THE GARDEN.

Otago Witness, Issue 2849, 21 October 1908, Page 10

THE GARDEN.

OPERATIONS FOR THE WEEK. KITCHEN GARDEN.— Advantage should be taken of opportunities to plant out good breadths of cauliflowers, cabbages, Brussels sprouts, and lettuce. The Brussels sprouts should be planted in rows, 3ft apart, and the same distance between the plants. The main croi>3 of broccoli and kale can be sown in beds 3ft apart, the alleys being lft wide between the beds. Before the beds are marked out the ground, should be well trodden over. After sowing the seed cover it with iin oi •oil from tpe alleys, and pat the surface of the beds with the back of the spade to compress the soil and seed. An occasional dusting with soot and lime will help to keep off •the birds. The following are good varieties of broccoii: — Autumn, veitch's self-protect-ing; ea-rly winter, Snow's winter white; early spring, Frogmore protecting; late ■pring. Cattel's eclipse and Wilcove late white. Offsets can now be taken from globe artichokes, and set in clumps of tnrce, '.forming a triangle, the rows being 4ft apart and the clumps the same distance between. These plants will yield a, supply late in the *utumn if the soil is rich and well prepared. The Buxface dressing round the old plants may.be forked in. Make another sowing of turnips and lettuce. Sow a few .rows of scarlet runners and Canadian wonder Fi'cnch leans on tho north side of a wall or fence to shelter them "in ' the «v«nt 'of frost. The general work embraces stakirfg pests, thinning •Wly crops of turnips and carrots, and keeping the quarters "ir€e from -weeds. FLOWER GARDEN.— One of the chief stems of importanoe is the lawn, and it defends upon the attention bestowed upon it Bw whether it will add to the besutv of the or not during the season. A dressing

of wood ashes and soot mixed with double the quantity of fine soil will considerably improve the appearance c-f the best-kept lawn. Rolling "newly-sown lawns must ba •done at short intervals, and mowing must not be neglected, or coarse battens grasses will be produced. The preparation of the beds and borders for the summer plants should be continued, and the edgings planted. For raised edgings Herniaria glabra is spoken of as well adapted, as it needs no trimming, and will stand drought nearly as well as a sedum. The hardier kinds of calceolarias, lobelias, and verbenas should now be drafted out of the frames to make ' room for the tender sorts. Any slight shelter ■will do for them, turf pits being the test. j GREENHOUSE.— The arrangements of the i plants in the conservatory should be made , with regard to the form and colour of the i flowers, so as to produce a good effect when i grouped together. Azaleas of the lateblooming kinds — brilliant, souvenir dv Prince Albert, and gem — may be retarded considerably by placing them in a south house ; where such is available it is very useful in keeping up » succession of bloom. Cut back old plants of Bouvardia into the ! ripened wood; when they have broken they can be repotted in smaller pots, and planted . out- next month. Boronia megastigma and Nicotiana longiflora. are two most fragrant plants, and should find a place in every greenhouse. Fucnsias are now growing freely, and will be a feature in the greenhouse lor some time. An occasional watering with liquid manure will be of great advantage to them. Show, fancy, and zonal pelargoniums should be well shaded to prolong their flowering. Azaleas and camellias, having made "their growth, may be stood outside in a sheltered situation, placing the pots on a piece of slate or other material to keep worms from getting into them. Pots I of rhodan-the, HMr-eek stocks, and mignonette j should be pTished- forward" in the cold frames, as "they will be found uselul fox decorative purposes.