GARDENING NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3315, 26 September 1917, Page 7

GARDENING NOTES.

By D. Tannock.

WORK FOB THE WEEK. THE GREENHOUSE. With the increase of the sun-heat it will be necessary to provide some kind of shade lor the plant and propagating houses. The Jotmato houses and vineries do not require &ny shade. A most satisfactory method of shading is to paint the glass on the. outside S-ith thin paint and stipple it with a hard rush or piece of scrim. Continue to prick out annuals, and, as they become established in the boxes, gradually harden off. Some of the tuberous begonias may now be started into growth. They can either be left in the pots Or shaken out and packed into shallow boxes, the tubers being placed just under the soil. Gloxinias can also be watered now to start them into growth, and, like tuberous begonias, they should be well started before being potted up into their flowering pots. As the flowers of freesias fade they should be placed in a sunny part of the greenhouse, or in a warm frame and kept moist £ntil- the tips of the leaves begin to turn rown, when the supplies of water_ can be Stopped and the bulbs allowed to ripen off. FLOWEB GARDEN. Continue to roll and mow lawns, trim grass verges, and on dry sunny days keep tne scuffle hoe going on all vacant ground and among young plants. It is most important to stop the growth of weeds in the €arly spring and to cut off seedlings before they develop many roots. Hardy annuals, such as mignonette, godetia, clarkia, virginian stock, alonsoa, cornflower, malope, sweet alyssum. calendula, larkspurs, dimorphoteca, Californian {>oppy, candytuft, linum, poppies, silene, ove in a mist, nemophila, etc, can be Sown in open spaces in the shrubbery border, Jn patches in the mixed border among Spring flowers, and in borders and beds by themselves. In preparing for sowing, first fork over soil and break up all lumps, then make fine with the rake, and sow the seeds thinly and evenly over the space the plants are to occupy, rake them in a_ little, dust with bone meal, cover thinly with fine soil, and firm with the head of the rake. After sowing, spread some branches over the surface to protect the seeds from birds, conmoisture, and protect the little plants from cold winds. With hardy annuals one ©an make a big display with little trouble Or expense, and they are particularly suitable for a new garden. Spring flowers are coming on rapidly, and the garden is gay with narcissi, wallflowers, primroses, polyanthus, grape hyacinths, Hyacinths, scillas, viola*, and daisies. The parcissi are the chief of spring flowers, and ire to be seen growing in all sorts of places. tinder all sorts of conditions. They are Very accommodating and, while they put Ewith bad treatment and make the most a poor position", they respond to good latment and good Boil. Now is the time to make notes on the behaviour of the different kinds and to prepare your plans for the next season.

This is also the time to make notes of the varieties you mean to purchase, and it is not a bad plan to send on your order to the seedsmen now, to .get your bulbs early and to plant early, for many failures fere due to late planting. Daffodils can be grown in the grass, whore they look very attractive with their green, setting, and we tout out quantities of the commoner ones to this way every year, but as we cannot leave the grass long and untidy in prominent places it is out as soon as the flowers Are over, and, of course, this spoils them for the next season, for they will not flower Again unless the foliage is allowed to ripen <?ff. Our stock of bulbs increases at such a rate that we can afford to sacrifice a few thousands every year to secure an early display. When planting in grass, group them together in varieties, and, if tho soil is good end hns been cultivated at one time, sow %he bulbs and plant where they lie with the bulb planter. In most lawns it is better to mark the positions of the holes with email sticks, remove a pieco of turf about jix to nine inches square, dig up tho soil with the spade and mix in a handful of fcione meal or basift slag. Plant five bulbs m each hole, replace the turf, and beat it down with the back of the spade. In the spring they will come up, flower, and Jripen off, but tho grass should never bo ibut until the leaves are quite brown and fcpffc. It is then out with the scythe, and

