GARDEN & ORCHARD.

Otago Witness, Issue 3590, 2 January 1923, Page 9

GARDEN & ORCHARD.

WORK FOR THE WEEK. By D. Tawnock. the greenhouse and nursery. We are now getting more sunshine, and consequently the plants in the greenhouse will require more clamping and watering. Continue to replace the geraniums and pelargoniums, wdiich are going ort, with tuberous begonias, which are coming on. Thin out the shoots a little; provide those which are left with neat stakes, and remove the side buds from, the double varieties to direct all their energy in the double flowers. Seedlings of sweet william, Canterbury bells, forget-me-nots, and daisies will now be established in their boxes, and ready to be shifted out into the frames, where they will require to be shaded with a piece of scrim during bright days, but opened right up at nights. Later on the sweet williams will be planted out on a nice rich piece of ground, where they can make good growt h and he fully developed by the planting-out time in the autumn. Continue to prick out seedlings of cinerarias, primulas, calceolarias, and Primula malacoides. as the seedlings become large enough to handle, and place them in a cool, moist part of the propagating-house until they become established in the new soil. As the pelargoniums go off they can be stood outside in a warm sunny position and water gradually withheld, to ripen off the wood in preparation for putting in cuttings. Seedling gloxinias, if potted up now, will flower a little this season, and help to continue the display in the warm house after the first batch is over. Tomatoes are growing rapidly now; keep the atmosphere dry, and pinch out all side shoots as they appear. THE FLOWER GARDEN. The bush roses will soon be over now, but the ramblers are following on. and in a proper rose garden, where all kinds are .provided for, there will be arches, pillars, weeping standards, fences, and pergolas coming on to continue the display for some tin e yet. There are also a fine range ot wharf polyanthus roses, which are well worth growing either as edgings ior large beds or in small hgds by themselves, -they are also very satisfactory when grown as half-standards and a bed of these carpeted by the dwarf plants should be very hue. U nfortunatelv we have never had a goorl collection until this year, when we imported a set from England, and have been successful in establishing most of the varieties. Continue to stake phloxes and perennial asters, pirch back chrysanthemums, and keep the hoe going in the herbaceous anc. other borders. Carnations are coming on well, and if really good blooms are desired the budds should be thinned out a bit liue the roses. Keep them tied to neat bamboo stakes or twisted round the spiral wire ones. A little weak liquid manure once a week will helo the development of the flowers and the' side shoots or grass, which is to be used for layering later on. beedlings will be opening now, and those wh ch are of little use can be marked and thrown out after the flowering the best be in retained for layering. Allwoodn Pinks are making grass now, and this can be taken off, and put in as cuttings or layered like carnations. THE VEGETABLE GARDEN. Continue to plant out winter and spring greens as land becomes available, and plant out both celery and leeks. As soon as the skins of the potatoes are reasonably firm a start can be made to select seed for next year s planting. Select tubers of medium size from clean, healthy plants which produce a good crop of medium tubers and few or no small ones —not the plants 'which produce a large number of badly-shaped, rough tubers or those which have only a few” very large ones. Allow the selected tubers to lie on the soil to green, and then collect them in sprouting trays or shallow boxes, and keen them in the open until there is danger of frosts. It is surprising what progress can be made in a few years by selecting the seed of the best kinds and true to type. Earth up cabbage and cauliflower, stick peas and runner beans, a d thin and prick out lettuce. * BUDDING ROSES. Though many of the stronger roses will root quite readily as cuttings and grow into satisfactory plants, the bestirewlfii are obtained by budding them on to a strong growing stock of some kind. Nurserymen prefer the marietta or some s.mi ar stock because it roots readily, lifts witn plenty of fibrous roots, which readily become established when transplanted; but for our soil and climate I find nothing better than the dog rose, and we always use it. Some recommend budding on looted cuttings, but it is really much better to use stocks which have been lined out have a better root system, and at the time of transplanting in the autumn or winter the roots are brought up near the surface so that when budding takes place low down so ™ { tem between the roots mSthTbud Stocks usually, start their second growth about the beginning of the year, and this means activity in the cambium ’ayer, which enables 11s to £pamte the be* readily from tin. wood and ensures a quick union. This year there has been a continual growth tiom tne spring right on, so that budding can take as soon as the buds are available It is generally stated that the bud is when the sap is rising; but the sap doesn’t rise up between the wood and bark; still the flow of pp has an influence on the activity of tfce cambium layer, and the term tliough not really oorrest, can be retained ’ The selection of the budwood is S on the l>ion ilid the resultant plant, bud has an individuality, nniv the best should be taken. In mtlt dies when budding novelties there is Httle todlect from, and if a large number of plants are required every availaole bud has tote takenTbut if there are more buds K required select those winch are well developed and well forward if it is desired toTt groxth right away, but less prominent and truly t h e fo b not desired to have growth until the 101 "owing spring, which, after all is most to be desired when strong plants aie wanted. A shoot which lias flowered and is fairly well ripened will do, and it is hardly necessary to state that it should. be free of mildew or any other kind of blight I irst of all prepare a number of wooden or paper labels with string or wire to fasten them on to the stocks ; have a piece of sacking and some damp moss in which to

