GARDEN HINTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 15097, 13 September 1912, Page 10

GARDEN HINTS.

HERB BORDERS.

Tub herb borders should have attention. Divide and set out strong young plants o thyme and sage and marjoram, and sow seed of parsley in. any well-worked border. These, with a little lemon thyme, will supply most of the cook's wants. Mint roots and horse radish can go in. any damp corner. It not already done, give rhubarb and asparagus and strawberry beds a good dressing o some quick-acting fertiliser, such'as bones and blood, with a little potash added. Dig in weeds in any beds that aro not required for immediate planting. Keen the hoo going between all rows of growing crops. lne secret of growing fine vegetables is never to allow them to have a. check, as they assured] will if weeds aro once allowed to overtake them. Tho Dutch hoo will bo found invaluable at this season of the year.

PRUNING FLOWERING SHRUBS. ; In many eases a correct pruning system is essential to first-class results feom flowering shrubs. As to treatment, they may be divided into two groups, according to the | timo of flowering, and whether tho flowers j ore produced on wood of tho current season's growth or not. Berberises, ckutzia?, dier- ! villas, honeysuckles, flowering currants, in fact, most shrubs, flower .on mature, wood. Consequently these must have a prolonged period of growth. Late summer or winter pruning would bo disastrous. Immediately ' after flowering is over' is the proper time, and this may vary according to the character of tho season,- to th© extent- of several weeks. . Thinning out of entire old branches is generally better than a sort of general cropping ■ back (and this applies also to evergreens, which aro so often disfigured by clipping), but there aro 'a. few exceptions, _ notably Porsythia suspensa. and Primus triloba, _ in which spurring back after flowering gives very good results. Late-flowering spirajas and ceanothuses, wistarias, tecomas. and some others should bo well cut back in winter. It should also bo mentioned that heaths and nearly all ericaceous plants do not. require pruning, that for pruning -purposes roses are divided into several distinct, groups, and that tho brooms will not: stand severe pruning when they becomo old and leggy, it being better to replant. .. There is ;. work to be done now-in pruning- flowering shrubs, and it- should also be remembered that most of them arc easily propagated by cuttings of half-ripened wood inserted in a frame and kept shaded until they root. WHAT PLANTS FEED ON. It will bo understood that; the mineral part of a plant constitutes . a very small percentage of the whole. -Water forms the ' greater part, and carbon next. Tho latter is taken from the air by means of tho leaves of a plant, which , thus purify the air of poisonous gas. Carbonic acid is continually .Vbeing thrown info it from' our lungs, our furnaces, and,' indeed, every decaying organic i form. Nitrogen forms a small, but from . cur standpoint a very important, percentage, for while we may safely leave tho carbon supply to regulate itself, it has been proved that nitrogen in tho form of ammonia, simple or combined, .or in.the form of nitric acid as found in nitrate of soda and potash, is ail essential necessity.' Stableyard_ manure furnishes it in both forms. By itself it soon exhausts a soil,, but -..when the_ mineral elements are applied along with it, in propor- • tion as required bj,th© plant or deficient in the soil, it lias been found that for manycrops it is enough . without stable manure. However, it does not follow that stable manure should be abandoned, but that a moro intelligent., use should be made of it, and to those who are ignorant of the whole subject these facts are offered in order to give them an idea of the importance of food for plants. •i. r: • J " -1 '' DRYING HERBS. .There aro several , different methods of -drying herbs; one is to tie them in bunches and hang them in, a room or shed, and another is first to lay them out in the sun to dry. ' Neither of these methods, however, visto bo recommended. When herbs aro : tied-up in bunches while green and sappy • their, best properties aro lest, and the leaves are apt to go discoloured. For this reason growers of lavender and mint Jor distillation are extremely careful not to allow-, them to •' lie in heaps, even for a few hours. Again, if herbs are much exposed to the sun they : lose the best part of their strength, and become brown, while when drying is well ■ managed. their fresh, green appearanco is maintained. An open shed or room is tho v best place in which to • dry herbs, whero 'plenty of air can be given. _ They should be cut when quite dry, and laid thinly upon . : a pieco of stretched-out- netting, so that'the air may circulate round them. They thus dry quickly without losing their best quali- ■ ties. When perfectly dry, they may be tied tip loosely in white paper bags and hung . where no damp can affect them. : GROWING LETTUCE. Lettuce is tho most important of all salad plants, and by sowing tho seed at - intervals it may bo had through the year; but in the hot summer months, it is mostly in de- ; mand. In order to obtain it tender, crisp, .' and sweet, it must bo grown quickly, and to produce it in perfection a deep, rich soil is necessary, and the plants must not suffer from lack of moisture. Occasional waterings with liquid .manure are very beneficial. <01av soils, aro not good for tho lettuce plant. Tlio ground should -be well worked and liberally manured. The plants will transplant well enough; hut in the summer season it i 3 better to sow the seeds whero tho plants are wanted and so save the troublo of watering and, perhaps, shading; besides, ' ■ the plants when removed aro more apt to run to seed. If a constant supply of this wholesome' vegetable is desired, _ sowings must be made about every four or six weelc3. Sow in drills 18in apart, and thin out to 9in or 12in apart in the row. • Tlioro are numerous lards of lettuces. For summer use the old drumhpad variety is hard to beat; the Brittle-Ice, New York, and Brown Summer are. excellent kinds. If the Cos lettuco is preferred, take the Paris white or ; that new dwarf kind, the Eclipse. : TOP-DRESSING LAWNS. Lawns can be top-dressed as early as possible in this month. Run tho mower over them first, and then lay on one or two inches of sand, loam, and manure compost, mixed together in equal parts. .. If it is lumpy it "would bo an advantage to run it through a half-inch screen. The manure must .bo ■ thoroughly decomposed, and it should bo laid on evenly and any hollows well filled up. If the weather be too dry, artificial watering must be resorted- to, but this will scarcely be necessary hero this season, judging, from all appearances.V. -'When'the grass gets a start and comes through the top-dressing a heavy roller moved over it' will much improve matters. It is a good plan when the dressing is nut on to beat it down gently with the .'back of the spade, or a good strong rake, to work it' into the grass. A covering of yellow sand without the manure is of very little • uso. Any bare places can bo rectified by putting a root of buffalo or couch where required. Many good lawns aro formed from grasses specially mixed by the seedsmen, some containing rye and other lawn grasses, but 'it seems tho usual thing here to stick to those two named, which appear to bo tho favourites in these parts, and aro, perhaps, " after all, more suitable for our climate.