in a short time the lawn is fresh and green Another good method of growing daffodils is to plant them in largo irregular groups either in the shrubbery beds or borders, or in the mixed flower border. If the soil' is poor a dressing of bone meal at tho rate of 4oz to the square yard, or basic slag at the rate of 7oz to the same area should be mixed with it a,t planting time. Though it is not advisable to plant bulbs on or among stable manure, they do not object to boinfj placed above it, and tho roots soon find it out when growth commences. Tako out tho soil to a dept of a foot, and dig in stable manure m the bottom of the hole, return part of the soil, and) plant the bulbs at least six inches apart, and four inches deep. ±>7 K l ' them plenty of room when planting they can remain in the same _ position for several years, and will continue •to flower fl< For’ exhibition and cutting daffodils are better grown in nursery rows or beds m a special part of the garden. Take out a trench about six inches wide and one loot deep and allow 18 inches _ to two feet between the rows. Put six inches of chopped turf with well rotted stable manure into tho trench and add two inches of the ong--inal soil, then plant the bulbs four to six inches apart and fill in the rest of the isoil. A dusting of bone meal or basic slag can bo worked into the surface soil, and wood ashes added to the chopped turf will improve the colour of. tho red cup varieties. Daffodils can also be used as spring bedding plants. The bulbs, which should be carefully selected and kept in a cool place, are planted in the beds after their summer occupants are removed in the autumn. To got a mass of bloom in the spring they are placed from four to six inches apart and, as usual, four inches deep. As soon as the flowers wither and the ends of the leaves begin to turn brown they can bo lifted and replanted in another part of the garden to finish their ripening. Though daffodils benefit by being lifted every three or four years they do not improve at all by being > kept out of the ground, and are better replanted as soon as possible, for many varieties commence root action very early. Small bulbs which cannot be expected to flower, can be lined out close together in the nursery or reserve garden where they will develop into flowering bulbs by the following year. _ The raising of daffodils from seed is such an interesting operation and the methods employed are so simple that there is nothing to hinder anyone, who has a stock of fairly good varieties to work from attaining very satisfactory _ results.. Though few varieties are fertilised by their own pollen it is.as well not to run any risks, and as the pollen is ripe before the stigma is ready the anthers should be removed as soon aS the flowers open. In a few days, usually four, the stigma will be in a receptive condition, and the ripe pollen grains can be removed from the pollen bearing plant to the stigma with a small camel hair brush. Paint the _ pollen on to tho stigmatio surface, and it is best to pollenato the stigma on two consecutive days to make certain. Mark tho flower operated upon with a small label, on which -the names of the two parents can bo written, and a similar entry should be made in a note book for future reference. Varieties which are good seed bearers are King Alfred, Emperor, Honsfieldi, Weardale Perfection, Madam do Graffe, Princess Mary, Mrs Langtry, Minnie Hume, Firebrand, Lucifer, Lulworth, and Lady Margaret Boscawen. The poeticus varieties are good seed bearers, and so also are the varieties of triandrus. Collect the seeds as soon ais they are ripe and sow at once in shallow drills about an inch deep, allowing from four to six inches between the rows. Keep the seed beds free from weeds and well cultivated, and after two years’ growth they will be ready for lifting and planting in drills nine inches apartj the little bulbs being placed about three inches apart in the rows. They will remain, in these drills until they flower, whcin the promising ones can .be marked for replanting and the poor ones planted in the shnbbery or the grass. VEGETABLE GARDEN. The main crop of potatoes can now be planted and though sprouted sets are not so necessary as for the early crop, those which have been greened and retarded by exposing them to the sun and air arc the best. Plant in drills 27 inches' to two feet six inches apart, and allow 15 inches between the sobs in the drills. Continue to sow main crops of carrots, parsnips, beet, and turnips; plant out cabbage and cauliflower. and sow lettuce to maintain a succession. Vegetable marrows can be sown in small pots in the greenhouse or heated frame to bo planted out later on, or the seed can be sown on well manured hills, a box covered with a sheet of glass being placed over them to protect the young plants from frost and cold winds. In dry warm districts they are often planted in holes, which aro dug 2ft deep and sft wide. These holes aro filled to near the top with manure, six inehes of soil is placed, on top of tho manure, and the seeds planted in this. Three or four seeds are usually planted in each hole, and when they show the rough leaf the plants aro thinned out to one or two. Water well during dry weather and give liberal applications of liquid manure .