THE GARDEN

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23436, 26 February 1938, Page 23

THE GARDEN

THE GREENHOUSE AND NURSERY Continue to take the buds on the large-flowering chrysanthemums and tot disbud to three shoots the decoratives and singles. It is not advisable to try to remove the shoots which arise below the buds when they are Very small and undeveloped, otherwise •damage is liable to be done to the bud, which will develop into a malformed flower. Give a little liquid manure once a week as soon as the buds have set, and keep a sharp lookout for green or black fly, dusting round the buds with tobacco powder as soon as it is noticed. A sharp lookout has also to boo kept for caterpillars, especially if the plants are standing near trees. They bind the leaves together and eat into the flower buds. Continue to pot on cinerarias, primula malacoides. and P. obconica to their flowering pots before they become in the least way starved or stunted, and as soon as they.become established in their pots stand out in a cold frame on a bed of ashes, removing the sashes on still, warm nights when there is dew. Pot up the old corms of cyclamen into their flowering pots, and continue to put in geranium and pelargonium cuttings. THE FLOWER GARDEN Continue to plant daffodils in the grass and an beds and borders; also scillas, chiondoxas, grape hyacinths, crocus, and snowdrops, Cut the old flowers off gladioli as soon as they are past their best, but do not reduce the foliage in any way. Also cut the oi l flowers off delphiniums and other herbaceous perennials, and remove biennials and annuals us soon as they are over. Clean off the bid flower stems on the rock plants, cutting back any kind, which is encroaching on its neighbour’s pocket, and after weeding and stirring up the surface soil with a fork,, give a top-dressing of light, gritty soil. Duplicates of the less desirable varieties and any other plants which were simply put in to fill up at first can be removed, the old soil dug out of the pockets and new soil put in, in preparation for planting new or more desirable kinds in autumn as soon as we get good rains. Continue to layer carnations and to keep the old flowers picked off the roses, and those which require it Sprayed with liver of sulphur for mildew* VEGETABLE AND FRUIT GARDEN It is generally too late now to sow any kind of vegetable which will mature before the winter, and tpo soon to- sow those which are to stand through the winter and mature in the spring. Winter and spring cabbage can be planted, also leeks and spring broccoli. Onions can be sown, and also radish, lettuce, and spinach. Continue to dig and store potatoes as they mature, selecting suitable tubers as seed as the operation' is carried out. Clear off spent crops;, give runner beans plenty of water and liquid manure once a week or a topdressing of a suitable plant food such as Humber fish manure or Iva Plant Food.' Open-air tomatoes should get plenty of water during the dry, weather, and a top-dressing ofisuperphosphate and sulphate of potash, hall an ounce to each plaijt. MONTBRETIAS Montbretias are hardy bulbous plants, natives of South Africa and members of the Iris family, and are most useful in: the late summer and early i autumn for providing a display in the garden and ciit flowers. They are very good-natured and tenacious of purpose.

WORK FOR THE WEEK|

notes by *D. TAN NOCK, AHR.H.S'

and even when neglected and allowed to become overcrowded, or to come up among shrubs or grass, they continue to flower. The newer varieties, however, which are the kinds most worth growing, repay good treatment, and it is advisable to lift them at least every second year, to trench and manure the ground they are to occupy, and to replant at about six inches apart This should be done as soon as they ripen off, for growth starts very early in spring, and they are liable to get a setback if disturbed when in growth. They are very satisfactory when planted in beds by themselves, or associated with agapanthus umbellatus, or grouped in the herbaceous or shrubbery borders. In very wet or very cold districts it might be necessary to sltore them in sand during the winter and to plant in the 'spring, but this is not ndcessary in or around Dunedin. There have been great improvements in this plant during recent years, both in size of the flowers, the colours and the vigour, many of them exceeding 3Jft in height, with open flowers • measuring Sin to 4in in diameter Some of the desirable varieties are— Croesus, bearing large, handsome flowers of a rich golden yellow; Etoile de Feu, intense, deep, glowing vermilion; Germanis, orange scarlet with a centre blotched blood-red. Lady Hamilton; apricot-yellow with small crimson dots; Promethms. with large open flowers golden-orange with blood-red markings; Star ol the East, orange-gold with a lemon eye and orange-red on back of the petals; His Majesty, with flowers of great size, rich yellow in the centre and shading to scarlet.

