THE GARDEN

Otago Witness, Issue 3831, 16 August 1927, Page 11

THE GARDEN

WORK FOR THE WEEK.

By

D. Tan nock.

THE GREENHOUSE AND NURSERY. With the increased sun heat we can ventilate a little more, but though the days may be warm the nights are still sold, and it is necessary to close the ventilators early in the afternoon to shut ?n ag much sun heat as possible. Continue to pot and top-dress the foliage plants such as palms, ferns, dractenas and aspidistras, and, after potting, water with the greatest care until the roots penetrate the new soil, but maintain a fnoist atmosphere by damping the benches and patlis frequently on sunny days and spray twice a day when the weather is warm and sunny. The hardiest of the bedding plants which were raised from seed or cuttings can now be put out in the cold frames to be hardened off, and to make room" for the more tender of the half-hardy annuals which will now be ready to prick out. Make sowings of stock, marigolds, and asters, prick out the antirrhinums as soon as the plants are large enough to handle, and complete the boxing or potting of the bedding geraniums. Dahlias, such as Coltness Gem and the Coltness hybrids, which it is proposed to propagate, can now be watered and placed in gentle heat to encourage the development of the young shoots, which are taken off with a heel when 3in or 4in long and put into email pots of sandy soil and plunged in a gentle hot bed. Spray overhead occasionally and shade from strong sun, for it is most important to prevent them from wilting. Sweet peas which were sown a few days ago are up, and these have to be placed near the glass in the cool greenhouse until they make a little growth, when they can be staked and placed out in the-cold frames. THE FLOWER GARDEN. The pruning of the roses will claim attention whenever the weather conditions are favourable for work in the open, and the manuring and digging of the bedsand borders will follow on as a matter of course. I am always anxious to get the rose garden and dug, for until this is done the flower garden never looks neat and tidy. Though the season is getting on, it is not too late to plant roses; they have started to make growth and, if carefully handled, will not feel the shift very much ■ I notice that some nurserymen have still considerable stocks of good plants, and, as they are not expensive, there is no excuse for retaining old, stunted or very weak plants which will never be a success. Continue to divide up the strong-growing herbaceous perennials, and to dig over the borders and prepare trenches for sweet peas. Owing to their need for support, these are usually grown in the same position from vear to year, and as the soil soon becomes sick, it is necessary to change some of it every year. A trench 2ft wide and the same depth may be thrown out, a good layer of farmyard manure placed in the bottom and dug into the soil and mixed with it, and after tramping it down the trench may be filled with soil from some other part of the garden, and the soil from the trench used for topdressing the rosebeds or the herbaceous borders. Give a good dressing of lime or lime rubble, and basic phosphate or basic slag, and mix it with the surface soil. The soil can be left loose in the meantime, but before planting it should be tramped over, unless it is wet and sticky, to make it firm. Sweet peas often fail in the first stages through getting their supplies of food too easily, when they make strong, soft growth, and the buds drop off.

FLOWERING SHRUBS AND TREES

Tnere are very evident signs of spring now, the buds of prunus pissardi and other ot the early flowering plums are swelliug rapidly, and thev will soon be a mass of white and pink blossom. Among the almost hardy trees (those which thrive in selected positions) there are few more attractive than the crimson-flowered gum, eucalyptus ficifolia. It may be cut back a little when young and making a lot of soft growth, but once it begins to flower it is all right. Though it did not flower it would' be a tree worth growing, the old foliage, and particularly the young growths, being bright and attractive. Another good flowering gum which I think ought to be quite hardy, though I have not yet tried, i s eucalyptus Campbell!, a quick-growing gum' with pink flowers. Though a quick grower, it does not grow very high and can be kept in check by constant pruning and cutting back.

