THE GARDEN. WORK FOR THE WEEK

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21196, 29 November 1930, Page 7

THE GARDEN. WORK FOR THE WEEK

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. “Anxious” Palmerston.—The ashes from lignite coal are not suitable for digging into the garden, but thpse .from strong coal should not do any harm. .Probably the cold, wet weather has more to do with the failure of your seeds than the ashes. Lime well before you sow any more seeds in-the'same place. “ Vegetable,” Dunedin,—The time's to - _ 80w; feeds and plant vegetables are mentioned from time to time in the gardening notes, but to maintain supplies; at scarce times it is better .. to SOW and plant in-the autumn to . .&et'.the,;.very early ..crops. available . now, and then to sow and plant as early ,as possible to obtain supplies to follow on. March and September are the two important months. “ Slugs,’’ Timaru.—You could obtain r Paris Green from Messrs Kempthorne and Prosser, Dunedin, “ Woodside,” - Taieri.—The cold, wet weather may be responsible for your macrocarpa hedge turning brown at ’ the tips. A dressing of blood ' and bone manure or a mulch with farmyard manure .would help it to recover. the greenhouse and nursery. Before we are quite rid of the spring and summer bedding plants we have to prepare for the coming spring and early summer, and a start has to be made with the sowing of seeds of wallflower, Sweet William, Canterbury Bella for the open,, and cinerarias and primulas for . the greenhouse. Seeds of the hardy biennials can he sown in boxes if a limited number of seedlings are required, but the seedlings are less trouble when sown in the open, and this is a considera- • tion for they- require less attention, and are not so likely to suffer if they are .neglected a bit during the holiday season.. As the wallflower is liable to be, .attacked by club root like any other member,of the crucifer family, it should be sown on clean ground which has not ha’d‘a crop of this kind for some time, and where weeds such as shepherd’s , purse, have not had a free run. Dig over the soil, giving it a good dressing • of lime, and if inclined to be poor, a dusting of bone meal. Make the surface .smooth and fine with the rake; and draw flat drills from six to eight inches Sn width. Sow the seed thinly, so that each plant may have room ‘ to develop into a strong,.healthy seedling, and cover lightly,: making the surface soil firm. Shade with a piece of scrim until germination takes place, and. then, expose to full light excep.t on very hot,-sunny days. In the middle of January the seedlings should be large enough to transplant to a well-manured part of the nursery • or vegetable garden. Some people sow in boxes, prick out the seedlings like ordinary half hardy annuals, and then line out in the nursery rows. Varieties of wallflower to sow are Fire King, Orange Bedder, Vulcan, Cloth of Gold, and Blood Bed. Canterbury Bells and Sweet Williams can also be sown in the open, but it is usual to sow in boxes, to prick out the seedlings into other boxes as soon as they are large enough to handle, and later on to line them out, or to plant them direct into their flowering positions. Tuberous begonias should be potted up by now, and the seedlings raised this season, planted out in, frames or on sheltered warm borders. Cypripediums and other winter flowering orchids should now receive attention. If they are pot bound or if the potting material is wet and sodden they should be taken out, the roots washed clean, and then repotted in a open mixture composed of fern fibre and turfy loam in equal parts with a little charcoal, sand, and leaf mould, and some chopped aphagnura moss. It is not necessary to elevate the soil above the .rim of the pots in the case of cypripediuras, but a few heads of live moss should be pricked into the surface. Cypripediums or Lady’s Slipper orchids are quite easy to manage. They do not require any more heat than ordinary greenhouse plants, and very little more attention. They flower during the winter when flowers are scarce, and last a long time off the plants or when cut for house decoration. Seedling gloxinias and streptocarous

