SPRING IN THE GARDENS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21148, 4 October 1930, Page 18

SPRING IN THE GARDENS.

NEW LIFE AND BEAUTY. FEATURES OF THE SEASON. GLORY OF THE WINTER GARDEN. Soft, subdued hues of narcissi wd>. polyanthl, bright green freshness, now scents, new sounds, new life, everything -rail these are what spring brings to the Botanic Gardens. "The year’s fast running wheel" has turned npin, and ■ the wonderful cycle of germination and growth, the gradual awakening of forces that have lain dormant in the cold earth , during the long winter months, is here again. Beauty, freshness, and subdued, unobtrusive splendour are the lavish gifts with which Nature has rewarded the diligent efforts of .the landscape gardener.,' It is futile to attempt an adequate description of the odorous masses of white and cream and gold that cover grassy sward or well-tilled bed in the same.’ glorious profusion. Sloping hillsides, rich brown moulds, and rocky sldelings all have their colours and tones and hues. Spring has touched every corner of the Gardena, and whatever she has touched she has adorned.

The deciduous trees, which through the winter stretched bate, forlorn boughs to the gloomy sky, have lost their seasonal wretchedness. The willows bond greenladen boughs to the sparkling Water of Leith, and the wide hillside that overlooks the blooming river flat is a mass of thick and fresh green foliage. Looking -at the wonderful compound of tints and buss and the profusion of the blooms that make the Incomparable glory, of the spring; it is difficult to realise that every day will add new colour, greater variety, and fuller splendour to the scene. Yet such' is the ease. Warm spring suns like that in which the Gardens were bathed yesterday will draw from the steaming soil richer, more vivid hues, and lovelier fragrance. . Nature accomplishes wonderful things without nlan’s assistance, but with ail her prodigality and lavishnesa there would be less to attract and interest and delight in the City Gardens if it were not for. the art of .the gardener, who works long weeks before spring is due to set the stage for the great awakening.. The'dose-clipped lawns, well-swept paths ' and deeply-dug beds make a setting for the beauty of spring that gives the final touch of perfection to scenes for which the whole looks but once a year. Mr Tannock and his staff of gardeners were particularly fortunate in the weather experienced during the winter just passed. Dry days and good working conditions made possible an early, completion of the seemingly endless labour of preparation, and the mult was that when the tiny snowdrop and brilliant crocus pushed their gallant little heads' through the wintry soil everything was ready for the hordes; that would follow as soon as the darkclouds parted to Ist in the sunshine. One of the most startling revelations in the Gardena at this season of the' year 1* the wonderful growth and ok-" pension of the. thousands of narcissi planted on the grassy flats and slopes, Every year they are left there they add to their numbers by hundreds. Where/ four or five bulbs were planted five or six years ago, two score are now sending green shoots up among the grass, while everywhere tiny, slender seedlings make their first brave endeavour to find'a place to bloom. Some,of these stands have survived as many as 17 seasons, and so amount of grass catting throughout m many, summers has had the power to diminish their glory or reduce their propagation. •

It la in the spring of the year that the genius of the gardener la most forcibly domqnstrated. There U the now. season to usher in, but at the same time there is a fast-following summer to pro- 1 ' vide for, and it is here that the qualities of vision, imagination, ‘and forethought are most required- The ordinary manwill enjoy spring’s beauty and watch it fade, the while summer’s more, splendid glory unfolds, but be will not bother to' think whore all the colour and variety' come from. If he would step behind the scenes for a moment and see the immense: preparations that have already been made he might appreciate better the magnitude of the work .which Mr Tannock supervises" in the Public Gardens,, The propagating houses are full to overflowing with seedlings and plants that will later be summer S splendour. The forcing frames are in the same case, and behind sheltering hedgerows stand rows and rows of boxes in which hundreds and hundreds of tiny green growths are undergoing the hardening processes that will fit them to be used to make .the full-blown glory of the bedding out system when um vims comes.

An interesting study awaits the lover of alpine flora In the special section of the upper gardens devoted to these etranga plants. Mountain ranunculi arc the only flowers to be seen Just now, out they Alone afford ample ground for wonderment at- the mysterious ways of Nature, who hides such perfection of form and tone behind drab and rugged rocks. The colmisias have yet to nave their day, but whatever the time <fr the season, there is something to ontar in these isolated beds. , In the winter garden the endless rotation of sxotio colour goes on endlessly. At present the' flowering amaryllis on ite slender, graceful stem is the hells of the hot house, just as ths richly-tonod cyclamen queens it over everything else in the cool houses. Primulas and cinerarias and orchids of many kinds freesias and ferns, al] make a lovely show, but the, pride of the houses centra in the crimson quartets of amaryllis and the gay clustered cyclamen.