THE GARDEN

Otago Witness, Issue 3828, 26 July 1927, Page 11

THE GARDEN

WORK FOR THE WEEK.

By

D. Tannock.

THE GREENHOUSE AND NURSERY. As the first-sown annuals have now germinated and are out in a cooler house, or up on a shelf near the glass, another batch can be put in to provide a succession.

Nemesia, ageratum, lobelia, verbena, and the various kinds of marigolds can be sown now, and this is also a good time to put in sweet peas. Continue to repot the ferns, palms, and other foliage plants, take down, prune and clean climbing plants, and, 'lter removing some of the old exhausted surface soil, give a good topdressing of loam and well-rotted manure in equal parts. If well-rotted manure is not available, give good dusting with bone meal. The old plants of streptocarpus, which have been resting for some time, can now be shaken out and repotted in a good rich soil composed of turfy loam two parts, well-rotted manure one part, leafmould one part, and a liberal quantity of dbarse sand. Five and six inch pots will be large enough, and the old plants will provide colour in the warm greenhouse until the plants raised from seed this season come in. Streptocarpus are less trouble than gloxinias and are quite as decorative. All indoor work should be pushed on as rar as possible this month when conditions out of doors are not as rule yerv favourable, for. by next month, there is the rose pruning and the planting and transplanting of trees and shrubs to be carried out, with al] the other ~nring work coming on. , THE FLOWER GARDEN. There are now very evident signs of spring, and all new work such as trenching new beds and borders and forming new parts should be completed bv the end of this month if possible. It is also desirable to complete the Pruning of the hardv trees and shrubs, and to dig or fork "over the borders to freshen them up and remove any weeds. . *' lS , tV, e rlarc ’ssi and other spring flowering bmbs push through the ground, they should receive a topdressing of basic sla„. basic phospnate. or bone meal, which mav not assist the flowers very much, but it ,? ssi ® t ln t ’ le development of foliage and the formation of o- O od bulbs for future flowering The surface soil in the beds and borders becomes beaten down and sodden with the winter rains, and it is advisable to hoe or fork among the wall flowers and other spring flowering plants, also to fork and weed among the .spring flowering bulbs. The grass has started to grow again, and the present is a suitable time '-o weed the lawns, to rake out moss and to give them a good topdressing with fine open soil which will be raked into all the holes and hollows, and also a drossing of basic phosphate or bone meal, ana, if possible, lime. Where crass <*rubs have been troublesome the surface will rake off quite easily. Stir up” the surface with a fork or rake, sow some seed and topdress with fine soil. It is still rather soon to make an extensive sowing ot grass seed, but it is worth while doino a little patching with a view to gettin tne lawns in order for the spring display Mow the lawns occasionally', and ojve a good rolling whenever they 'are sufficiently THE VEGETABLE AND FRUIT GARDEN. Complete the pruning, spraying, and cultivating of the fruit trees and bushes, and, as the growth will soon be commencing it is advisable to lift all root vegetables such as parsnips, carrots end beet root and bury them in sand or drv soil m a convenient place near a path. It is not too early to make a small planting of potatoes and small sowings of a few of the hardier vegetables if a warm, sheltered, well-drained border is available. As the soil which has not been dug in the autumn turns up drier, and is easier to cultivate than that which has been left loose and exposed to the winter rains, it is better to do the digging as the planting or sowing proceeds. Dig over a strip, working in a liberal dressing of well-rotted manure, break up the surface with a rake or fork, carry out the sowing or planting, and then proceed to dig over another strip. V hen the soil has been dug over m the autumn it is better to used Boards to stand on while planting or sowing, and to have some nice, dry. light soil, such as old plotting soil, readv to cover the seeds Seeds to sow are broad beans, dwarf peas, such as English or American Wonder, lettuce (All the Year Round), radish, round-leaved spinach. Snowball turnips, and early stump-rooted carrots. Suitable potatoes to plant would be Epicure. Jersey Bennes, and Ashleaf Kidney. Rhubarb, seakale, and chickory can be foiled in the greenhouse or vinery, or in a frame on top of a hotbed. When forcing, it is most important to keep the light out and the heat in, and if v frame is used it should be covered over with sacks or straw CINERARIAS. Cinerarias are amongst the most useful of our wintering flowering plants, and when well grown thev provide a brilliant display during the dull months of winter and early spring. For several winters they have stood outside ouite well, and in some gardens they had become acclimatised, and the seedlings came up all over the place wherever there was sufficient moisture. The present winter has played havoc with cinerarias in the open, however, and it will be only in the most favoured positions that they will have survived. One night was so severe that some of the plants in the greenhouse were touched a bit, a thing which never happened with us before. The greenhouse cineraria is said to have been obtained

fiom Cineraria cruenta, a native of the Canary Islands, but there are so many different and varied types that it is hard to believe that they have all been obtained from the same species. The cineraria is a true herbaceous perennial, but as plants grown from seed are so much stronger and healthier than those obtained from cuttings, it is considered better to treat them as annuals and to throw away the plants after they have flowered.

The varieties come quite time from seed the double kinds being the only ones which have to be grown from cuttings, and they are not worth growing at all when compared with the gorgeous colours of the large single-flowered kinds. To get plants which will commence to flower in the autumn and continue through the winter, seed has to be sown quite early in the summer, and a later sowing will provide plants which commence to flower in the late winter, and are at their best in the spring and early summer. To get the best results, the plants have to be grown on steadily from the time the seeds germinate until they come into flower, and, as soon as the seedlings are large enough to handle, they are pricked out into boxes of nice light rich soil. When still quite small they are potted up into three-inch pots, and before they become pot-bound they are potted on to their flowering receptacles. The soil for the final potting should be rough and fairly rich, and 6m or 7in nots will be large enough for the big-flowered kinds, but the stronger growing stellatas will require Bin or 9in pots or petrol tins cut in two. Owing to their large soft _ leaves they require lots of water during their growing season, and when the flower buds appear they should have weak liquid ■'manure once a week until they are fully developed. The large-flowered singles, known as Superbs, can be had in separate colours, but a mixed packet of a reliable strain will provide all the colours one could wish for. The variety called Matador, which is flowering- in the winter garden at the present time, has rich, brick-red flowers, and it is most effective when arranged 'VV’.V 1 ? yellow Primula Kewensis. James Exhibition Single is also good, and so also is Covent Garden. The cactusflowered strain has large flowers with narrow rolled petals radiating from a small centre, and it includes all the new shades of pale pink, salmon, old rose and light blue. The intermediate strain is half way between the dwarf largeflowered varieties and the tall stellatas, and is very useful for a small greenhouse.' The plants grow about two feet high, and the flowers show many lovely art shades as well as th e rich-coloured" selfs. The stellata types are supposed to have appeared during the process of building up the large flowered cineraria from the wild type, and, though they provided a distinct break and a more decorative plant, the colours were rather washy at first. By careful selection the poor weak colours have now been almost entirely eliminated, and they can be had in pink, white, blue, and many pleasing intermediate shades. The stellatas ar e the most useful for providing cut flowera, and, as they are also the hardiest, they ire the most suitable for growing in the open. Most_ annuals can be g*rown in pots for furnishing the greenhouse in early spring, but probably the clarkias and salpiglossTs ar 0 next in importance to primulas cinerarias and schizanthus. When grown under glass the colours are certainly finer than when grown in the open, and, as they require practically no artificial heat, a greenhouse can be made quite gay and interesting up to the pelargonium and begonia time with hardy and half hardy annuals grown in pots or tins; and they are certainly preferable to forced hardy shrubs such as rhododendrons, lilacs azaleas, and heaths