THE HOME GARDEN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19508, 11 December 1926, Page 5 (Supplement)

THE HOME GARDEN.

THE FLOWER GARDEN. Boisterous high winds, so prevalent of late, necessitate the staking of perennial deiphinums, gladioli and several other tall-growing flowering plants. Black spot is prevalent on some varieties of roses. Liber- • ally dusting the foliage with flour of sulphur when slightly .damp with (tew or spraying with liver of sulphurs, loz. to 2 gallons of water, is effective. Hedges, with the exception of those containing roses and other flowering plants, also conifers, should bo clipped in keeping with the general tidying up at this season. Complete the general planting of dahlias, also a few chrysanthemum for lato flowering, and lightly hoe the ground around previous planting to kill weeds, and stir the surface. Attend to the thinning out of annuals from seeds sown in the open beds and borders to allow each plant sufficient room to branch and properly develop. Transplant some of the thinnings if required. Alternantheras, iresines, fibrous begonias, and other plants employed for ribbon borders and carpet bedding in artistic and ornamental designs should be planted this month. Scarlet salvias, zinnias, African and dwari French marigolds, phlox Drummondii, celosias, or feathered cockscombs, asters and cosmoea are all indispensable varieties for the summer and autumn decoration of the various beds and borders. A weekly mulch by lightly stirring the surface soil throughout the flower garden where space will admit is a most important and necessary operation. ' Grass edgings should always be kept neatly trimmed, and walks occasionally swept. Long grass in the shrubbery and on banks should be closely mown with the scythe.

PROGRAMME OF WORK.

THE VEGETABLE GARDEN. Runner beans, before starting to run, should be provided with stakes or other material that will give the necessary support. Make another sowing to succeed those earlier sown. Cucumbers, melon, marrows, etc., though later than usual, should be thinned out as soon as sufficiently advanced, leaving at most only about three of the strongest plants to each plot. * Continue to spray and keep all side shoots removed from tomatoes. These are now making rapid growth and need frequent attention. Potatoes should be frequently liiprayed. Disease appears to be very prevalent, and it is only by judicious spraying that this can be kept under control. Lettuce is one of the principal saladings until tomatoes, cucumbers, etc., becofne more plentiful. In growing summer lettuce depth of soil is important, deeplyworked, well-manured soil being essential. Providing the soil, or trenches, has been prepared as directed, celery and leeks may now be planted. As previously stated, this should be done so that the plants receive as little check as possible. Weeds at this time gTow very rapidly, and should in no case be allowed to get out of hand. Keeping the ground well under cultivation is not only the best means of keeping weeds under control, but it aerates the soil and liberates plant food. Nothing is more injurious to plants than a hard, baked surface crust, and if once allowed to get into that condition it is difficult to again reduce it to a fine tilth.

Attend to the weeding and throwing out of seedling crops, the thinning being regulated by the size the roots and tops attain to when ready for use.