SOME SUMMER GARDENING NOTES.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20330, 11 February 1928, Page 3

SOME SUMMER GARDENING NOTES.

By R. Sudell, Organising Secretary of the London Gardens Guild. New Gardens. Those who take possession of a garden for the first time will welcome a few hinis on the initial work that is necessary. In the first place I should advise all beginners to proceed slowly. Make your plan first. This will, of course, depend on your own individual taste and on your household’s requirements. If you anticipate using your garden as an outdoor living room you will require to make a lawn. If the garden is big enough, devote a part to fruit and vegetable growing. To keep off winds and to shut out prying eyes you will need screens which you can cover with pretty climbing plants. In a single - .son you could cover an archway - . avllis with climbing knotweed. Dig New Gard as xsow.—No time should be lost in turn! .g over the soil of a new garden. First mark out the position of paths, and then dig over the remainder, burying all weeds, rubbish, stones, bricks, cans, etc., about 2ft deep. This ensures good drainage. September is the time to sow seeds for a lawn, but you can begin now to dig over the ground, leaving the stones below and sifting the top soil to a depth of about 3in. In the vegetable patch you can immediately plant winter greens — cabbage, broccoli, and kale—and, of course, salads can be sown. The Front Garden.—l hope you will not leave your front garden neglected and unkempt while your back garden is made beautiful. I have found that many people do this, arguing that children pluck the flowers in front. I do not think this difficulty is insurmountable. If ©very front garden were cultivated, I do not think they would be such a temptation to youngsters, and certainly it would make a surprising difference to some of our stre ts. If you are digging your flower border now you can make it immediately beautiful by purchasing some bedding plants. These will be followed in autumn by bulbs, and it is not too early to make oiit yofir bulb order now. Perennial plants, and trees of Ml kinds, also such crccoers as the selfclinging Virginian crc?p»r CAmpelopsis Veitchii), clematis and climbing roses should lie purchased in the autumn. Looking Ahead. Carnations, roses, lilies, poppies, cornflowers, geraniums—all are ablaze in the garden. At no season do we find a greater profusion of colour in the border. Here is the result of our labour. Our planning and planting are put to the test during these few weeks of midsummer splendour. We take our chairs on the lawn and sit back and admire. But only for a short time. Garden chairs, be they never so comfortable, must not entice the gardener into forgetfulness of his duties, and even now next year’s flowers must be prepared. Perennials from Seed. —A glance at our own and our neighbours’ gardens gives us ideas as to the kind of plants which may advantageously be added to our stock. It is undoubtedly easier to propagate by division of footsj or to purchase plants from a nurseryman ; but the cheapness, as well as the added interest, of home-raised seedlings makes a strong appeal. Seeds of pansies, Brompton stocks, polyanthus, and campanulas can all be raised easily if sown now in pans or shallow boxes and pricked out as soon as they are large enough to handle. A cold frame is good for wintering such seedlings, but it is not absoluely necessary, and in fairly sheltered gardens most hardy perennials can be raised and left outside all the winter. Shrubs to Prune After Flowering. A number of flowering shrubs, such as deutzia, mock orange, kerria, ribes, Berberis steuophylla, broom, and lilacs, bear their blossoms on last year’s growths. Now is the best time to prune these so as to promote the formation of sturdy shoots for next season. Cut them well back, especially if they are too large for the space allotted to them, and thin out weakly, crowded Branches. The best tool for pruning is a sharp pair of secateurs, which can be obtained in several sizes and forms from any horticultural sundriesman. It is a great mistake to cut beautiful flowering snrubs into balloon shapes with shears. Pruning should assist Nature in her artistry. Flowering shrubs should be allowed to develop a natural effect, and not to become mutilated geometrical monstrosities. Recently I saw a lilac bush, probably 10 years old, flowering for the first time. Four years it had been clipped as a hedge, and only a fortuntae lapse on the part of the owner had given it a chance to display its beauty. (He admitted afterwards that ho had always thought it was a privet!)