MISCELLANEOUS. AN AZALEA GARDEN.

Otago Witness, Issue 2241, 11 February 1897, Page 8

MISCELLANEOUS. AN AZALEA GARDEN.

One of the simplest and best ways of modifying the mixed and bad effect of shrubberies is to take up one varied family and give it a certain place all to itself. We doubt if, in the whole range of hard 7 shrubs, evergreen or other, anything is worthier of our choice than the szalea in its various forms. Perhaps handsomer and more brilliant than any other shrub;, they are lovely in flower in early summer, in some caEGs continuing into midsummer, and hardy as the mountain rocks. They are much varied, coming from European, American, Chinese, and Japanese species, both in their wild forms and In r ; he varieties raised from them, all going to form a garden of varied beauty It is not only the often .brilliant flowers they give us we have to think oF, but they afford the finest leaf hues in autumn, especially when massed in the sun. One may say, then, that they adorn the whole of the fine season. They are not so difficult to grow as the rhododendron, owing, we think, to the rhododendron being grafted oa one kind ; they can be grown in a greater variety of soils, and do admirably without any grafting. From an artistic point of view their colour in winter is better than that of rhododendrons, -the change of foliage being more complete, and

they do not run into heavy dark masses like the commoner rhododendrons, being more , restrained in their growth. Another gre&fc »d- ; vantage is that they are tender to life below ) them, and, instead ot devouring all other i plants, like the rhododendrons, they are very j kind to all sorts of beautiful things such as i blue anemones, tritium, double primroses, and a great variety of bulbs and ohoicer hardy f flowers growing beneath them, the effect of ! which below the bushes i« far better than when by themselves, the inter-relations of colour being better. Where possible, azaleas should be grouped in colours and kinds, but where this cannot be done they lend themselves to mixed planting better than any other shrubs we know. We are used to thinking of them as belonging to what are called American plants, and as such very often grown in peat soils ; but this is by no meaus 'necessary for them, and they ought to be in bold simple beds where they can be grouped effectively. Some azalea beds we have have been a joy for years, ; and give little troublp, perhaps because they | have & carpet of small plants on the surface, i which tends to keep the ground clean. — Field. ARALIA SIEBOLDI (PATSIA. JAPONICA). How very graceful aud effective this plant is in a house, placed in a good vase, is apparent to ! anyone who has seen it in such a position, and I know of no other foliage plant to equal it in • lasting properties as a house decorative plant. I For this purpose its fine, glossy, dark green ' foliage and fine palm-like habit; is seen to advantage in a handsome bowl or vase ; its lasting properties enabling it to stand a very long time in positions whero ferns or palms would quickly spoil. It is a plant, too, within the reach ot anyone who has a glasshouse, as ib is very easily raised from seed, and- a shilling packet will produce a good number of plants. New seed is not usua'ly obtainable before spring, : when it should be* at ence sown in a wellI drained pan of light sandy soil ; equal parts \ loam, leaf-mould, aud sand will be suitable. The pan should bo placed in a warm house till the seed germinates, and when the young plants are large enough to handle they should be transplanted into other pans, lo be potted on in I 3iu pots when ready, and again repotted : into larger pots when required. A suitable soil ' for potting on Aralia Sieboldi — uleo known as F&tsia Japonica — is three parts loam, one part lenf-mould, one part old mushroom-bed manure, and cue part sand. — Winchie, in Amateur ■ Gardening. I FRRNS. ■ F.erns in dwflliig buuses should be well looked aftti". Rooms where they Hie crowing in become sorae'imes very hot from fire and gas. If not kept well watered Iho feres are sure to suffer, and if they do not aotually shrivel, thf* foliage soon becomes pale and sickly, cau&iDg a weakening of the plant. As much light as possible, bufficipnt moisture at the roots, and freedom from hot-, dry, vitiated atmo- > sphere caused by the burning of gas will keep ferns nice, fresh looking, and pleasing in living 1 rooms during many month* when outside the aspect is dreary and cheerless. During the winter months preparations may be made for , the re-potting and propagating operations to ; be commenced when the proper time arrives in ' spring. This is best done just before the new ; foliage is produced, commencing with stove : - ferns, as in the higher temperature they will 1 be first to start into growth, taking in hand i the warm and cold greenhouse kinds in due ' course. : | BELLADONNA LILIES. j These beautiful bulbous plants are just now in the full zenith of their beauty co far as their | 5 flowers are concerned. Like the so-called | amaryllis (Hippeastrum) they produce their i ' flowers before their leaves — in otber words, : when in flower the bulbs are rarely furnished ! with leaves. This detracts somewhat from I their beauty, bub they are very beautiful 1 neverthelesa. i They are hardy enough to be grown in a sunny border outdoors at the foot of a south ; wall. Now is a good time to plant. Insert the bulbs about 4in deep and 6in apart. They are ; also well adapted for pos culture in a cold greenhouse — Horn* paper. I CINERARIAS AND PRIMULAS. Bath of these are well-known winter and spring greenhouse plants, and should now be in active growth. The cinerarias should be flowered in 6in pots. They require a rather heavy soil, but with a good deal of sand or grit ; ; iv it, and .only a little manure. Firm potting is very necessary. They should be grown in a cool > frame, and with a little shade over the glass, but the most important of all is to keep them free from insects, especially the green fly, which is their great enemy. If this is observed, their , culture is very easy, and they should be : fumigated once a fortnight or so, whether there ! is an appearance of gre;-n fly on them or not. i The primulas should be flowered in a 4-in or Sin pot. They do not succeed so well in a large pot. Light loaui aud loaf soil, with a little silver sand, is the best thing to pot them in. j They should not receive any manure. They also require a little shade from the brightest ! sunshine, but insects do not trouble them, and i they are an undoubtedly useful class of spring flowers. The young seedlings are better than old plants for general decoration. j WINDOW OKOW.V LETTUCE. Ever try lettuce as window plant? ? asks a Canadian paper. Seems like an odd idea, but it is really worth trying. A pot of greeu ! plants is better than no flowers or plants at all. | A sunny room without; something green is just j a little inhuman Fill a 6in pot with good soil, and scatter torn* lettuce seed over it, and press them in out of sight. They will come up thickly, and to make a pretty pot of green foliage, fib to grace any banquet table, thin them out to an inch apart. Let them grow all i together in a dense mass. And when the pot ! is • airly boiling over with foliage send it to a eick friend for a dainty dish of salad. j rtOWEE FARJIS. The delightful labour of flower-farming is I steadily on the increase among the people of the j Scilly Isles, the astonishing quantity of 40 tons ', of cut bloAnoras, chiefly narcissus, beinlj sent j over to England weekly during the winter { season. The farms, which employ many bands j and much capital,' are exceedingly interesting, ' and the sight of them in February or March is worth even the risk of a rough voyage. Literally millions of white and yellow blooms, richly fragrant, nestle between tall hedges of euonymus and veronica, and form a fragrant picture — i exquisite as it is unique. INDIAUUBBEB PLANTS : HOW TO SHOBTBN THE3I WHEN TOO TALL. 'jtfle favourite indtarubber jjlanfc ia apS to be- ; come bare at the lower p»rt of the stem, when i!s beauty is destroyed, the best part of the • plant beiug obovi eyo line. Of course they c%n be cut dowD, bub the side shoot 3 then produced are riot; so •fT^ctive as the one-stemmed plant, and the bsss plan to pursue, therefore, is , to shorten them. j Summer is the proper time for this operation, which should be carried out in the warm corner of a greenhouse, where the plant should stand ' on the ground. A 6in pot must be sawn in half so as to cut' through the hole at the bottom and ; make two equal parts ; for thio purpose a dark red pot which is not fully baked should be (elected iuutead of one of lighter hue, and a i

