THE GARDEN.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22392, 13 October 1934, Page 19

THE GARDEN.

WORK FOR THE WEEK S !

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS "W. H.," Glenomaru. —The primrose sent is certainly a new shade among doubles, and is very interesting. "Amateur," Glenomaru.—The flower sent is certainly not a polyanthus narcissus. They have several flowers on one stick. The jonquils have narrow leaves like rushes, not flat like the ordinary daffodils. "Grape Vine," Temuka.—The temperature of your vinery should be a minimum of 60 to 65 degrees and 70 to .80 maximum. This is maintained by ventilation and shutting up the house in the afternoons to bottle up the sun heat. During the flowering time, when the atmosphere is kept drier, the temperature can rise to •75 to 80 degrees during the stoning period to 70 to 80, and during the ripening period to 80 to 85

notes by •v3S?!i|§«p AJLRJLs.**

degrees Fall. Don't spray too heavily during dull, cold weather. You should disbud to one shoot on each spur. Don't spray during the flowering-period, and stop altogether during colouring. Name of viola is • Gold Eyes. THE VEGETABLE AND FRUIT GARDEN Sow peas and broad beans for succession and make the first sowing of French and runner beans. Continue tp plant cabbage and cauliflower, to transplant autumn-sown onions, and to plant shallots. . Sow seed of cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and leeks. Make sowings of spinach, lettuce, mustard and cress, at regular intervals. Plant maincrop potatoes, and sow maincrop carrots, beet,' and yellow turnips. Sow parsnips. Stick peas and keep the soil hoed and cultivated among all growing crops. Cultivate among strawberries and fruit trees and bushes, give a dressing of blood and bone manure, and thin out the growths on peaches and other fruit trees growing on walls »or fences. THE .GREENHOUSE AND NURSERY Most of the bedding plants should be out in frames or outside altogethe rby now.

Tender annuals such as salvia bonfire and Zinnias which cannot be planted out before the middle of November, should be boxed up again at about 20 plants to a box, or potted into five-inch pots, to give them room to develop. Box on tuberous begonias to give them room to develop. Put in cuttings of chrysanthemums to be flowered in six-inch pots, pot on the rooted cuttings, and the earliest plants will now be ready to pot up into five-inch pots. Provide light shading on all glass houses except those devoted to the cultivation of vines and tomatoes, and give more air. Put in cuttings of fuchsias and hydrangeas. Give hydrangeas which are developing their flower heads a little liquid manure once a week.

Tie up schizantbus and clarkias and give liquid manure once a fortnight. Pot on tomatoes.to their final pots or plant them out in borders or boxes. Disbud vines and tie down the selected growths to the wires. As they are easily broken out it is better to bring them down graduallv. THE FLOWER GARDEN

Mow and roll lawns and keep all grass verges clipped. Plant out all the hardier kinds of bedding plants, but it is too soon to put out salvias, zinnias, tuberous begonias and fuchsias.

Thin out the superfluous shoots on.the roses, removing those in the centre of the bushes and those pointing inwards. Pbllenate daffodils and primrose polyanthus for seed 'saving. ■. , Mark the most desirable varieties of anemones and ranunculus for seed saving

Thin out the young growths of delphiniums, michaelmas daisies, and perennial phlox to about five on each plant. Spring flowering shrubs which reauire pruning should be attended to as soon as the flowers fade to allow a long season for the growth and' ripening of the young wood on which next season's flowers are produced. Make notes of the most desirable effects with a view to planning beds for next season.

Those who do not grow chrysanthemums from cuttings can lift, divide up. and replant the old plants. Sow hardy annuals. --•• GRAPE HYACINTHS

These small, bulbous . plants are very useful for following on such small blue bulbs as the scillas and ckibnodoxas. They are equally hardy, and accommodating, and.' are-very useful for edging beds or borders or < for carpeting shrubs and flowering trees. They do not increase by means of seeds like the two others, but divide up very readily, and when planted in borders three inches apart and three inches deep they soon become overcrowded and have to be lifted and separated out every three or four years. This should be done as soon as the foliage ripens down,, for they do not remain dormant very long, and the leaves appear in the autumn and remain until after flowering. They are very useful for forcing for the greenhouse, and will succeed in thin grass under trees. The variety Heavenly Blue is the best and strongest-growing kind.

