tongue.’’ The flowers aro of heaven’s own tint, a purer azure than anchusa, and deeper than myosotis. The leaves are greyish green, and, with the sweet blue of the flowers, make a delightfully soft harmony of colour. Those who do not know the plant by name may have seen. it. Tho branching sprays aro not unlike magnified forget-me-nots, the stems growing some eighteen inches high. Tho leaves have a certain valvety quality, together wdth the stalks, which adds charm of texture to beauty of colouring. By sowing at intervals, those hardy annuals pray be had in bloom practically all tho year round and aro very useful for associating with delphiniums, breadths of it showing to great advantage. In at least one English 1932 catalogue, the novelty list includes a rose pink cynoglossum. This would make a charming companion to tho one we already have and know. Club Root. This most disastrous diseaso attacks turnips and all kinds of green in the vegetable garden. The symptoms aro very well marked. They consist of the development on the roots of ugly, irregular swellings, which so disorganiso the activities of tho affected plant that it soon becomes but a shadow of its real self. As club root is essentially a disease of acid soil conditions, it follows that the cultivator should do all in liis power to correct these. Obviously, lime is the most potent alkali at tho command of tho gardener, and those who have made many experiments' find that the form known as ground limestone is easily the best corrective of club root. It should bo forked into the ground at the rate of one pound per square yard immediately after the diseased crop is cleared. In addition, every gardener should prove himself a hygienist by destroying in the fire every diseased root. If by accident or design such roots are allowed to lie about, they become fertile nurseries for tho spread of club root. ; Armerias. Armerias, thrifts, or sea pinks, as these adaptable plants aro sometimes called, are among the many things that may be propagated this month with ease. To be seen at their best and fully appreciated, these alpine subjects need to be planted in drifts and masses. Tho colours range from white, and from tho palest pink to a very deep rose. The latter shade is a glowing, telling colour, and is also one of the best, as it blooms at all seasons. The dwarf -varieties generally show a good scattering of bloom during tho autumn, but in spring tho plants are massed with bloom, and aro particularly good for growing in dry beds and borders where

Specially written for the Times by “Lorna. ’’

little else would thrive successfully. Palm trees take a good deal from the surrounding soil, besides rendering it very dry, yet theso armerias aro quite at homo growing around tho trunks, brightening up wliat would otherwise be an unlovely bare spot. The base of such a treo may even bo turned into a miniaturo rock garden, but only those things which thrive under dry conditions may bo planted. The dwarf armerias mako ideal bordcrings, as their habit of growth is pleasing, together with tho beautiful evergreen of the foliage. Flowers That Bloom In Spring. It has been left on record that the ideal gardener is tho ono who is continually keeping in mind, and legislating for, the future beauty of his or her garden, who, to use tho words of the poet who must have loved flowers: — “Ere one flowery season fades and dies Designs the blooming wonders of the next.” Of all the seasons, then, not the least pleasurable, surely, is the springtime, and it is within the province of all who have gardens to so arrange that their plot shall be ushered in with a galaxy of beauty. We aro sometimes reminded that tho planting of bulbs is a somewhat costly and laborious experiment for tho few weeks at the most that soino of them bloom, but notwithstanding this —'Which is only part of the truth after all—it is worth all the work it entails.

Many of us arc still planting bulbs, tulips, hyacinths ond narcissi, with eorms of anemones and ranunculus. We know, too, that in corners of our gardens there are groups of our smaller bulbs that have, been clustered there for years, and have never failed us yet in the beauty they bring and the joy they convey to us after the gloom of winter. Who, loving a garden, would begrudge tho littlo first-hand expense in planting these firstlings of the spring? But there are other things besides bulbs that make a garden gay and help to usher in the time of spring beauty. What a treasury, for instance, in tho colourful and fragrant wallflower, and what vast strides have been made in them since tho days of our youth, when browns and yellows held place. Now wo may have delightful choice in wondrous tints, with no lack of the same entrancing perfume which endeared tho old favourites. A much keener interest is now being shown in the lato autumn, in the tidying up of beds and borders, so that with tho approach of winter they have a furnished. appearance. It is not enough to remove tho flotsam and jetsam and accumulation of rubbish, but there must be steps takon towards planting, so that at tho earliest periods flowers may do their shaTO in making for gaiety in spring; hence wo find in many places that much planting is being undertaken. Primroses for fragrance, primulas for daintiness, violas for continual beauty, carpets of forget-me-nots beneath beds of tulips, etc.; calendulas for sunshine, aided by generous plantings of Iceland poppies, all of which, bring a treasury of colour in the late spring. No one who has a garden should let the present opportunity go by without planting something that will make it all the brighter, something that one may follow the progress of the days as they begin to lengthen, and watch for the opening of their blossoms in the sunshino of spring. Again, we must not overlook the fact of the influence for good which beautiful things exert. The “uplift” to tho tired and weary mind, the joy a handful of flowers brings to tho occupant of tho sick room. In fact, the human mind fails to grasp the full extent of their power for good. The Failure of Shrubs to Berry. Many complaints como to hand re the failure of certain shrubs noted for their beautiful berries, to come up to expectations. In many instances no berries at all aro produced, and in others, 'a mere scattering. Many gardeners aver that a poor, stony or light soil will aid in the production of berries, and that while tho tree is making much active growth few berries may be expected. Personally, I am rather inclined to the opinion that some soils are lacking in some necessity needed for the purpose, and it would bo rather interesting to experiment towards this end. Beneath any such disappointing shrub, stir the soil around it, as far out as the rootrun has ventured, and give the area a heavy dressing of lime and wood ashes. All stone fruits crop more heavily when given heavy dressings of the above, and it is not unreasonable to expect their kin to gain the same benefit from its application. Another application would need to follow in the late spring. Examination and testing of tho soil in places where shrubs crop heavily would also tend as a guide as to soil requirements. Narcissus Fortune. Fortune is a giant incomparabilis narcissus that is assured of a great popularity in tho near future. One of its many virtues lies in its time of flowering, boing one of the first of the family to produce blooms. In the meantime the bulbs are still scarce and expensive and it will be some years hence before this variety can be grown for tho cut flower trade. It has stately blooms of grand substance and gTeat form combined with a long, deep crown of glowing blood orange, surrounded with a perianth of brilliant yellow. The plants bloom profusely and last a long time when cut. Tho crown also keeps its colour and does not burn with exposure to sunshine.