GARDEN & ORCHARD.

Otago Witness, Issue 3764, 4 May 1926, Page 11

GARDEN & ORCHARD.

WORK FOR TIIE WEEK.

By

D. TANNOCK.

THE GREENHOUSE AND NURSERY. Tuberous begonias are now quite past their best, and they can be placed on the greenhouse jench to complete their lipening process, after which they can be stood on a dry bench in a frost-proof shed for the winter. Primulps and cinerarias wjll be coming on quickly, and they will require a little weak liquid manure once a week to encourage growth. Calceolarias and cyclamen like the cool moist conditions which prevail during the auLumn, and both will be developing steadily. It will be necessary to spray the cyclamen occasionally with nicoticide to destroy mite, and to fumigate the calceolarias at least once a fortnight for green fly. Calceolarias should now be ready to pot up into their flowering pots, which will be six or seven inches in size, and a nice light rich soil should be used. They will develop steadily under cool conditions and flower after the primulas and cinerarias. Ferns and most foliage plants have now completed their season’s growth, and it will be necessary to water with great care until the spring growth commences again. Increased fire heat will soon be necessary, and to prevent the atmosphere from becoming too dry frequent damping of the stages and paths will be necessary. Maintain a dry atmosphere in the chrysanthemum house, and open up the ventilators in the vinery to encourage the ripening of the foliage and the wood. Cannas can be lifted and packed close together in boxes with their roots covered with fairly dry soil. Standard fuchsias can also be lifted and potted up, or they can be heeled in on the 4r.v side of a hedge, where they will spend the winter comfortably. THE FLOWER GARDEN. The mild weather we are having at present is prolonging the display in the flower garden, and it is almost as gay as daring the summer. We have still a number of good roses, delphiniums are flowering for the second time, pentstemons and late gladioli are bright, and dahlias are better than ever. The falling leaves ar<; the chief indication that the season is advancing, and the chrysanthemums also remind us of autumn. Leaves should be gathered up regularly. &s It is much easier to collect thorn \Giere they fall than to gather tuem from under shrubs and hedges they are eventually blown by the wind. The planting out of the spring flowering plants is delayed through the summer ones lasting so long, but do not mind this much, for if the wallflowers have their roots cut all round they will transplant quite well later on. Primrose polyanthus transplant easily at any cime, and if the daffodil \mlbs are kept cool and dry they will soon make up for lost time when they are put into the ground. Tulips, hyacinths, anemones, and ranunculus should be planted if possible, but there is usually room for them in the mixed border, or they can be planted in newly trenched beds or borders. A start can now be made with the pruning of the rambler roses. They have made their growth, and the buds are not likely to push out now. In pruning ramblers the main idea is to cut away all the old wood which has flowered, and to replace it with the strong young shoots which spring from the base of the plants, and to limit the number of stems to not more than five for a pole or pergola, and not more than three for a hand rail. There is usually a piece of the end of the shoot unripened, and this should be cut off, but otherwise the stems can be left their full length. Where they are trained on a wipe of rustic fence Ilia shoots are usually Spread on* fan-sTiaped, allowing at least twelve inches between each. Every bud on the stem is a possible bunch of flowers, and unless we give them room to expand they become a tangled mass which it is difficult to spray, and they are usually attacked by both green fly and mildew. We find that ramblers are far more susceptible to the attacks of green fly than the bush roses, and, consequently, spraying is essential. When they are growing over pergolas it is not always possible to get sufficiently long young shoots to replace the old wood, and, in this case, the young side growths are spurred back to about two inches. After pruning the supports, whether arches, poles, pergolas, rails, or rustic fences, should be examined, and if they are at all shaky they should be renewed or repaired. THE VEGETABLE AND FRUIT GARDEN. Make the last sowing of dwarf peas and broad beans, also plantings of cabbage and broccoli. These have still time to become established before winter sets in, when they will hang on until growth commences in spring. I have often mentioned the advantage of having crops which are to mature in the spring established in the autumn. They will grow away even though conditions are not very favourable, when newly-planted or newly-sown kinds will simply hang on, and come on in early summer when we have plenty. THE ROCK! GARDEN. I have frequently mentioned that autumn is the best time for building a new rock garden and renovating an old one. At this time of the year the weather is usually dry, so also is the soil and the rocks, and anyone who has tried to handle wet rocks will appreciate the advantage of dry weather. When selecting the site for a rock garden be sure and Keep well away from trees .and strong growing shrubs or heages. All are robbers, ana they delight in sending their roots into the pockets of the choice alpines and stealing tlieir food and water. An open position, fully exposed to the sun is best, and a natural slope or bank is also desirable. A rock garden should look as natural as possible, and appear to have a reason for being in the landscape picture, apart altogether from that of providing a congenial home for the many dwarf tfnd intensely interesting plants which come from the heights to brighten our gardens in spring and early summer. Before commencing the erection, remove all weeds, particularly such as couch grass and others with perennial running roots which are almost impossible to eradicate once they become established among the rocks and spreading plants. Next break up the soil to a depth of from eighteen inches to two feet, and if the bank is the

