Enjoy Your GARDEN

Northern Advocate, 18 March 1939, Page 5 (Supplement)

Enjoy Your GARDEN

Spend the Leisure Hours of Daylight with the Flowers

AUTUMN is generally favoured for the laying down of lawns. There is still ample natural warmth in the soil: the autumn morning dews have a stimulating effect on the young grass: and the weed trouble is not nearly so acute in the autumn as it is in the spring and early summer.

The lawn grass must be regarded as a permanent crop, and the soil prepared accordingly. Deep digging and cultivation are necessary. If the top soil is shallow, it should be deepened, but care should be taken not to bring the subsoil to the surface. Animal manure, well rotted, or compost, mixed in with the subsoil, will help to bring the latter in, and at the same time help drainage. A bone dust-superphos-phate mixture, 2-1, may be worked in with the top six inches of soil, using about 4oz to the square yard. Superhelps the root development, and the bonedust serves as a more permanent manure.

If the soil is inclined to be sour, crushed limestone, 4 to 6oz to the

The Planting and Care of Lawns

After sowing, rake very ligh then roll. It is a mistake to use i

square yard would be beneficial. With stiff clay soils well slaked lime would give better results.

The surface should be carefully levelled, using a straight edge. Roll, lightly rake, and again roll, until the surface is firm and eVen.

It is false economy to sow a lawn thinly. Use any amount of good seed —cheap seed is never a bargain. An ounce to the square yard should be the least amount to sow; and sow in two right angle directions so as to get an even distribution.

What grass mixture should we use? This is a hard question to answer, as very few of the finer grasses will stand through our hot dry summers. The few lawns that are looking green just now are chiefly those that have gene to pas t palum. But paspalum has obvious disadvantages. As good a mixture as any is a mown top, chewings fescue, poo pratensis association in a rjkio of 2:2:1.

mower on the young tender grass. It is better to let the grass go to five or six inches, and then have it scythed. After that the mower may be used, say once a fortnight, but it should not be set close until the sward has thickened. Autumn Flowering Bulbs There are a few bulbous plants that are autumn-flowering. It seems strange that they should be planted while the same bulbs are flowering. This arrangement is so different from most of the spring-flowering bulbs, which must be left for the foliage to ripen before the bulbs are lifted. The difference is in the resting period of the bulb. Most bulbs ripen their foliage and go to rest. The foliage is absorbed by the bulb, and helps to form the flower which is absorbed in the bulb during its resting period. When growth starts, flower, root and leaf come along together, and the busy bulb must not be disturbed. The bulbs which are in flower just now, rest during the summer months, and should be transplanted, if necessary, immediately after flowering, before they have made much leaf or root. They are best planted in a part of the garden that is not watei’ed during the summer months.

Perhaps the most popular of the autumn-flowering bulbs is the nerine. The large scarlet nerine sarniensis is the variety most planted. Nerine bowdeni is the large pink which flowers a little later, and generally flowers well.

The nerines may be left in the ground to form clumps, dividing when they become crowded. A moderately good soil, firm ground, sunshine, and good drainage are necessary if the bulbs are to flower well. The neck of the bulb should be above ground.

Vallota purpurea, better known as the Scarborough lily, is a very showy scarlet flower, very like an amaryllis. This bulb does not entirely lose its leaves at any season, but it is best transplanted now.

The same conditions and planting as for nerines will suit.

Brunsvigia is the most striking of all the autumn-flowering bulbs. The long strong stalks have huge candelabra heads of beautiful pink flowers. The bulbs are very large, and should be ’ left undisturbed for a few years after planting. The bulbs should only be just partly covered with soil.

Sternbergia Lutea, often called the autumn crocus, is a little charmer —a true touch of spring sent to contrast with the gorgeous autumn. The clear yellow crocus-like flowers are followed by quantities of leaves which come from a much larger bulb than is expected from such a small flower. Plant a few inches under the ground in a moderately good, firm soil, A little shade is an advantage. This bulb will do quite well beneath trees.

Colchicum is another so-called autumn crocus. The pretty mauve variety is the best known. It makes very pretty clumps in the shady part of the rock garden or border. The larger-flowered colchicum speciosum is a handsome variety that flowers a little later. Plant a few inches under the ground in a moderately good soil.

Acis autumnalis’is another touch of spring that comes to us in the autumn. The flower is like a small snowdrop: quite a pretty little bulb for massing under trees.

The belladonna lily, the lovely pink flower that grows wild in the fields, should be encouraged. Plant now, and help to make the countryside beautiful. Bulbs for Massed Planting Now is the time to plant the daffodils in the fields; and could anything be more beautiful than daffodils in the grass? You may have room in odd corners for the blue and white agapanthus, the flag irises and the watsonias. The new varieties of watsonias have beautiful colouring, and are much prized for cut flowers.

And don’t forget the ixias for massing, or for clumps in the border. The beautiful yellow, green, red, rose and mauve shades make a gorgeous splash of colour in late spring.

If you remember the ixias, I know you will remember the brilliant sparaxis, and then the babianas to give the change of colouring.

Then again, if you could collect enough bulbs of the tritonia, how wonderful the salmon and orange flowers would look on a bank!

Dear reader, if you have room and time to plant all the wonderful bulbs, annuals, cuttings, etc., that are planted at this season, then look after plants you have in flower. Just now you will be very busy, so I will leave you to it.

The Hollywcod-London film axis was further sti’engthened the other day when Samuel Goldwyn agreed to lend Jon Hall (of “Hurricane” fame) to Alexander Korda for the leading role in “The Thief of Bagdad" which Korda will produce in technicolour. It will be recalled that Douglas Fairbanks starred in the silent version back in 1924, released through United Artists, which also distribute the Korda production.