THE GARDEN.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18541, 29 April 1922, Page 3

THE GARDEN.

NOTES BY D. TANNOCK, F.R.H.S. .WORK FOR THE WEEK. GREENHOUSE AND NURSERY. Continue to house chrysanthemums, to put in soft wood or herbaceous cuttings, to sow seeds of perennials and alpines and any seeds of hardy plants which may arrive from Home. What calceolarias and cinerarias for green By, fumigating them from time to time, and pot seedling scizanthus and clarkias into three inch pots as soon as they are Jarge enough. Wallflowers will be growing strongly in the nursery rows and they should be cut round with a sharp spade to stop wandering roots and to cause the development of aide branches. THE FLOWER GARDEN. Continue to rake up leaves and pick off the withered flowers from (dahlias, for though they may be cut off by frost at any time they might be spared for a week or so. Tie up the chrysanthemums which are flowering very well, and keep the soi| scuffled among them. , Hie pink gladioli ep. from South Africa which I think I will call Dunedin, in the meantime, is very beautiful just now. It is so vigorous, end flowers so well, and increases so rapidly that it, ought to be grown by every one. 1 received it from Air Bathgate, and .he got it from some friends ip South Africa. The eorms increase quickly and it makes quantities of spawn which if collected and sown like peas in flat drills soon reach the flowering stage. Continue to clear off withered flowers and to plant out spring flowering kinds. THE VEGETABLE GARDEN. All plants of the cabbage family are quite clean this year and then* are now coming on rather rapidly. Autumn cauliflower are heading well and brussels sprouts ere developing nicely. Continue to clear off spent crops, but it is not advisable to clear out the cabbage loots after their heads are cut. They win form a number of sprouts which if thinned to three on each stem will develop into nice little cabbages later on when greens are scarce. Continue to dig potatoes, and to dig and store away beet and carrots. Cut over the foliage of the asparagus, before the berries drop, but it is rather soon to topdress the beds. Prune bush fruits and prepare ground for forming fresh plantations. . “Native,” Fairfield. —The' orchid sent is Erina suaveolens (the Fragrant Erina). It is found growing on rough barked trees round Dunedin and is a plant well worth growing in a fernery or fairly moist position on a tree fern trunk. The other Erina with the green flowers is E. muo•cnata. “Amateur,” Palmerston.—lt. would be tetter to turn over the surface of your Irwn before you fill it in, and also to put in some agricultural pipes for drainage. You can sow grass seed any time up to the middle of next month. You can transplant your currant and gooseberry plants now. It will be better to leave the trimming of your olearias until spring. THE BOSE GARDEN. The season is near an end, anfl tender bedding plants may be out down by frost at any time. Still, one does not like to part with the summer flowers so long as they provide a bit of colour, for we. feel that the winter season is long enough, and as there is little use trying to keep the garden tidy with the leaves blowing about a start should be made with the alterations and additions have been planned during the summer and autumn. It is really necessary to replant a portion of the rose garden every year, or to replant it all if this :s not too big a job every four or five years, throwing away a number of the least satisfactory and worn-out varieties to make roomfor the novelties. By thoroughly trenching and manuring the beds and bor- * ders when they are being prepared in the first instance they will do'without much manuring with stable manure, and this enables us to grow choice bulbs like tulips among them which will flower in spring, and carnations, which will flower between the summer and autumn rose seasons. I am continually emphasising the advantages of trenching and deep cultivation in all kinds of soils and in all situations. In places where the soil is low and wet it will assist drainage, and where thin and dry it will make it more retentive of water and plant food. Tt increases the rooting medium and increases fertility. One important point to remember is not to bring the subsoil up on to the surface unless it is reasonably good and easy to cultivate. It is better to dig or fork it up, leaving it in the bottom of the trench and digging in as much organic matter in the shape of long straiyy manure or compost heap, as is available. By opening it up and increasing the organic matter in it we may be able t Q bring it to the top by the next time it is trenched, and to treat another layer of the subsoil in a similar way thereby deepening and improving the soil from time to time. Though roses will grow more or less satisfactorily in any soil, they do best and are the least trouble when planted in good loam, rather heavy than light, with a clay or other retentive subsoil. When the soil is very light and gravelly (the kind that makes good paths) it is better to remove part, or the whole of it and to fill in with good turfy loam, and in some cases it is recommended to put a layer of clay in the bottoms of the beds to provide the clay subsoil. Good roses can be grown in the peaty soil on the flat in Dunedin without adding clay. The alluvial soils at th e north end, where there,is gravelly subsoil, grow rose? well, but the best results are obtained on the rising ground where there is a layer °f- at . least a foot of good black soil, rich in organic matter, overlying a clay • subsoil, which, when well drained, is never wet in a wet season and never dry in a dry one. While trenching it is advisable to put in three layers of manure—first a layer of rough strawy material or compost heap ■which is dug into the subsoil, then a layer of good short manure on top of the first pit of soil, which is thrown over, and then, alter the planting i s completed, a good dressing of short or well-rotted manure can be dug info the surface, where it will be of benefit to the carnations, violas, or pansies, winch are planted to‘carpet the beds and borders. The roses ar e deep looters, and will soon find the manure no matter how deeply it is buried. After trenching the soil should be left, to settle for say three weeks before planfmg and as autumn planting is the best this should be completed if possible before the end of May. Should climatic conditions bo favourable, and the soil not too wet and sticky the roses should be put in as soon as they arrive, but should conditions not be favourable they should be heeled in in a sheltered position near a hedge or wall. After levelling the surface marie out the beds with sticks at the desired distance apart, which will be found 27in to 50in between the rows and the same between the'plants, if they are grown, for ordinary garden decoration, but if grown to provide exhibition blooms 2ft apart will lie enough. Next dig out a hole about a foot square and 18in deep in front of the sticks, placing the soil on one side of the hole, and if the soil is wet and sticky it is better to have a little dry fine soil such as old potting soil with a little fresh loam added,. and a six inch potful of bone meal and basic phosphate can be added to eych barrowload of the mixture with advantage. Unpack the plants and separate them carefully, for even when well grown they are liable to break out at the union of the stock and the scion. Shake out the moss and other packing materials and to keep the | roots protected from the drying winds ‘ teep them rolled up in a wet,sack, whop -jpljmtipg jpj&ce th* plant against