Fritillaria. p Meleagris (Snake's Head Fritillary) is 'a native of England, where it is found in moist meadows. The neat, hanging, bell-shaped flowers vary in colour from purple to nearly white, and are very suitable for associating with cowslips or primroses among azaleas or rhododendrons.' It is very easily raised from seed, which is-produced in abundance. This is' collected before the capsules burst, and is sown at once either in boxes or in a well-drained bed similar to that prepared for anemones or ranunculus. They can be left undisturbed for two years, and by the third they. can be planted out in their permanent places, when many, if not all, will flower. . MAGNOLIAS The magnolias ate amongst the very best and most' distinct of-flowering trees, and being slow growers, they are very suitable for small gardens either as specimens in the lawn, as standards in beds of azaleas and dwarf rhododendrons, or in the shrubbery. In one respect the magnolias are the most splendid ot flowering trees, for in the size of their individual flowers they are easily 'first, and some have about the largest leaves of evergreen hardy trees. They will thrive in any well-cultivated, well-drained soil, but prefer one with considerable organic matter either in the form of peat or leafmould. All like a moist soil; and mulching with lawn mowings or farmyard manure should be provided during dry weather. They do not transplant well on account of their fleshy roots, which are readily damaged, failing to heal up during the resting period, and are more successfully shifted in early autumn or late spring, so that the wounds may heal and new roots be formed immediately. Magnolias are propagated, by seed, layering or grafting, layering being the most" suitable for trees which have branches close down to the ground. Magnolia Campbellii is a deciduous species which occasionally grows to a height of 150 ft. Its flowers, which appear before the . leaves, vary in colour from deep rose to crimson, the petals being very thick, from four to five inches long and two inches wide.. It is very fragrant, and being such a strong grower is readily damaged by the wind, therefore should be given a position sheltered from the south-west winds. M. conspicua is a low rounded tree rarely more than 30 feet high. It is deciduous and has pure white wax-hke flowers and it is a native of China, where it has been cultivated for centuries. . M. grandiflora is a native of the Southern United States and is a very striking evergreen, a little tender in some places, but quite successful against a wall or in a sheltered place. The flowers, which are produced continuously during late summer and autumn, are globular, eight inches to 10 inches across, very fragrant, with a spicy or fruity odour. M. soulangiana is a hybrid between M. conspicua and M. obovata. In habit it is similar to conspicua, forming a low spreading tree, but instead of the flowers being pure white they are-white inside and stained moxs or less with purple on the outside. This is one of the commonest of the deciduous magnolias and is a most reliable flowerer in the spring. M. stellata is a much branched shrub, the most suitable of all the magnolias for a small garden. It flowers in spring before the leaves and these are fragrant, pure white at first, but turning pink later. It is a native of Japan and is a most profuse bloomer. Its flowers are liable to be destroyed, but if the first crop is ruined it will be succeeded by another, i There are quite a number of other species

and hybrids, but these mentioned are the hardiest and the most commonly cultivated. POPULAR BEDDING PLANTS Though there are a great many annuals of a half hardy nature which are used for bedding schemes there are a few which no garden is complete without. Judging by the number of boxes ot annuals displayed at' shop doors the demand lor these must be enormous. Probably- the most popular and most useful is the antirrhinum in its many forms and'varieties. These can now be had in distinct and separate colours, and consequently colour schemes can be worked out with them. The next most popular annual is the nemesia, also in many colours, and following it we have stocks and asters, which are always favourites, then, calendulas and the many forms of marigolds, including French, African, Legion of Honour, and Tagetis signata pumila, then follow poppies, phlox, petunias, nicotianas, cosmos, zinnias, salvias, ursinias, scabious, dianthus, lobelia, alyssum, pyrethrum, ageratum, and others which are used in smaller quantities. With such a wealth of material it is possible to furnish' a garden with half hardy annuals alone, but this is not altogether desirable when we want a display over a long period, and better results are obtained by growing a number of the better perennials, biennials, bulbs, and hardy annuals. Whether for furnishing beds or forming groups in the mixed borders it is better to mix the plants to maintain a display for a longer period, and this can be done by planting a kind which will come into flower early and continue for a month or two, next one which will be coming into flower as the first one is going over, and a third one to come in in the autumn and continue until cut down by frost. One very satisfactory combination is nemesia to flower early, 10-week stock to come in in mid-season, and dahlias for the autumn. The nemesia and stock can be planted now and the dahlias early next,month. Another suitable combination 'i s nemesia, antirbinums and autumn-flowering chrysanthemums. Ursinia and dimosphotheca are also valuable as a first crop, with asters and petunias to follow. Verbenas, dianthus or Phlox Drummondi make a very good carpeting • for gladioli, or Galtouia candicans, but the soil for dahlias has to be too rich for them. They run to growth and leaf instead of flowering. At one time the tendency was to keep beds and groups in the borders to one colour, now it is to mix the colours and the plants, and when this is done with taste there is no doubt the results are far more satisfactory. PREPARING CELERY Celerv is one of the most useful of vegetables though it is not so commonly grown by the amateur as cabbages and beans. It requires plenty of food and moisture at all times, and should be planted in a trench. The width of the trench will depend on the number of rows to be planted, which may be 12 inches to 15 inches for a single row and 18 inches to 24 inches for two rows. The soil is excavated to a depth of 12 inches to 18 inches and neatly packed up on either side. In the bottom of the trench put at least six inches of farmyard manure or compost heap, and turn it over to mix it with the soil. Next put in about three inches of good loam, old potting or seedbox soil being very suitable. To utilise the space fully until the soil is required for filling in the trench and for blanching, lettuce .or radish can be sown on top of the banks on either side. _ For early supplies a self-blanching kind is usually raised, and it need not be planted in a trench but a deep drill similar to that required for planting cabbage can be drawn with a hoe. _ Where the subsoil is a stiff clay it. will not be advisable to make the trench a full 12 inches deep. Celery plants should be raised in boxes and pricked out *into other boxes of rich soil and gradually grown on to the planting out size. For early use plant Henderson's White Plume, and for main,crop Sutton's Solid White and Standai-d Bearer. ,