GARDENING

Manawatu Times, Volume 64, Issue 174, 26 July 1939, Page 13

GARDENING

Routine Work in the July Borders. If anything like favourable weather is experienced the gardener will be kept very busy preparing and planting all things which tend to make tho garden beautiful. Heavy rains have in some cases made the soil sodden on the surface and as soon as this becomes workable, lightly stir it, or it will, if left alone, bake very hard as the season advances. Mako use of every opportunity to fill up all available space with early flowering annuals. If this is done, a second flowering season may bo obtainod by planting the late flowering things such as asters, zinnias, marigolds, etc. Continue to plant all kinds of shrubs and trees. Plant roses and prune existing beds. Sow seeds of sweet peas for summer blooms. Plant all kinds of perennials. Complete plantings of liliums. | Continuo to take side shoots from chrysanthemums. Fill any bare spaces in the rock gar* den. Lime tho borders, with the exception of thoso where azaleas, heaths and rhododendrons grow. Plant a fow early flowering gladioli. The Vegetable Garden. Continue to plant rhubarb and asparagus roots. Sow a row of peas at fortnightly intervals. riant more potatoes. As soil conditions permit, sow early turnips, spinach, lettuce, beetroot, silver beet, onions, cabbage and cauliflower seed. Plant lettuce, cabbage, and any other available plants. Preparo ground for main crop of vegetables. Plant all kinds of fruit trees. Prune all fruit bushes and trees. Arranging Cut Flowers. In arranging cut flowers, choose the receptacles with care, and pay duo regard to sizo and colour. Undecoratec ones aro the sagest and always remera ber that heavy-headed, long-stemmed flowers demand tall, generous vases, while the smaller tender-faced blossoms arc satisfied with low, flat bowls. Dc not crowd your flowers; a few will go far if properly adapted to their environ ment, and some nice foliago mixed with them. A glorious bouquet of garden flowers is often wasted when crammed into one huge jar. Instead, distribute their sweetness through several rooms. Even when your garden is most prolific use your blossoms sparingly. Separate your flowers, always keeping certain varieties together, mixing the colours only when you are sure of harmonious blending. It is true that Nature’s colours never clash, Lut artistic placing will increase their value. In a blue and gold room nothing appears to the same advantage as orange and yellow-tonod flowers, while tho blue ones may be kept for the pink-toned rooms. Buttcr-cup yellow flowers aro ideal for tho blue rooms, also for rooms where much green is used. By using care in this respect charming results may be obtained which arc always pleasing to the eye, and add distinction to tho rooms. Fresh flowers are invigorating, while faded flowers have the opposite effect, and should bo removed, even though others are not available to replace them. A little green foliage or fern leaves are much better than half-dead flowers. Bedding Violas.

Violas aro just tho plants for amateurs. They are easy to grow, always do well except in a very hot season, and bloom throughout the summer and autumn. Plants in tho border that have been left undisturbed may now be taken' up. Cut the plants into portions, each with a bit of root, and they will soon make strong plants and produce large blooms.

Rooted cuttings of all the best varieties may bo purchased at a reasonable rate, and if cuttings are taken from these in autumn there will be plenty of plants for next year. The soil for violas must be deeply dug and some good, well-rotted manure incorporated with it. If a dry period sets in put on a mulch to keep the surface roots moist and well nourished. If there is no old manure, lawn grass clippings and decayed vegetable refuse will help. Slugs aro a terrible pest, and damage many blooms, therefore a watch must bo kept for them. As they begin to flower keep all dead blooms plucked off. Lupins from Seed. Few plants contribute so much to the beauty of the spring garden as tho lupin. There are many kinds in cultivation, both annual aud perennial, but tho most important, at auv rate, from a garden point of view, are the hybrid perennials. When well placed in gardens the effect is superb, their profusion of bloom creating a fine mass of colour when most needed. New varieties are rather expensive, but the ko.en lover of these plants will find no more interesting phase in their cultivation than the raising of an army of young plants from seeds. Not only can a vast number oi plants be thus secured easily and quickly, but frequently they possess greater vigour and produce larger flower spikes than those secured by the system of division. With tho extra vigour that they possess these seedlings aro better adapted for resisting the ravages of insect pests. A bed should be prepared in readiness in some open spot whero tho plants can from tho outset develop to the full a sturdy robust specimen. If the soil is light no other preparation will be necessary beyond digging it deeply and breaking up tho large lumps, but, on tho other hand, if the soil is of a heavy nature, leaf soil and sand should bo dug in to make up a congonial rooting medium. Tread the whole moderately firm before setting the young plants in position. Early seedlings will flower during January and February, the seeds requiring a fair amount of moisture to get them to germinate freely. If sowing the seed in late spring it is best to soak it for a few hours. Slugs seem to bo fond of the first leaves, but do not appear to touch the second ones that form. Stocks. These are deservedly favourite flowers in large or small gardens, and wo may enjoy them over a long period if we mako tho most of tho best varieties from the several sections into which they are divided. They are most easily