pack the budwood to keep it fresh; select the shoot, and after cutting it away to about an inch from the old wood, cut away all the leaves except about an inch of the base of the leafstalk, and wrap it up in the damp moss at once. Budwood packed in damp moss or cotton wool will keep for several days; but there is no advantage in keeping it, and the next operation should be the preparation of -the stocks. These will be .growing in nursery rows, and to enable you to get into them with ease and comfort it is necessary to place a long rod or half-inch waterpipe on one side and to bend the heads of the plants over, thus exposing the base of the stems. If the stocks were transplanted to the right depth, it won’t be necessary to scrape away the soil to get the buds low down, but if budding on rooted cuttings it will be desirable. Select a nice smooth piece of the bark, free from blemishes of any kind, and with a sharp budding knife make a .cut about an inch and a-half in length right down the’ stem and deep enough to cut through the bark into the wood, and next make a cross cut, near the top of the longitudinal cut, forming a T. With the point of the knife blade lift the corners of the bark where the two cuts intersect one another, and then with the flattened end of the knife handle gently prise up the bark along the sides of the long cut. If the stocks are in proper order the bark xv ill separate from the wood quite easily ;if it doesn't, then there' is little use proceeding with the operation Next take the piece of budwood, hold it firmly with one hanri and with the knife commence to cut about half an inch below the bud, and cut upwards and inwards a little, coming out again about half an inch above it. Aou will then have a considerable piece of bark with a little piece of wood, and as this wood won’t unite with the stock, and is reducing the cambium surfaces which come into contact, it is usually considered better to remove it. This is done by inserting the point of the knife between the wood and the bark of the bud, and with a sharp jerk pulling it right out. If the budwood is too hard the bud may be pulled out too, and it is no further use. Holding the bud by the little piece of leaf stalk, which now serves as a handle, put it m below? the bark at the cross cut and press it downwards until it fits right m. With a. little piece of raffia (which should be cu *i in y° the right length and damped) begin to wind round below the bud, and wind right up, covering everything' except the bud and the little piece of leafstalk, and fasten tightly at the top. We now have a piece of bark with a dormant bud and an inner layer of cambium in direct and close contact with the cambium, layer of the stock. New cambium cells are formed, and these fuse, connecting the two together, so that new tissue which is formed is common to both. The success of the operation depends oh doing it quickly and neatly; and though nurserymeu can take liberties and adopt all sorts of short cuts, it is wlse *° r amateurs to take all the necessary precautions to ensure success. If examined in a short time (about 12 to 14 days) and the piece of leafstalk left on the bud falls off readily when touched, everything is all right, and union has taken place, it no , then try again, and there is no harm 1 putting two buds on the same stock in fact, some people bud several varieties o the same stock, but I don’t recommend If the stocks are very strong and p owing rapidly, they may throw the buds Tight out, and to prevent this a second tiemg may be necessary. , a . Budding standards is a much pe™ operation than dwarf bushes, and the buds can either be put into the main stem or on to the top of the side branches, close up to the main stem. Strong-growing vane which may not be quite desirable can be budded with newer or more desirable kinds where they are growing, and buds can also be put on to climbers for practice.

REMARKS ON GARDEN DESIGN

By J. Fleming, F.R.H.S. One of the most important principles governing successful garden design is that of simplicity. It may be argued'-from this premise that the less there is of design in a garden the more nearly it attains tne ideal —that is to say, that a rectangular plot of ground with a house placed on it -s satisfactory when surrounded by the usual severe narrows borders and gravel paths, which conform exactly to the lines and angles formed by the fences enclosing >t. a hat this is what many people really think is evidenced by the type of garden effort (so-oalled) that prevails throughout the land, it is essential, then, that the garden to be good must be of good design. This is equally true of the' large or small garden, but if it is applicable to the large, wherein many crudities of conception may be to soma extent redeemed by the existence of indestructible natural features, how muc.i more important is it in the case of the small garden plot? But because the garden, to be beautiful, must be the deliberate outcome of studied design, it must not on that account end with design, nor must it depend on it alone for its attractions. The outcome of effort, it must appear to be as effortless a-s may be. No one in visiting a garden for the first time should be conscious that the design is good. He should merely be impressed with the knowledge that it is a good garden. The garden does not exist for its design, but oeeause of it —sometimes in spite of it. The garden is a place wherein to paint those pictures we love with the forms and colours which Nature provides, and these are living, growing things that must be allowed to live and grow freely and happily if they are to fulfil their objects. They are the true beauty of the garden. So much, then, for the necessity of well-considered design in gardens generally. But in a world where no two people think exactly alike on all subjects there is bound to be a great variety of tastes in gardening. You may build houses to set patterns and suit many people, but your gardens will never be alike, even though you may use the same design, for, though enthusiastic gardeners emulate what they consider to be best in their neighbour’s garden, they also endeavour to excel in this and in other directions. Moreover, it is very rare that even a simple design can be applied with equal success to two sites. Even if it could, whilst one of two neighbours delights in growing out of doors those plants that are not hardy in winter, and therefore has to arrange for their protection by building glass houses or other heated structures, the other scorns the plants that require coddling, and prefers those that will rejoice in the open air all the year round. Another desires roses, and roses therefore become the keynote of the garden scheme. Another prefers spring flowering bulbs, or

sweet peas, or flowering shrubs, and gardens for them. Yet another chooses to devote considerable space to fruit or vegetables. All tnese factors, and many others, have to be considered in the preparation of a garden plan, whether of small or large extent, and here, again, it is far more necessary to weigh carefully the pros and cons in the smaller ’garden than in the larger, as in the latter, area may be of no consequence, xvhilst in tile former it is of the utmost importance. A word about ornaments used in the garden. They should never be highly decorative in design. They should look part of the garden, be as simple as possible, and not have the appearance of being as expensive as all the rest of the garden put together. Remember, they are used as ornaments to the garden, and the note they strike should contribute aid to the general scheme. If they can themselves be made to serve the useful purpose of g-rowing flowers so much the better. In most gardens the happiest idea is to make one’s own ornaments as far possible, because, like the garden, they would be home-made.