GARDEN NOTES

Manawatu Times, Volume 68, Issue 49, 27 February 1943, Page 6

GARDEN NOTES

(By “NGAIO.") Now that the ground is thoroughly moist again, the planting of Spring dowering bulbs should be gone on witn and concluded as soon as possible with a few exceptions which do better plantj ed later. j Annuals Which have been severely ! damaged by rain and wind can hardly J be expected to make much of a “come S back” now, and it is a better policy I to scrap your losses and clear them out, i making way for something else, rather j than spend time fiddling with them and 1 trying to retrieve them. I .Narcissi do become a nuisance in the j dower borders when the leaves grow i very long and then die back, also the * presence of the bulbs in the ground ; hinders digging and forking operations. I Plant these in odd corners of the gar- ' den and build up some lovely spring pictures by massing them beneath fruit trees with a carpet of polyanthus primroses and grape hyacinths, Remember though that the apple blossom comes a bit too late for the bulbs, the pear and plum trees are the best to incorporate into the picture. The dowering season of daffodils can be extended by planting both early and late varieties, so if you are buying bulbs see that you get varieties which spread well over the season. The old common yellow double daffodil is a tough customer which will I come up and bloom in rough grass or ■ dourish pn the rubbish heap or any place where it happens to be, and is usually the earliest to bloom apart from the strong scented narcissi. The poeticus are the latest type to bloom and in between there are hosts of lovely varieties to follow one another in quick succession. If your ground is very uncultivated where you want to plant your bulbs, see that it is well broken up and add a little bone dust to the bottom of the hole when planting but only a little. When it comes to planting the i smaller bulbs in the garden proper, again use your imagination and create spring pictures instead of planting in dreary rows dowu each side of the garden path. Grow your bulbs with your spring dowering shrubs and you will get some delightful results. All you have to do is to remember roughly the time of dowering of both shrubs and bulbs so that you combine the right varieties of each for an effective i display. Bulbs suitable for planting in this way are grape hyacinths, lachenalia, freesias, snowdrops (English), crocuses and hoop petticoat narcissus these are all early blooming except the last which is a little later. Then for a display to follow tlio early blooms you can include Tritonias and Babianas, Ixias and Sparaxis which will carry you right on to the end of October and the beginning of November. Anemones, ranunculus and tulips are still to be considered and these too can be planted more informally than they often are, but they do * need more special treatment, as regards soil conditions than the others mentioned. If you want early anemones you must give them a warm sheltered corner so they are usually best in a bed by themselves in a picked spot. See the soil is well worked and will be well drained in winter —add some sand if you think it advisable. Ranunculus can be fed more than anemones; prepare the bed by deep digging and putting some old well rotted manure or grass clippings well down where the bulbs or corras will not come in close contact with it. The samo applies to tulips but both ranunculus and tulips are much better left for the present and can quite safely be planted up to May.