THE GARDEN.

Otago Witness, Issue 2721, 9 May 1906, Page 10

THE GARDEN.

OPERATIONS FOR THE WEEK. KITCHEN GARDEN.— The fine, open weather we are now having is most favourable | for- pushing on with all autumn work, which j Bhould be kept well in hand, as wet weather I may be expected, necessarily preventing outloor work to a geat extent, and after the soil , »Kce becomes thoroughly soaked it cannot be /Forked in such a satisfactory manner as at ihe present time. Therefore -every vacant nece of soil should, as far as possibleV, be lug and turned up to Jhe weather. If it is «ot required for immediate cropping, it wall pay to thus expose the soil, even at the ex- J pense of an extra digging. Where this has j ilready been done, the sowing and planting tut of the various crops as recommended in , »ur late issues should be attended to, as such , irops make rapid progress at this season, beIcr« the soil becomes cold. If not already j town, broad beans .should be sown at ouce, n the principal point in their culture will be /ost — viz., earliness. These should be given _ Ihe heaviest soil in the garden" as they sue- I Teed much better upon a somewhat clayey '■ toil than on cue of a sandy nature. The jlariing out of the various kind 3of cabbage, lauliflorrer, and lettuce should be .continued "tccording to the reqiiirenients of each family, iiettuces of the cos variety only should now -Se planted out, as the cabbage varieties do tot grow freely during the wet and cold months >f winter; a futher sowing of seed )i these should now be made. A warm and fry border should be selected, and the young plants must be kept free from weeds as they trow, in order to make them as hardy as possible. Late trenches of celery should bo sarthed up as the growth proceeds. Scarlet runner roots may be left in the ground all winter, and. with a mulch of manure to proiect fom severe frosts, will come away earlier than seed, and often prove more prolific. Onions should be sown as required for transplanting in early spring. All small seedlings, us soon as they are large enough to handle, Bhoud be thinned out, and the hoe must ba frequently used between the drills. FLOWER GARDEX.— The planting of spring-flowering bulbs should be pushed on, bs the earliest batch should have now been all planted, and later on a successioaa.l planting should take place. Chrysanthemums being now at their best, notes should be made of the varieties, as there are few gardens that do not require newer varieties added. There are other sorts that are unsuited to the purpeses for which they are grown, but if a. little time is devoted to them while they are in flower they can often be much improved ; if neglected now they soon go out of flower, md it is difficult then to identify the colours. Dahlias are in many gardens already severely sut from frosts. If, however, we are favoured With a continuation oi the present fine weather they will be quite worth picking over again for the value of the remaining bloom. Roses should be planted out as soon as convenient. When it is intended to plant out roses in any quantity, th« ground should be deeply trenched, and a heavy dressing of stable manure worked in as each trench is opened ; coil of * heavy or clayish nature is best suited to the rose, and it must be borne in mind that the rose requires plenty of manure to grow it well, and this should be given as much as possible a,t the time of preparing the soil; at no latex period can it be added.

to the roots to such advantage as at the time of trenching. Thi3 completed, the roses as far as possible should be upon their own roots, as we have frequently pointed out the great advantage these have over such as are worked upon the briar or manstti. There are a few of the delicate varieties that are difficult to obtain upon their own roots, biit the majority can be procxired if the trouble is taken in ordeing to specify this point. The planting Gut of box for edgings may now be commenced. The dwarf Dutch box is much superior to the English box, as being dwarfer iv growth and of smaller foliage. The price is usually a trifle higher, but it is much more valuable for the purpose, as unless cut very frequently and closely the English box coon becomes too large for small boTder3. Violets made a rery useful border for larger beds in the kitchen garden, and the present time is also favourable for dividing these and planting out. The best sorts to grow axe the Czar and .Lee's Odoratissima (the two best single dark blues), *nd two good doubles are Count Brazza (white), Neapolitan (mauve). To have these to flower freely they require a liberal treatment. They should be yearly manured and dug around, and they will then produce their flowers in abundance. Too often they are planted in some out-of-the-way place, and neglected year after year. Such plants cannot fail to be disappointing. Hardy and half-Tiardy annuals may still be sowa as adviaed in our recent issues. A sharp look-out urnst b» kept up among the seed bed 3 for slugs, which, if allowed to increase, will prove very destructive at this time of the year. FRUIT GARDEX.— The planting season has now commenced, and the selection of suitable varieties of fruit trees is now a eenous consideration. The many excellent catalogues issued by locaj seedsman afford considerable assistance, though the great number of names are somewhat confusing. A study of the accompanying description should "enable anyone to make a selection suitable for the district iv which he live«. ! GREENHOUSE. The leading plants in i bloom now are zonal pelargoniums which have been prepared for winter blooming. The white Vesuvius is a mo3t prolific bloomer during the winter, but it requires a 'little more warmth than an unheated house affords to do it justice— in fact, to have zonals in perfection the temperature should not be allowed to sink below 45deg tat night, and plenty of ventilation should be given during tho day. Cyclamens also enjoy a little bottom heat, but it should not be given them until the pots are well filled with roots. Keep ealvias and libonias exposed in open frames as long as possible, to harden the wood and to induce the formation- of flower buds. Heaths are ; more happy in the -cold -frame than in the dry air of the house, and should be intro- | auced only as they come into bloom. Be- ■ gomas outside should be lifted at once, and I put away on a dry floor until the stems drop from the tubers, and then store away in dry ■ sawdust until September. With this simple 1 plant treatment there is no necessity to lcse one from dry rot or any ether dis.ii\.*e In September they are spread on a tray, and lightly sprinkled with waW to induce them to sprout, end in October they are planted as potatoes would bo. Growth soon commences, and is , of a very vigorous character, blossom coming about the middle of December, ■and continuing until the nrst sharp night beheads them.