the back of the hole with the roots in front, keeping the union of the stock and the scion about two inches below the surfuce. Put in two spadefuls of the prepared soil in the roots, shake the plant a little to work it in among the roots, and then (inn with the foot, filling up the hole with the soil which was taken out and firming it again. Finn planting is most essential and I should also have mentioned that i is not desirable to bring the roots into contact with fresh manure, but this is not likely to happen if the manure was put on top of the first spit in the bottom of the trench, and I should also have drawn attention to the need for trimming bruised and damaged roots with a sharp knife before planting. When the plants arrive they are named with paper labels. These should be removed and permanent labels provided at once or a plan of the border oan be prepared the plants listed -and numbered and labels provided in the spring. Next dig over the surface, leaving it as rough as possible during the winter. The wisest growers are those who make notes during the rose season of the varieties they like, and send their orders to the nurserymen at once, but for the benefit of those who may not have had a chance of seeing a good collection when they were at their best I will provide lists of what appealed to me as the best in their different sections. Six good reliable roses for a beginner are Caroline Testout, Antoine Revoire, Mrs H. Stevens, Lieut. Chaure or General Macarthur, Golden Emblem, and Madam E. Herriot. Twelve varieties would include the six already mentioned and the following:—Margaret Dickson Homel, Chateau do Clos Vougeot, Red Cross, Mrs Ambrose ißccardo, Madal Abel Chatenay, and Lady Ashtown. 'twelve of ! the newer varieties are Golden Ophelia. Florinda Nornian Thompson, Hawlmark Crimson, Midnight Sun. Charles K. Douglas, Covent Garden, Louise Baldwin,Mrs C. V. Haworth, Mrs Farmer, Mrs Henry Morse, Mrs Redford, and Chameleon. Of the untried novelties I can only recommend those J saw at the Holland House show, and these were Rev. F. Page Roberts, Constance Casson, Padre. Mrs Oakley Fisher, and Prince of Wales. Six single or semi-double varieties are Isobele, Henrietta, eRd Letter Day, K. of R., Irish Fireflame, and Irish Elegance. Six climbing varieties are Lemon Pillar, Paul’s Scarlet Climber, Cupidj Miss Marion Manifold, Climbing Caroline Testout, and. Climbing Richmond Six standards are Lady Waterlow, Hugh Dickson, George Dickson. Lyon Rose, Chateau de Clos, Vougeot, Golden Ophelia. Six ramblers are America Pillar, Excelsa. Aiueric Barbier. Dorothy Perkins, EmilyGray, Dorothy Dennison. Six red roses are Red Cross, Charles K. Douglas, General Macarthur, Chateau de Clos Vougeot, Colonel Fitzgerald, Lieutenant Chaure. Six white and cream roses are Mrs H. Stevens. Frau Karl Drusohki, Mrs David M’Kee, Nellie Parker, Miss Wilmott, and Lemon Pillar. Six yellow are Golden Emblem, Consta'nce. Lady Plymouth, Lady Hillingdon. Margaret Dickson Hamil, James Coey. Six pink roses are Caroline Testout, Cynthia Forde, Mrs Bryce Allan, Lady Ashtown, Mrs W. J. Grant, and Sunny South. Twelve roses other than pink, red .yellow, or white are Madam Eduoard Herriot, Lyon Rose, Betty. Antoine Revoire. Queen Alexandra, Mrs Ambrose Riccardo. WillomeVe, Madam Abel Chatenay, Mrs E. C. Shea, Cheerful. Mrs Chas. Pearson, Gorgeous, Louis C. Breslau. Six polyanthus roses are Edith Oavell, Ellen Poulsen, Juliana. Jessie, Mrs W. H. Cutbush, and Orleans.