LAYING OUT A NEW GARDEN With the number of new houses which are going up there will be many new gardens to lay out, and it may be of some help if 1 were to state, some of the principles which govern such work. With the increased price of land, the sections upon which modern houses are built are much smaller than those intended by the founders\of the city, and it is all the more important that the most be made of the land available. In all gardens, however small, there should be some space set aside for vegetables of the more perishable kind, which must be fresh to be enjoyed to the full, and for this purpose a place beside or behind the house should be selected. This and the flower beds and borders, and, in fact, the whole area, if the contour of the land will permit, should be trenched to a depth of about 3ft if the subsoil allows it. If it is a stiff clay or wet silt, however, it is* better to adapt what is known as bastard trenching, in which the top 18 inches of the soil is inverted and the lower foot dug or picked over and left in the bottom to be gradually improved by manuring and by the addition of sand or organic matter until there is about 2Jft to 3ft of organic soil fit to be the home of the roots of the various crops. Deep cultivation not only provides a more extensive collecting ground for the roots of the plants, but it ensures better drainage and aeration and consequently a warmer and more fertile soil which is much easier to work during all subsequent cultural operations. I should have mentioned that 1 am pleased to see that when laying down the foundations of many of the homes all the good top soil is stripped off the site which the house is to occupy, and that it is being stored on one side, which v/ill add considerably to the depth of the soil in the most important parts of the garden later on. The objects of a garden should be, first, to provide a suitable setting for the home, with shelter when necessary; second, to provide as far as possible the necessary supplies of vegetables and small fruits such as gooseberries, currants, raspberries, and strawberries, the flowers required for decorating the home; and the necessary trees, shrubs, and flowering plants to maintain a bright and interesting display. Where space will permit, fruit trees should be added, and advantage should be taken of all the walls and fences, including those of the house, to cultivate fruits of the more delicate variety which would not thrive, or, at least, only indifferently, in the open, without special shelter. As many of the houses are being built on the rising ground, shelter of some kind is necessary, but while it may be essential to shelter the home and the garden from the prevailing winds, which are N.E, and S.W., there is no need to shut, the garden in from the view from the street; and while we may not be willing to dispense with front hedges and fences altogether—as is the prevailing fa-:hion in the Uniter States and some parts of Canada—we should not be selfish but be willing to share the beauty of our front gardens with the man or woman in the street. and to create an attractive district after the garden city style. Sheltering hedges are essential for the satisfactory growth of our flowers and vegetables, and these can consist of various tree.? and shrubs, clipped so as to produce a dense growth of foliage and occupying a.? little space as possible Though evergreen hedges are the most suitable for the boundaries, deciduous ones have their uses for intersecting hedges where it is desirable to provide shade and shelter during the summer, but to admit sun during the winter. Of the overgreens, the native Oleana Forsteri is still very satisfactory where the ground is moderately rich and well drained, and, provided it is clipped at the right season, the midge which ac one time was troublesome will have little effect and a dense growth of foliage of a pleasing green colour will be maintained. This plant has the further, advantage that it is not a robber, and both flowers and vegetables can be grown close up to it The plants should be placed at 18in to 2ft apart, they should be kept clean and cultivated, and though the sides should be clipped to prevent it spreading unduly, the top should not be clipped until it reaches its full height. Oleana Traversii is very suitable for forming shelter hedges near the sea, and as it will thrive in pure sand, it has special /alue. It does not form such a dense shelter as O Forsteri. but it grows quicker, and taller, andjprovides good shelter. Being a stronff grower it should not be less than 2ft apart Other native plants suitable for hedges are Coprosm.i lucids. both the white and red, manuka, and some of the

upright growing veronicas. Of the introduced shrubs, the white-flowering, upright-growing Escallonia is a favourite. It will grow on both dry and wet positions, and near the sea coast and wherever frosts are not severe it grows quickly, and, if trimmed at the right season, is ornamental when in flower. It can be planted at from 18in to 2ft apart. The holly, whichx was at one time a favourite, forms a dense protective boundary hedge, which grows fairly •rapidly ir good, well-manured soil, but it is so seldom asked for that I am afraid nurserymen have given up growing young plants The oval-leaved privet forms i good hedge in the very dry districts where frosts are severe, and for a smal ; dividing or front hedge the Chinese honeysuckle, Lomcera nitida, is most suitable. It is neat and tidy at all times, and can be kept down to form a low and narrow shelter It can be planted at from 15in to 18m apart. „ For deciduous hedges the English beech Fagus sylvatica, or the hornbeam, Carpinus betulus. o r silver birch Betula alba, can be used. As it is important that hedges make as rapid a growth as possible, it is necessary to trench the place they are to occupy it least 2ft deep, and to provide drainage if the soil is stiff and wet by laying an agricultural drain pipe in the bottom of the trench, but on one side, and to add as much farmyard manure as you can spare, the manure being mixed with the lower layers of the soil If the position is waterlogged during wet weather, and it is difficult to drain or the water, it is advisable to put in a foot of sand or clinkers ih the bo 1 tom of the trench and to elevate the soil a similar height above the surrounding garden. It is also necessary to keep the surface soil cultivated arid weeded and. when established, to keep the dead leaves raked out from under in case of fire.