usual regular slope, vary this by throwing U" the soil in neaps to form miniature mountain ranges. At the same time form gullies down which miuiature rivers can run, forming moraines at the bottom. When building the mounds, be careful to mix in ouite a lot of rocks, about half rock and halt soil will do. The kind of rock to use is always a serious question for thought. It is no doubt best to get weathered boulders covered with mo6s and lichens. We have usually to do the best we can with the material which is moat convenient. Weathered limestone or sandstone is ideal, and the least suitable material is either the smooth, water-worn boulders obtained from a river bed, or the hard, sharppointed ones which are obtained from a quarry. No matter what the quality is, the rocks si ould be as large aa possible. It is then easier to obtain a bold, natural effect, and building is much simpler. The style will vary according to the surrounding landscape, but it should he ae natural looking as possible, and as varied as possible, to provide for the needs of the many interesting plants which it is our aim to cultivate Begin on a firm foundation by throwing out the loose soil and working up to the surface with a mixture of soil and stones, on which we can place the largest boulders with safety. As wo work upwards use the good ordinary soil for bedding the rocks, and be careful to work in smailei stones or clinkers with the subsoil as building proceeds to ensure good drainage. Bury at least one third of the rocks in the soil, with the exception of a few large and rugged ones which are almost completely pot»od, to give a bold effect, and provide shady side in whirh to plant such a rem as Ramonilia pyrenaica, which needs partial shade. The structure should be sufficiently firm to enable us to climb all over it without dislodging a stone. We can then do our weeding and planting with ease and safety. After the building is completed, remove most of the original soil from the pockets, and replace it with a pecial mixture which will vary a little to provide for the peculiarities of the different plants. Alpine plants are usually four;. 4 , gTOwing in a -oil composed of orgJU’.k* matter, partly decomposed rocks, and stones of various size, but y; c grow a great many plants in oyr rock gardens which cannot be called true alpines. and which will thrive in any good garden soil The mixture "e use for inost kinds is composed of equal parts of clean loam, leaf-mould, or peat and gravel, or shingle, and f or the lime loving kinds we use old mortar rubble instead of the gravel or shingle We have to be careful to avoid a rich compost which will cause soft rhnk growth, nnd .n no case should manure of any kind be used. After removing the original soii from the pockets, fill tlum up with the soil mixture, taking cifre to ram it into all the corners with a stick, and to make it firm with the surface as level as possible I should have mentioned that it s most important to place the .ocks with their upper surface tilted in wards, so that rain will run into the pockets and moisten the soil. • A Ter filling the pockets, give a thorough watering to moisten the soil before p'anting, and to wadi it down into all the cracks. When planting aga'n ram the soil' firmly round the roots, and as far as possible provide each kind with a pocket, to itself, the more showy and more popular kinds being put in the ’arger pockets, and the smaller and less conspicuous kinds in the smaller ones, again giving a good watering to wash the soil in among the roots. By planting now they become established before the winter sets in. and they are almost sure to flower well in the serin" early summer. If planted spring they will most Ulsij miss a season. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. “A H.,” Tiraaru.—Your native clematis can be moved now*, and as it has Iqst all the lower foliage, it will be better to prune it back fairly hard before replanting it on a trellis. It grows much better on a trellis or u.p through a tree than against a wall or fence. “Inquirer,” Mornington.—Your bean leaves are attacked by a rust fungus. Pick off and burn the most affected leaves, and spray with Bordeax mixture summer formula, or sulphide of potassium, one ounce dissolved in two gallons of water.