THE GARDEN.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20290, 24 December 1927, Page 3

THE GARDEN.

WORK FOR THE WEEK. Mot®® by B>. TAMMOOK, F.R.HL®.

The Greenhouse and Nursery. The schizanthus, which nave done so well this season, will soon be past their best, and they will have to give way to the tuberous begonias, which are coming on rapidly. All greenhouse plants require plenty of air, whenever outside conditions are favourable, and it will be desirable to leave on a little top air ah night as well as opening up the bottom ventilators.

Keep the atmosphere in the vinery moist and the tomato house dry, and as soon.as the young seedlings of cinerarias are established in their boxes they can be placed out into the cold frames. Shade them during hot sunny days and remove the sashes on warm, still nights. The ground should be broken up and prepared for transplanting the wallflower seedlings in the beginning of the new year. Seedlings of Canterbury bells, sweet williams, myosotis, -etc. can De placed out in frames and gradually hardened off.

Seed of primrose polyanthus is riper ing slowly, but a little should be sown as soon as it is available. The Flower Garden. The main work in the flower garden at the present time will be tidying up and weeding, mowing lawns, and clipping verges. Keep the surface soil cultivated among the bedding plants and provide stakes where necessary. Continue m pick off the old flowers on the roses, give the ramblers liauid manure, and select the most suitable of the young growths which spring from the base of the plants to take the place of the old flowering stems when they are cut out. The Vegetable and Fruit Garden. As soon as the early potatoes are dug the ground should be got in order for planting out winter greens, such as broccoli, savoys, cabbages, and curly kale. Fork it over, and give a dusting of ume or phosphates, firm, if it is dry, and draw drills as usual. Give the plants a good watering as soon as they are planted, and it is surprising how soon tne« pick up and begin to prow. Protect bush fruits and strawberries from the birds, and, .in less runners are required for extending or renewing the plantations o r strawberries, they should be removed. Native Plants.

Many of the native trees and shrubs are in flower at the present time, and, as most of the exotic kinds are either over or on their last legs, they are very useful for brightening up the shrubbery at what otherwise would be a dull season, the period between th e spring and early summer display of blossom and the autumn effects obtained with coloured foliage and ornamental fruits. There is another reason why we should cultivate the native plants, usually called a sentimental one. They are peculiar to this country, ■ they are perfectly hardy, and thrive under ordinary garden conditions, and several have very attractive flowers. So far horticulturists have ot done much to alter and improve the original wild species, but what has been accomplished has shown that they do hybridise readily and that there are great possibilities in this work.

The daisy tree family is quite a large one in New Zealand, and the section grouped under the heading of olearias contains many good things. One section has fragrant but inconspicuous flowers, another has white flowers, md there is a small section, mainly natives of the Chatham Island and southern parts, which have coloured flowers. Olearia semidentata is the first in Cheeseman’s Manual, and the best as a garden plant. It is found growing in bogs in the . Chatham Islands, and at one time it was considered very difficult to cultivate, but this was probably due to the collector having obtained unhealthy stock. It is now thriving with_ us, and, as it roots from cuttings readily, there is no reason why it should not become a common plant in our gardens. It is a small, sparingly branched shrub up to 3ft in height, with narrow greenish leaves and good-sized flower heads, the ray florets being purple, and the disc ones violet-purple. Olearia Chatamica is a more robust and more shapely shrub than 0., semidentata, with broader leaves and larger flowers, but they are not quite so attractive, the ray florets being white or light lilac, and the disc florets violet purple. There is a dwarf form called Dendyi, which has all the iharacteristies of Chatamica, and would be very suitable for a rode garden, 0. Angustfolia is a still stronger grower than O. Chatamica, growing eventually into a small tree, but rather loose in its habit, and not so suitable for the shrubbery as either of the two species already described. Its flowers are large, the ray florets are white and more or less uneven, and the disc florets are purple. 0. operina is a stout, sparingly branched shrub with the distinct-looking leaves often crowded at the tips of the branches; ray florets white, disc florets yellow. 0. Trailii is a small tree quite distinct in growth from any of those already described. Its stout branches are clothed with soft white tomentum, and the leaves, which are crowded at the ends, are clothed underneath with similar tomentum, which gives the whole plant a very distinct appearance; ray florets white, disc ones violet-purple. 0. Lyallii is a robust shrub or small tree with very broad leaves up to 81n long by Sin to 4in wide, with white tomentum underneath. This plant comes from the Snares and Auckland islands, but has taken quite kindly to cultivation, and is thriving in the shrubbery border, on a rock garden, and among thin bush. Oleria Colensoi is a member of this croup, but .t is a plant which ought to be in every New Zealand garden, it will grow in an ordinary well-cultivated shrubbery, but is seen to advantage on a rock garden or on the top of a dry bank. It does grow to a height of 6ft, but is usually close to the ground, its spreading branches and leaves being covered with white tomentum. The flower stalks are also woolly, and the flower heads, which are large and attractive, have white ray florets, and the disc ones are bright yellow. This plant has been placed into a new genus, and in Chccsman’s Flora it is Pachystogia insignis. Olearia macrodonta is quite attractive wlen in flower, and grows into a shapely bush when it has room to develop, and there are many other species which are not so important from a gardening point of view as those mentioned.