tenon saw will do the work naatly. The tw halves must then be ftf.ted on the stem of tba plant at the point just below the last leaf ; but before fixing the stem should be cut .carefully half through, a slit about 2in long being made upwards from the incision in the same way that a carnation is layered, and a small flab stone inserted to keep it open.,. Placing one-half of the pot on either tide of the incision so that it ii near the bottom of tho pot, the two part* must be joined together by strong twine or wire, and further supported by a cord or wire attached to the wall on either side of the plant, or by one or two stout stakes placed in the pot below containing the roots. It will be necessary for two pair of hands to be available at this juncture, as the top part of the plant (half out through) mush be carefully supported while these arrangements are being made. The pot, when fixed upon the stem, should first receive a little drainage of bits of charcoal, this material being dusted well into the out part to check the flow of tap. Then a compost of good loam, leaf-mould, and sand, in "equal parts, should be used to fill the pot, leaving, however, 2in empty at tho top for a layer of sphagnum moss, which must be kept constantly wet for two or three months. The roots of the plant in the larger pot below can be kept rather short of water during the same time, which will induce the plant reoeiving but little nourishment below, to push out rootlets into the offered nourishment Above. In about 10 werks' time from .the date < of. the operation, small roots should apj&sr~i& the hole of the tipper pot ; when the layer of moss can be removed, a mulch of .rich soil "being substituted, on which the young roots will quickly seize. In a short time the upper pot will become full of roots, when the stem' should be sawn through just below it, and the new plant fhifted into a large pot, giving it good drainage aud riob, light soil. It is then again available for decoration, -while the original stem will I throw out several shoots, and can be used in a ■ hall or on a staircase where its large size will \ not be out of place. — A Lady Gardener in^ I Amateur Gardening.