THE GARDEN

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 79, 29 September 1944, Page 3

THE GARDEN

Seasonal Notes for Amateurs WATCH FOR FROSTS The sharp change to southerly weather experienced yesterday is ample reminder that the danger £rom frost is not yet past. Those who have alrea’dy put in tomatoes and have potatoes up will need to watch carefully these and any other tender subjects and try to shield them from possible frosts. Potato sets may be protected to some extent by hoeing up. There is a danger to peas which are in flower and early beans are perhaps the most tender of all. Otherwise the weather has been and is likely to continue to be favourable lor almost all planting and sowing operations. Among crops which may be planted now are parsnips and onions. These have a long growing period and should be planted early in the spring. Main crop potato sets should be obtained and planted now. Make small' sowings of successional crops such as carrots, lettuce, radish, turnips and beet. Keep the hoe busy between all growing crops and carry on with the preparation of ground for runner beans, pumpkins and marrows. THE FLOWERS At this time of the year there is little that may not be sown other than frost-tender subjects. In the open ground, where they will remain until they have flowered, may be sown clarkias, cornflowers, godetias, larkspur, mignonette, asters, gypsophila, phlox drummondii and Shirley The polyanthus displays are good this* year and any particularly attractive plants should be marked now for propagation. They are comparatively easy to grow from seed which should be

sown in the autumn as soon as it is ripe. They are not fond of lime and this should be kept well away from I them. Dahlias may be divided and re- ' planted now and summer displays of i bedding plants may be set out at any i time during the coming month. j FLOWERING CHERRIES | Prunus Yeodensis, or as the Japanese ; call it Yoshimo. is one of the earliest ■ of the flowering cherries. It forms a wide spreading tree of about 40ft. in height. The unfolding flower buds are a light pink, with red tinged sepals and are borne in clusters of three to five. The autumn foliage of this variety is good and it is one of the best for avenue planting. In Tokio. more than 50,000 trees have been planted of ‘Yoshimo” and the flowering of these J is the occasion of the annual spring festival. (Embankment Normandy Bridge). Ojochin, or “Large Lantern.” is a beautiful white variety with semidouble. crinkled petal led flowers, giving a double-flowered effect. The flowers are large and produced in very close clusters of about four. It may be found ’on the embankment between Hardy street and Nile street Bridge. P. Shirotae is quite distinct in habit, developing a straight trunk for about 10ft, then forming a dense head of stiff branches. Its flowers are of a delicate pink, very large and of good substance. It can be seen between Normandy and Hardy street Bridges. Prunus ichij'o is a great favourite: Its flowers are a beautiful, soft pink with one leafy carpel in the centre of each flower. This is a smaller tree about 18ft with rounded top. Prunus Sargcntii is a light pink single variety not so fioriferous as the others, , but of exceptional beauty in foliage. This should be planted in a sheltered position to protect the which is often spoiled in exposed gardens. It is growing in Wigzell Gardens. APPLE SHRUBS Pyrus Magdeburgensen is a very robust and free-flowering apple with red flower buds and bright pink semidouble flowers. It may be seen in Wigzel] Gardens. Pyrus Schedeckerii is really too good to belong to the apple family, for it closely resembles the flowering cherries,. having double pink flowers which are borne to the extreme tips of the young wood. This shrub is not hardy in all districts, but does well in-Nel-son. It is growing on the west side of the Church Hill. SHORTAGE OF SUPPLIES Indications are that no supplies of new garden hose will be available this summer. Some retailers have no halfinch hose in stock and their prospects of obtaining any are far from bright. It was stated to the “New Zealand Herald” that gardeners who had intended to buy new hose this summer would have to rely on bucket and i watering cans. | Several Auckland retailers stated that they had not been able to obtain I much definite information from the ! Government regarding half-inch gari den hose, but one distributor had re- : ceived a letter from the Commissioner !of Supply indicating that H was of j little use to send orders to England at ! present. The Government was not prepared to sponsor any orders before j the end of this year, and from this the i distributor concluded that, allowing for the customary departmental delays in New Zealand and in England, no' new British half-inch hose could be expected in New Zealand before 1946. The difficulties of obtaining supplies through the New Zealand Ministry of Supply are added to by the fact that the British authorities have reduced the export of hose to 50 per cent, of last year s figure. There is a certain amount of three-quarter-inch hose in retail shops, but it is not suitable for domestic garden use. It is fairly expensive and very heavy to handle. It is designed primarily for industrial use and for market gardens, but retailers are not sanguine about meeting the demand from those quarters.