should now be ready to pot up into four or five inch pots, using a nice, light, rough mixture. If grown on steadily these will flower in the autumn and come in very useful when the old plants begin to go off. THE FLOWER GARDEN. The roses are coming on rapidly now, and disbudding, will require regular attention. So far green fly has not appeared to any extent, and the foliage is very clean and healthy with- the promise of a very good display shortly. Continue the planting out of the summer bedding plants, the thinning and staking of the herbaceous perennials, and the mowing and rolling of lawns. Growth of grass generally is slow this year, but it is necessary to run the mower over the lawns at regular intervals to prevent the stalks from developing, THE VEGETABLE AND FRUIT GARDEN. Continue to sow and plant the various vegetables to provide a succession, and make a sowing of silver beet and Laing’s garden swede turnip to come in during the winter and next spring. Both arc very hardy, and come in very useful when the supplies of peas and beans and the other summer vegetables are off. Make of broccoli, savoys, winter cabbage, and curly kale to provide plants to put out in January and February after the early potatoes are dug. Should the plants come in before there is any space available for them they can be transplanted into a bed or lined in about iour inches apart in rows, where they will continue to grow and be ready to transplant With a ball of soil attached to the roots, and with the mi mi imum ° f ckeck to their growth. The cutting of asparagus should cease now, and the growths encouraged so that food materials may be stored up in the fleshy roots to be used for provides the early growths next season. Keep the oeds weeded and cultivated, and "ive occasional applications of liquid manure and water when required, COLUMBINES. At a time when hardy flowers suitable for house decoration are rather scarce the various species and hybrids of Aquilegia, or columbines, are very useful. They are quite hardy and true perennials, but as they grow up out of the ground and deteriorate when old it is better to raise a few plants from seed every year and to replant them occasionally. Some are true alpine plants suitable for the rock garden, like A glanduloaa, which is a very dwarf kind, with large blue and white flowers. The others, both species and hybrids, can be grown m the border, and they are very effective planted as groups in the mixed border or planted in beds or borders by themselves. A. chrysantha is a tall species with golden-yellow long-spurred flowers. A. Skinneri is also a tall species suitable for the herbaceous border, with yellow flowers, the long spurs bein" orange-red. A.coerulea from the Rocky Mountains is a very fine species; with blue and white long-spurred flowers. Though the species are very beautiful, they are nothing like as ornamental as the long-spurred hybrids. They are white, blue, rose, huff, blue and purple, and a great many of the beautiful art shades which are so suitable for table decorations. Seeds of the best strains can be sown in early spring, about the same time as the half-hardy annuals, and if the seedlings are pricked out into and afterwards planted out in the permanent positions they soon develop into strong flowering plants. A. vulgaris, the common columbine, is a very hardy plant, quite suitable for the herbaceous border, but not so suitable for cutting as the long-spurred kinds. NATIVE MEMBERS OF THE LILY AND iris FAMILY. Clirysonactron (Bulbinella) Rossii is a very showy plant, a native of the Auckland and Campbell Islands, whore it grows in peat and iii places forms the greater part of the vegetation. It has hyacinth-like leaves and a dense raceme of ( orange-coloured flowers, the male being the more showy. It is not difficult to cultivate provided it be planted in a moist or semi-shaded place, in a soil rich in organic matter. C.'Hookeri sometimes called the Maori onion, is a much easier plant to accommodate; it will stand more drought and will grow in any kind of soil, and, though not such a striking plant as Rossii, it is well worth growing in a collection of native plants.

NOTES BY TD.TANNOCK, KR.Ksf

The Libertias members of the iris family are perennial herbs with a short, creeping rhizome and long fibrous roots. Leaves are numerous and quite like the iris in appearance; the flower stems are erect and branched, and the white flowers are about an inch in diameter. The flowers are of good substance, and as there are quite a number out at one time they are very suitable for arranging with other cut flowers for house decoration. L. grandiflora is a much taller and more robust species than ixioides, and though more showy in the border is not so decorative and not so suitable for cutting. Both are quite easy to accommodate either on the rock garden or on a well-drained border, and they will thrive among native shrubs. Anthropodium cirratum (rook lily) is a member of the lily family, find a plant well worth growing, though not in flower at present. It has thick, broad, pale-green leaves and showy white flowers. Though not found growing wild so far south, it is quite hardy with us, and thrives on a well-drained border or on the rock garden. Lilac in ‘ its many varieties is very beautiful at present, and being perfectly hardy, a medium growing shrub easily kept within bounds by pruning, aiffa sweetly perfumed, it is very suitable for either large or small gardens. Syringia vulgaris,- the common lilac, is a native of the mountainous regions of eastern Europe, and it has been in cultivation in England for over 300 years. .The common lilac is quite a good plant, but it takes a long time to reach the flowering stage. The newer garden hybrids, which have been raised mainly by Mr. Lemoine, of Haney, who hag done so much with hardy shrubs, will flower when quite small and continue on for years. These new kinds are usually grafted'on to some strong-growing stock, and if suckers appear round the main stem these should be removed at once, for they will be the stock, and if allowed to grow will weaken the plant. Pruning is ’ seldom necessary, except to remove some of the inner branches which are deprived of light, and would die in any case, and to keep the plants within reasonable bounds. The best time to prune is when the shrubs are in flower. There is then time for the young growths to develop and set buds for the following season, and no time is lost. Lilacs form close masses of roots near the surface, arid if feeding is necessary it should take the form of a surface mulch of well rotted manure or a dusting of hone meal and a covering of new soil. The following are some of the good varieties:— Single flowered: Marie Legraye, white; Charles X., rosy-purple; Congo, very large red; Souv de Louis Spath, dark red; Dr Lindley, rosy purple. Double flowered: Mme. Lemoine, white; Leon Gambetti, rosy-purple; President Loubet, light purple; Charles Joly, very dark red; Michael Buckner, pale lilac; Dr Masters, clear lilac; Alphonse Lavelle, bright blue shaded lilac.