CITY RESERVES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3671, 22 July 1924, Page 34

CITY RESERVES.

INTERESTING DEVELOPMENTS AT THE GARDENS.

A tour around the city reserves with the superintendent, Mr D. Tannock, is always an education, and an experience of unfading interest as the changing seasons keep altering the problems of the horticulturist and the appearance of lus domains. In speaking of the reserves most people forget that these include also the catchment areas for the city reservoirs, on which an extensive and most successful scheme of affoijestation is in operation. Macrocarpas are being increasingly planted arid Mr Tannock has lately had 20,000 of these useful trees put in about the top of Flagstaff. They have been selected for that part because of their hardiness and their ability to stand a lot of wind. Macroearpa makes excellent timber, and is the most useful wood there is for work about a farm. Mr Tannock himself believes that it will ultimately succeed bluegum for power poles and telegraph poles. Mr Wilson, of the Arnold Arboretum, who has studied forestry in all parts of the world, is of the same opinion that while the eucalyptus is the most useful tree for poles in this country now the best pole timber will eventually be found to be the macroearpa. Oregon pine is being largely planted just now, too. on the reserves. Twenty tnousand of these trees were sent out to the slopes of Flagstaff last week, and the men there are ready for another twenty thousand. Altogether, about 100,000 will be put in this season. Just across the road above the Ross Creek reservoir reserve there is a very line plantation of pitch pine and ash combined in the proportion of one ash to three of the pines. The plantation is now 13 years old. The ash trees have beaten the pines in the race upwards for air and light, and are now beginning the process of smothering the pines out. The pitch pines were originally put in to smother the gorse that abounded there, and very thoroughly have they done their work. Nothing will grow in their dense shude. They combine particularly -well with the ash because their roots are shallow, while tnose of the ash tend to strike deep down. One of the ad vantages of nixing trees in a plantation is that it lessens the risk of the spread of blight. A blight may thrive for instance on the ash, but not on the pine, and the intervening pines check the disease from spreading from ash to ash. When the pitch pines are at length smothered out by the ash in this 30-acre area they will be of much use as poles, and will be cut out for that purpose. Larches adjoin the ash, and next them again are Oregon pines. One of these, a splendidly-grown 13-year-o!d, had its neighbours cut away lately to leave clearance for electric wires. The wind took advantage of its exposure, and the other day it was blown over. It measures over 50ft, and Mr Tannock has his eye on it to display at the Exhibition among his samples of locally-grown woods. Along the roadside are saplings thinned out from the Oregon plantation which are being sent away for fencing at Waipori. There is another thinning or two to come yet from this patch, and the next lot will probably be big enough to use as scaffolding poles. Further up the Leith Valley there are 50 acres of ash that were planted among the native bush and have quickly shot up through it. It is very pleasing to know that at Waipori the council hits practically unlimited area for the extension of these plantations. It has 100 square miles there, and is resuming 700 acres of it this year. Tree planting will be started there before the year is out. The men working on the new bowling green at the Woodhaugh Gardens were just getting on nicely with the last layer of topdressing when the rain came on. The dram from the pond is now right through to the Leith, and water in that part will give no more trouble now. In the Winter Gardens the brightest show just now is being made by the primulas, : which are there in great beauty and variety. ! A few cyclamen in all their exquisite purity and richness of colour are there as earnest ot the feast of colour they and their kind will provide in about a fortnight’s time, j A choice collection of cinerarias also entice ! the visitor to linger over their varied form and colouring Pink camelias are blooming 1 freely in the centre bed. Many of the ; orchids are in flower just now, among the most attractive being some lovely pink of strange design. The lady’s slipper variety ar e flowering freely just now. Pink primu las are being effectively used to brighten the dark greens of the fernhouse. In the tropical house ene looks more for beauty of leaf than of flower, but a hanging pink begonia flowering well ahead of its time is conspicuous there just now. Outside the wallflowers and polyanthus are already beginning to show active signs of flowering i in their beds.

In the upper part of the Gardens, near j the Opoho road, extensive preparations are ! already well forward not only for the time i when the Opoho tran> will bring visitors to '■ the upper gate, but for the later time when ; the city will be entertaining crowds of Ex- ; hibitiou visitors. The Gardens will be one of their most pleasant and interesting memo- j ries of the city. One of the new borders ■ hieing formed is for big groups of different types of celmisias. On the other side of the walk Mr Tannock is starting a border for native herbaceous plants. A section for native trees wulh names attached will be increasingly interesting as the collection is added to, and the specimens incerase in stature. Rimu, the different varieties of pines, broadleaf and kauri are among the j trees that catch the eye. Lower down the j slope of the hill is a long border fringed with antirrhinum, many of which are in J fnti flower. In the opposite bed there is a long border of sweet william, which will be a very pretty sight w'hen its time comes. In the exotic border the “broadleafed” wattle may be seen flowering luxuriantly, j A new bed is being devoted to new kinds

of barbery. In the nursery beds fine lots of ashes, limes, poplars, and beeches mav be seen ready for transplanting when required. Mr Tannock is also now going in strongly for chestnuts —a most attractive tree, that has much to recommend it. Many signs of spring are to be observed. Bulbs are peeping through the grass, and the flowering currant is clad with bloom. Many of the shrubby veronicas are showing their purple bottle-brush flowers. Down in the Australian tree section between the superintendent’s house and the big bluegums a great deal of undergrowth has been cleared out. giving -the whole a trim and tidy appearance. Men are now engaged on clearing and burning on the new track through the bush that leads to the cherry walk and the rhododendron dell. This path is so much used that it has been found necessary to widen it. and that is what is being done. The rhododendrons about the upper end of the dell are to be continued in a sweeping border right round to th bluegum trees. It will surprise many to find several of the rhododendrons already opening out their massive blooms. One of these is Nobleanum, and another is a very fine white unnamed variety. Mr Tannock intends some time to do away with the cinder track along the cherry walk and to make it all grass. The azalea garden and the long borders containing the very fine collections of native veronicas, celmisias, flaxes, and cabbage trees are in excellent condition, and show ample evidence of the care and skill that have been bestowed upon them.