PLANTING TREES TOO DEEP.

Amateurs sometimes bury the roots of I trees so deep in the soil that they have littlo ] chance of thriving. The evils of deep plantins are generally known, yet wo meet with cases now end then of newly-planted fruit trees, etc., which have failed from this cause. Another evil practice is that of placing a largo body of soil over the roots of established trees for tho purpose of levelling or raising tho ground. The most active feeding roots of trees aro near the surface, where the soil is, as a rule, richest in plant, food, of , which atmospheric air, water, and, most important of all, the helpful soil bacteria, are essential constituents. Tho depth at which these three aro practically absent varies with tho character of the soil, but in no case is it, deeper than about 2ft, the nourishing capacity of the soil being at its minimum at that depth and at its maximum close to the surface. - To place a layer a yard or more deep of soil over that in "which the trees aro rooted is tantamount to cutting off tho supply of food. A mulch of soil or manure has tho effect of drawing tho feeding roots upwards, _ and, bearing this fact in mind, should it, be necessary to, raise the height of the soil whore trees arc established and are too largo to be transplanted, the safe plan is to put on a layer of about 6in or soil every year until tho renuired level has been reached. . Thus treated, trees aro not only saved from injury, they are actually improved in health and vigour. There aro a lew. trees, such as alders, poplars, and wil- # lows, which possess the faculty of devolving etom roots freely when they are surrounded • Ste A2" m " ior% *? ar "> »•