THE GARDEN.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19970, 11 December 1926, Page 3

THE GARDEN.

WORK FOB THE WEEK. Notes by U. TANNOCK, F.R.H.S. THE GREENHOUSE AND NURSERI. Prick out seedlings of such biennials as Canterbury Bells and Forget-me-nots, also seedlings of primulas and cinerarias, and complete the potting of tuberous begonias Seedling begonias are making satisfactory growth, and a number can be potted up* into five-inch pots, in which they will flower,- and come in useful when the earlier potted ones begin to go off. i’ha others can be planted out in a frame on top of a very mild hot bod. Keep the sashes on at first, but gradually accustom them to open-air treatment, and by the autumn they will have formed nice little tubers. The best varieties can be marked for potting up and the others waed for bedding out. Seedling macrocarpas should now be large enough to prick out into boxes of light, rich soil. Keep them in the greenhouse or frames until they have made satisfactory growth, and then gradually harden off. THE FLOWER GARDEN. While the more or less tender bedding plants are struggling to make a little growth, and looking miserable, the hardy herbaceous plants are flourishing and the unseasonable weather seems to have little effect on them. The herbaceous lupines are another example of the wonderful progress which has been made with the old-fashioned and Quite common plants during recent years. Lupines polyphyllus has been cultivated for years, and was well known as a verj accommodating plant which would thrive among grass and weeds, almost as well as in the cultivated border, but they were all shaded blue, white, or blue and white. Now we have all the delightful %rt shaded which characterise so many of the hardy flowers, and, in addition to the various shades of blue, there''are pinks, yellow, and all the beautiful art shades. The spikes are a great length, strong and upright, and they are excellent both as cut flowers and for garden decoration. Lupinus polyphyllus hybridus (Regal Lupines) are quite easy to raise from seed, and from a packet of good seeds many fine colours can bo obtained, ft is advisable, however, to save seeds from the most desirable of your own plants, snd though they will not come true there will be a large proportion of most desirable colours. Seed sown in the spring will produce plants which will flower ‘he following year, and these will soon levelop into strong specimens, throwing up a dozen or more spikes from each *dant. Lupines will grow anywhere, and tn any soil, but they prefer a light, well drained border, and like all other members of the pea family, they want imc. .They can also be increased by division, but when once established they are better left alone for a number of years. In addition to the herbaceous species, there is a shrubby one. Lupinus arboreus, a native of North America, which has been used very extensively in New Zealand for arresting drifting sand and for covering up sand dunes to provide organic matter and shelter for pines and other trees which will form the permanent covering. Snow Queen is a pure white form of the common tree lupine. , There are also a number of hardy annual luninea which arc very useful for filling

