THE GARDEN.

Otago Witness, Issue 2541, 26 November 1902, Page 10

THE GARDEN.

OPERATIONS FOR THE WEEK. FLOWER GARDEN.— The appearance of the occupants of the flower borders is slowly improving aa»the se««on progresses. The whole of the tender bedding plants and sub-tropicals, of the Bicinus o1m», if they have been well burdened by exposure, may ba planted out, and as thia will complete the work of the bed-ding-out season, attention can be given to other sfcbings which will be ,wanted tor -winter and ■pring blooming.' Those who have bloomed lily of the valley in pots are frequently puzzled (What to do with them after the bloom is over, •o that they may flower again next season. iThe treatment.. t i» » simple one, and seldom fails to renovate the plant and" to cause it 'to form bhxun -"bttfls for -the -following -season. - A _; ' iuail bed is -prepared in -a shady .apot, the soil is deeply dug-, and J some good -manure -is moor S" orated with it. The clumps are then shaken at of the pots, and a few of ihe outside crowns - Ibeing remdWa af*. 1 plknfed $i3flly,l J»*U watered. in dry -weather, and induced to mature and ripen their growth. _ These clumps. will be peady to pot- in- M«*ch, ana -will' bloom In the following spring." The «maU outside crowns .which were removed from the clumps can be t (plante«l in bundles of three or four, and if allowed to establish themselves, they will make flowering clumps in two or three years. r KITCHEN GARDEN.— The late crops of potatoes should be cleaned, hoed, and earthed tip as soon as they are far enough advanced. Celery plants will need attention. If it is not 'convenient to transplant the seedlings as pre--viously advised, €hey must be duly thinned out in the seed bed so as to give the plants loom to become sturch'. For the earliest-sown

lot the trenches should be prepaied, and it will ; oe found- much better to plant ou{ while the groung ones are small and growing than to allow them to become drawn up, and conseqxiently weakened. When broad beans are in full flower the points of their growth should be . pinched off to stop the loss of growth in that direction, and cause the poda to fill up more rapidly. Kidney beans should be sown in. a good breadth, but in •succession better than at one time, as these form one of the chief vegetables for the summer supply. Canadian wonder is still among' the best of the dwarf varieties, and the white Dutch runner or the old scarlet Tunners are good and reliable tall kinds. If the early-sown plants of cucumber ■lid vegetable marrow arp uot starting to grow freely, more seed should be again sown"; it should now be sown where it is intended that tho plants should fruit, as they will grow freely now, and overtake those that have^-suf-fcred from fiosts. Carrots, turnips, and parsnips should bs finally gone through while the teoil is soft, and they will pull easily; they should -be well thinned; aHow each, plant to stand by itself. It often occurs that what sfiould have proved splendid crops of roots are quite spoiled by overcrowding. The supply of salads must b? kept up by sowing small quantities at =hort intervals, and transplanting when fit such as require a*-. GREENHOUSE —Ft i us giowing fie-ly and 1M tkuU sue *c<uuis4 V} jrj gKTTBft Qtt Mlrtll k Tg< "

specimens- should have* further shift or larger pot given them. Fuchsias should have all the points of growth pinched, except the leading shoot, which should be carried on and secured to a stout stake. By thus stopping the shoots twice or three times early in the season much more compact growth ib obtained, and at no loss of flower, as they grow very rapidly if the roots are in a healthy condition. When the pots are fairly well filled with roots, liquid manure should be given them twice a week. Ferns should be kept syringed overhead twice a day, and must not be allowed to suffer from want of ..moisture at the root. Pelargoniums, as they come into flower, should have one or two neat stakes placed in position, and the leading growths made secure, and a good supply of air should be allowed the plants night and day while in bloom. Tuberous-rooted begonias shouTd be placed into their flowering pots and given the same treatment in soil and temperature ias fuchsias, only they must not be syringed overhead so often as the latter. It will be necessary to look to the shading on the house, as after the heavy rains much of it is washed off.

VINERIES.- The work for the present chiefly consists of maintaining a sufficiently moist atmosphere, but without wetting the bunches after the berries have set, attention to ventilating, watering the borders as required and removing or checking the secondary growths,, known as -sublaterals-.- -These are glowing very strongly- now, and must be consistently rubbed or pinched out.. It is a bad plan 4o let them .grow at will for a time, and then make a grand- clearance, -this-often-tm parting- a serious check to tfie plants. If the fruiting' laterals were stopped shorj, some of the second growths may -be allowed to develop two o* three leaves; but if long, they had better be removed altogether, especially in the case of Muscats and other white or light-coloured grapes.

WALL FRUITS.— These are in most oases past the mbicon, and tho weather continnuig fine, the neks or (Aker protection had better be removed altogether Keep the foliage clean, and see that the roots do not went for either nourishment or moisture. Remove the surplus shoots from peaches, etc., by degrees, and not all at once.