Flowers

Northern Advocate, 29 November 1947, Page 3

Flowers

As summer advances, roses are not so plentiful, and liliums take pride ot Diace in the well-furnished garden. Liliuni umbellatum, with its large rranse cup-shaped flowers is blooming iust now. The lovely Lilium Candidum. better known as Madonna Lily, is also in bloom. The tall stem is crowned with beautiful white blooms. These two early-flowering bheslike sunshine and not too rich a soil. They should be planted in the early autumn. Soon the longiflorum Harrissi Christmas lily will be in flower; then L. resale, L. auratum, and so on through the summer and early autumn. Li 1ums should not be allowed to become

dry at the roots, and they should not have lime or artificial manure. The yellow calla lily is not a true lily, as it belongs to the arum family. This fact, however, does not take from its beauty, and it will always be known as the yellow arum. There is also a sulphur colour and a miniature white, pale pink and rose. All should be grown in natural soil, without artificial manure. The new growth is beautiful this year, and every effort should be made to keep the garden fresh' looking. Old growths of perennial plants, such as daisy bushes, alonsoa, ageratum, agathea etc... should be cut away. Arctotis plants become shabby at this season, and should be cut hard back. The fresh, attractive grey foliage will look well during the summer months. Abutilons have become very popular. They are flowering well now, and will so continue if the flowers are cut off as they fade. This is a most useful shrub trained upright, as other plants will grow well beneath them. Seedoften turn out well. They are often found about the parent plant. . Chrysanthemums that are being pinched back as the shoots grow so as make bushy plants, should have the last pinched early in December. Black aphis is often troublesome on the tips of chrysanthemums. These pest are hard to kill. If possible, cut the top off and burn, or use warm soapy water to wash the pests off. Dahlias in many gardens now have a leaf disease that starts with yellow spots. Spray with Bordeaux or Limesulphur, or other suitable spray. Good blooms will not come on diseased plants. It is not wise to plant bushy annuals about roses, but the beds may be edged with dwarf begonias or portulaca.