IN THE GARDEN

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 76, 17 October 1941, Page 8

IN THE GARDEN

SEASONAL NOTES FOR AMATEURS ItOKDMK EFFECTS I Despite the damage they nvmni in i the recent storm the spring (lowers | have made ;i good show again this year ; hi Nelson. Some of them are past their best. I; is a good plan to note the bor- | der effects of your own or someone elso's garden so that they can be re - I produced next season. There is an art m blending colours in borders so that tho desired effect may be achieved, and it scarcely ever turns out as antici - pated unless the planner is very skilled. For one thing the flowers do not always bloom at the times expected. One lot may be finished before the others begin. All these pitfalls can j l.c avoided if well tried mixed borders 1 arc planted, though of course tins j should not stop us from experimenting ■ for ourselves. I Roll new lawns with a light roller 'not when wet) and mow with a sharp scythe or lawn mower. A dusting of ; sulphate of ammonia mixed with sea sand will stimulate growth., Hoe wherever possible to kill seedlings of weeds which are appearing and to open up the surface soil. It is much | easier to destroy weeds in the seedling | stage than when they are well estab- | lished and have to be dug out. Plant | cut summer and autumn bedding i plants, except the more tender kinds, also gladioli and herbaceous perennials. THE VEGETABLE GARDEN , Continue to sow seeds of all kinds of vegetables and to plant out cabbage and cauliflower and to transplant autumn-sown onions. Sow small patches of cabbage, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts to provide plants for putting out later on. A sowing of runner beans, dwarf French and butter beans can be made now on a warm, well-drained border or against a wall or fence. The best way of hiding an ugly board or iron fence is to grow runner beans up strings or sticks against it. Thin seedling crops as soon as the plants arc large enough to handle easily, stick early peas and keep the soil stirred with the hoe or fork among all growing crops. Spray apples and pears when the petals have fallen with arsenate of lead and lime sulphur. HARDY ANNUALS There is often some confusion in the minds of gardeners as to what is an I annual, a biennial, and a perennial. i An annual is a plant which is grown ! from seed, makes its growth, flowers and seeds, am' ripens them in one year, ' and a hardy annual is one which can I go through the whole course of its existence in the open air. A biennial is one which is grown from seed, and makes its growth in one season and flowers and ripens its seed in the next. A perennial is one which keeps on sending up shoots (which flower and ripen seed every year) from a bulb, rootstock, or underground stem. Hardy annuals are ve y useful for providing a display in a new garden and for following on spring flowering

providing a display j nil llmvors for house deem al lon An ml. provided it j deeply eiiltivalod. but il mu:.l mil be j 100 rich, otherwise they make a rank glow 111 of len a lor rows In provide cut (lone. but in I the garden are boiler .ow n m palehes jor groups of irregular liape in the j up lightly, keeping the line weathered mg of superphosphate or blood and | bone manure. New I make it line with a rake and mark out the outline of the I patch which is to lie sown. Sow Ihe seed evenly and thinly and press it into the sed with the head of the rake. 11 can be covered by raking it m. but il is better 1o have a small (piantity of line, free, sifted soil available and just to cover the seed with this, afterwards I finning it with the head of the rake or the back of the spade. Label each! variety and then cover with some: : twiggy branches which help to keep I tlie I from dying up and also keeps ! the birds away until germination takes' j place. As soon as germination does lake : | place remove the branches, and if j ; there is a danger of the birds destroy- ; ! ing the seedlings, protect them with a ■ j few strands of black cotton. Thinning ' | the seedlings is most important, and it j is in failing to carry out this operation properly that most growers make a j i mistake. The first thinning to two or three inches apart should be given as j soon as the seedlings are large enough ! to handle, and later a second thinning j should be given, leaving the strong- j growing plants six to nine inches apart. ! and the dwarf kinds four to six inches, j When the plants have plenty of room, i they form side branches, which extend j the flowering season, but when crowd - j ed they only form a main flowering j stem, and when this is past the show is J o\ cr. To get them to flower early some of j the hardy annuals are sown in heat, i pricked out into boxes, and trans- j planted to the borders, and occasionally | they are sown in the autumn, when , they stand through the winter, and j flower in the spring. Hardy annuals , suitable for cut flowers as well as gar- | den display as sweet peas, Clarkias, i godetias. coreopsis. chrysanthemums, j cornflowers. Sweet Sultan, Nigella j (Miss Jekyll), calendulas, lavalera, larkspur and lupins. Annuals for ! massing arc viscaria. calendulas. Linura • (Scarlet Flax), eschscoltzia and nemcsia. For perfume, mignonette and night-scented stock. For dry and . sunny positions, nasturtiums, dimorpho- . theca. Ursinia and Livingstone Daisy j and Portulaca, everlastings (for winter decorations), Helichrysums, Slatice and Rhodanthe, For edgings and carpeting, Alyssum, Nemophile. Saponaria, Silcne. Brachycon \ and mignonette.