(Specially written Cor "The Times" by "Lorna.”)

grown, and only need a rich, light soil in order to develop full and fine flowers.

The strains of ten-week stocks aro exceedingly numerous and represent the result of great improvements made in comparatively recent years. There are strains selected for dwarfness, others because of tho dense, pyramidal habit, others for their free, branching character, tho side branches of tho varieties forming this strain being most useful for cutting.

A strain known as bedding stocks is ono of distinct value, because the hinds have been selected in clear, distinct colours, and the habit of the plant is good, being froe and branching without growing too tall, as tho varieties in this strain do not exceed ono foot in height Whero masses of particular colours are desired this strain is tho one to grow; every plant seems to come true to colour, while the percentago of double flowers is high, and colours may bo obtained in a dozen varieties. Then there aro the wall-flower leaved varieties, which may bo obtained in clear, distinct colours, tho particulai feature of the strain being the wall-flower-like leaves its varieties produce of a deep, dark, glossy-green colour, and a charming contrast to the foliage oi other kinds. It is also well to pay attention tc other kinds that come into bloom at other seasons, especially those known as intermediate stocks. These are autumnal bloomers, aud follow close upon the tenweek varieties. They are remarkable for tho dense growth that they make as they spread into bushes, producing a large number of free flowering side shoots. Stocks aro also useful as pot plants, and these make ideal gifts for the sick person, as they last in flower for such a lengthy period. The Care of Drives and Garden Paths. However tidy the borders may be, a garden path or drive overrun with weeds will mar the whole effect. Those who have limestone or metal approaches to their residence know only too well the labour entailed by continual wooding aud hoeing. The use of the hoe, too, only prepares the ground for the perfect germination of fresh seeds that fall. There are many good reliable weedkillers on the present day market, but thoso having an arsenical base have proved the most effective, and if used in the right way and at the right time will do away with all further worry. In the first place the poison should be applied when tho weeds are in their infancy. This point must bo remembered because it not only renders the application more efficacious, but reduces the quantity of weed-killer required for the job. Secondly, the poison should be applied after rain, or when the ground is moist. This allows the weed-killing solution to penetrate down to the roots

of the plant. The weed-killer should be applied with an ordinary watering can with rose attachment ,nnd whero paths aro bordered by grass plots, the edge of the grass should be covered with dry sacks or boards to prevent the spray coming into contact with the grass.

“Not ‘British.’ in Outlook." Ono of the things that surprised him was that Americans were not "British’’ in outlook, but this was understood when one remembered that the population of the United States was composed of a great many elements, said Mr. J. E. Strachan, principal of the Raugiora High School, in an address to the Canterbury Chapter of the New Zealand Institute of Secretaries, on Ills recent tour abroad, lie expressed admiration of the part America was playing in building a new civilisation, and in adjusting social custonfs to the new technological environment. England, to his mind, impressed the visitor because of the impression ho gained of something enduring. There appeared to bo great business prosperity. In Germany, Air. Strachan said ho found that he had to readjust his previous ideas. He said that if Hitler had done nothing else he had given young Germans a motive, which they were sadly lacking previously, being born as they w'ere after the Great War, and suffering the repercussions of that war although in no way responsible for it.