Senecios are daisy bushes, and several of them arc well worth growing. The coastal species S. compactus, S. Greyu, ana S. laxifolius have spreading branches and yellow flowers, and arc very suitable for covering dry banks; in fact, they will hang down several feet over a precipice and cover up a rocky face. S. Hoctori is one of the most attractive of the genus. It has large leaves crowded near the tips of the branches often from 6in to 12in long and 3in to 4in broad. The flower heads arc borne in largo la_ terminal, much-branched corymbs, and the individual heads are like the garden marguerite. and very showy. This plant might bo a little tender inlanfl, but it thrives quite well near the coast. The various species and varieties of the manuka arc good garden plants, and since the introduction of Leptospcrrnuni scopnrium var. Chapmani, with rosy pink flowers, and L. Xichollsi, with brilliant crimson flowers, the coloured manukas have become very popular both in this and other countries. Nurservmen now list a number of varieties, including double forms, and tho raising of plants from the deep crimson Nichollsi is very interesting. The seedlings come up readily

and will show great variations from the common white to the deepest crimson. Fortunately, it is easy to tell the coloured kinds by their fohge when they are small, and there is no need to grow those which have green leaves if colour is desired. The manukas thrive on the poorest and driest banks, and, in fact, will grow anywhere.

Both the southern rata (Metrosideros lucida; and the pohutukawa (Metrosideros tomentosa) are beautiful t this season and a little later. They are really trees, but they seem to take a long time to grow up. They form nice specimens clotheo with branches to the very ground for years. They make excellent lawn specimens and are infinitely more beautiful than many of the specimens of conifer® which so often occupy prominent positions in the front gardens. The southern rata has smaller and more glossy leaves, with bright crimson flowers, and it is quite hardy in any position no matter how exposed. The pohutukawa has larger leaves, downy underneath, and crimson flowers with orange anthers. It thrives quite well and flowers well with us on the hillside, but it should be sheltered from the cold southwest winds. The rata is one of the native trees which can often be picked un in the bush by the seaside, and if lifted with reasonable care can be transplanted successfully daring the summer. There is 5 a variety with yellow flowers and several other species worth growing. The mountain ribbonwood Gaya Lyallii completes a short list of the best of the summer-flowering native trees and shrubs It is a very desirable plant with lovely cherry-like flowers which are produced in' profusion. It is one of the few decidu oua native trees and is very accommodate ing and will grow anywhere. None of the cabbage trees or flax families, both of which are flowering very freely this season, has been included, for they are usually grown for their foliage rather than their flowers, and the veronicas are too numerous to mention along with other natives. They deserve a week’s notes to themselves.

I have already mentioned that young ratas can be transplanted at this season, and this applies to most of our natives, provided they are lifted in the open or near the margin of the bush, that small specimens with a compact root system are selected, and these are carefully wrapped in damp moss and kept in a cool place. Mountain plants, such as celmisia-s, ranunculus, ourisias, etc., can also be transplanted during the summer, though, of course, this is not the best time. It is not necessary to bring away any of the soil from the mountains, but it is necessary to take care not to damage the roots and to select medium or small specimens.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. “Merton.”—Your rhododendron requires shelter and a top-dressing of leafmould or well-rotted manure.

»J. T. P., St. Clair.—Spray your spindle tree with arsenate of lead. You get it from the seedsmen in a paste form, and apply as directed on the tin or bottle. G. F., Naseby.—lt appears that the young growths of your plum trees have been damaged by cold winds or frost.