Cornus Mas, the Cornelian cherry, is a bush or small tree growing to a height of 25ft, forming a much-branched, round, tw iggy head. It is a native of Europe, and is much esteemed on account of its early flowering, and though the individual flowers are small they are produced in abundance on short-stalkeo umbels, from the joints of the previous year’s wood. The fruit, which is bright, red, has a good acid flavour, and is sometimes used for making a preserve. The native kowhai, sophora tetraptera, is also in flower at present, and as it drops its leaves before the flower buds open, the flowers are seen to advantage, and a wellshaped kowhai in full bloom is very attractive. The kowhai is a very attractive tree at any time, and as it is not a robber it is suitable for planting among rhododendrons or other surface rooting shrubs. Clianthus puniceus. the red parrot bill, is sometimes called the red kowhai, but it is quite a distinct plant. THE VEGETABLE AND FRUIT GARDEN. The soil is not in a very good state for the planting or_ sowing of early vegetables, etili, if a well-drainedj sunnj

border is available, it is worth while nutting in a few of the early kinds on the chance that the weather may improve. A frame of any kind is very useful for bringing on the early crops in the spring, and even one made at home from a window satsh is an advantage for sprouting the potatoes and bringing on the cabbage, cauliflower, and lettuce.

bruit trees and fruit bushes can still be planted, and both peach and apricot trees growing against a wall can be pruned now. Peaches fruit on the well ripened wood formed the previous season, and the flower buds are now quite evident. They differ very considerably from the leaf buds, which are long and conical and pointed, the flower buds being short, plump, and round. If summer pruning was attended to there will not be much to cut away now, but the very strong, stout, pithy shoots which spring from the centre of the tree will have to be cut out altogether, unless some of the large branches have become exhausted, when one or more can be retained to take their place. Cut out the very thin, twiggy shoots, and cut off the unripened tips of the selected shoots, taxing care to have a growing butt at the end to continue the growth. Remove and renew all the shreds or strings, and tie in the young growths, taking care to see that they all radiate fanwise from the main central stem. Overcrowding has to be avoided, and from 6in to 9in should be allowed between each branch.

The Pussy Willow (salix discolour) is a very ornamental bush or small tree. The male catkins hich are borne on long growths are very useful for house decora" tion at the present time when flowers are so scarce. It is a quick-growing plant, and, as it docs not object to being cut hard back in spring, it is a useful plant to have in an odd corner where choice things- would not grow. As every bit of young wood will grow if stud- into the ground it is easy to propagate. There are several early flowering' acacias, but the Gootamundra Wattle (Acacia-Bailev-ana) is the most useful. Though 'it does not grow into a tall tree, it" is a quick grower, with silvery foliage and beautiful small yellow flowers.

In addition to the spring-flowering trees and shrubs, quite a number of herbaceous plants are doing their best to let us know that spring is here and summer is coming. The crocus in various colours, when planted in generous drifts or lines, makes fine splashes of colour on sunny days. The first of the snowdrops are peeping through the earth. Though these did well on the rock garden for a few years they have almost disappeared now, but are as strong as ever in a cool moist position among the rhododendrons. The first of the grape hyacinths and a fev of the Scilla siberiea are showing blue, and the little early-flowering cyclamen are making bright patches of colour on the rock garden. C. Coum, with deep red flowers, is considered the smallest of the cyclamen, but last year I received from an enthusiastic bulb grower in the North a few corms of a species said to have come from Mount Lebanon, and thev are certainly the smallest, though nearly the brightest of the hardy cyclamen, and very suitable for a small rock garden. A position where they can be baked up in summer seems to suit them.

The taller of the hellebores are still flowering freely, there a few violets to be had, the yellow viola Bullion is still flowering away freely in spite of the weather, and Rhododendron nobleanum .s providing colour in the rhododendron dell. Erica camea is as bright and pleasing as ever, E. melanthera is slowly opening, and the red buds of Andromeda (Pieris) japonica will be opening shortly. In a list of spring flowers we should not omit the Daphne Mezerum—both the red and the white varieties. Another quite common shrub is the old-fashioned Cydonia japonica, usually called Japonica. This is a very hardy shrub which flowers best when it is not growing too rapidly.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. “Holly” (Dunedin). —It will be quite easy to shift your holly hedge. Dig down on both sides and well under the roots, and, as it has not to be shifted far, it will be well to keep it in blocks of, say, 12 plants. These should hold together, and each block can be moved k o one side until the new position is prepared. After planting in new position give a good watering if the soil is at all dry, tramp the soil in firmly round the roots, and mulch with strawy manure. If shifted in blocks, it will not be necessary to cut it back much, but if in individual plants, hard cutting will be necessary. Hollies can be shifted now, but next month will be better.