in gaps in the mixed borders or for sowing in the open places in the shrubbery. None grow much more than a foot high, and all will thrive in the poorest and driest part of the garden. Lupines are . often sown as a catch crop, and dug in to supply organic matter to the soil. In addition to carnations and Sweet Williams, which are members of the Dianthus family, there are quite a number of alpine and semi-alpine species and varieties which are excellent for the rode garden, for edging paths and borders, and for planting in any rocky position wnere they will thrive and flower abundantly. Allwoodii pinks should be represented in every garden. They are as hardy as any plant could be, and they commence flowering in early spring and continue on through the summer and autumn. They also increase rapidly in size and spread over rocks, forming large mats of glaucous foliage. Messrs Allwood have sent out a great many named varieties, but a very good selection can be obtained from seed. There may be a few singles, which are not worth eeping. but there will be a large proportion of double Kinds. Some are self-coloured, others are laced, and all have the perfume of the old garden pink. Miss Gladys Cranfield is a perennial pink which comes fairly true from seed. It is bright rose-pink, with a well-defined velvety eye, very fragrant, and useful for cutting. The various species and varieties of dianthus provide the chief display on the rock garden at present. They are so hardy, so easy to accommodate, and little upset cither by dry or wet weather. D. alpinus is the gem of the alpine pinks. It does not grow more than an inch or two in height, and the little stems bear solitary circular flowers, of deep rose spotted with crimson, large in proportion to the size of the plant. D. neglectus is one of the most charming of rock plants. It grows a little taller than alpinus, and its flowers are not quite as large, but its tufts ef grass-like foliage are smothered with deep carmine-rose coloured flowers. E>. caeeius (Chedder Pink) forms mats of glacous foliage which at the present time are covered with deep rose flowers. Other rock garden species are D. speciosus, D. monspessulanus D. deltoides (the Maiden Pink), D. arenarius. D. petraeue. and D. glacialus. , All the alpine pinks are easily raised from seed, which is produced in abundance, but they can also be increased by means of cuttings, which are pushed into boxes of sandy soil in the autumn. Other plants which are making the rock garden gay at present are the various species 'and varieties of primulas, shrubby cistus, rock roses, alpine asters, saxifrages, and campanulas Daffodils, tulips, and hyacinths are now sufficiently ripened off to bo lifted. These should be'put into shallow boxes and placed in a frame or in an airy shed to dry. taking care to keep each kind by itself with its label attached. As soon as they are dry they can bo cleaned and sorted out —those which are large enough to flower, and those which will have to be lined out in the nursery for a year or more until they develop into flowering bulbs. Thin out and stake the hardy herbaceous plants, keep the surface soil in the beds, and borders scuffle hoed whenever weather conditions are favourable, mow and roll lawns and keep the. grass verges trimmed THE VEGETABLE AND FRUIT GARDEN Strawberries are now making quantities of runners and unless these are required for forming new plantations they should be removed. If required for forming new plantations not more than two should be taken from any one plant, and to encourage these to form roots they should be pegged down or fixed in some way until they develop. When rooted they can be lifted and replanted with the minimum of root disturbance. Another method is to sink little squares of turf with the grassy side downwards into the soil and to peg the runnere down on them until they forin roots, when they can be planted out with very little root disturbance and consequently little check. Another method is to place a flat stone on each runner, which will keep it in its place until the roots have been formed. If not already done, give a mulch of straw, oat husks or lawn mowings to keep the fruit from being spattered with dirt and grit. Continue to thin out the young growths on the gooseberries and currants and spray apples for mildew, black spot, and codlin moth. Vegetable crops will now be making more eatisfactory growth, and those which failed should be resown at once. Continue to make sowings of lettuce, golden ball, and white turnips, spinach, and radish for succession, and sow Laing’s garden swede for 'the winter. . , Plant out broccoli, savoys, winter cabbage, and other winter greens, and make sowings of broccoli and cabbage, which if planted out in the beginning of the year, will come on next spring whtjn green vegetables are scarce The present is a "ood time to plant out the main crop of celery, and the weather conditions are admirable for the purpose, for celery is really a bog plant, and will thrive during a wet season. Continue to spray the main crop of potatoes, afterwards earthing them up, and it is also an advantage to draw the earth up round the cabbage and cauliflower plants to steady them during the windy weather. The main crop of leeks can also be planted, but as Large specimens are not expected it is not necessary to make trenches. The soil should be rich and trenched or deeply dug, tne surface broken up and made fine, and drills can be drawn from four to five inches deep. In the bottom of the drills make holes about six inches deer« and from nine to 12 inches apart with a dibber or the handle of a rake. Lift the plants from the seed bed, trim the roots a bit, and reduce the foliage which also reduces the demand for moisture, until the plants become established in their new position. Drop a plant into each hole and water it in. It is neither necessary nor desirable to push the soil back in again. There will bo sufficient washed down to cover the roots and the stem of the leek is supposed to fall up the hole later on. When the plants grow the soil can be worked into the trench, and this will provide as much white stem as wo can expect from summer planting, ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. “A M.,” Christchurch.—lt is not desirable to thin your apple crop too much, for medium-sized fruit sell better than very lanre ones. From two to three on each spur would be sufficient. Nitrate of soda causes growth of stem instead of the formation of fruit buds, and so long as the tress are making satisfactory growth it is not noccs&ary. Should it b© necessary apply it now, first mixing it with an equal quantity of sand and sowing it on the surface, leaving the rain to wash it m. Blood and bone is a more satisfactory manure for general purposes. . . . “Tussock,” East Taien.—The name of plant sent is Anthericum Lililage (St. Bernard’s Lily).