THE GARDEN

Otago Witness, Issue 3870, 15 May 1928, Page 11

THE GARDEN

WORK FOR THE WEEK.

By

D. Tannock.

The Greenhouse and Nursery. The chief work at present will be the cleaning and storing away of the various bulbs and tubers which have been lifted from the flower beds, to make room for the spring flowering plants. Continue to make cuttings of trees and shrubs Whenever weather conditions are not favourable outside, prick out the seedling sehizanthus (either into boxes or into small pots, placing three seedlings in each), and pot on the most forward of the greenhouse calceolarias, using a good rich open soil mixture and placing the plants into 6in and Tin pots. Large bloom chrysanthemum will be opening now, and the greatest care has to be taken to prevent them from damping off, and becoming covered with mildew. Dusting with flowers of sulphur helps to keep the mildew in check. The Flower Garden. Lift the summer bedding plants, and dig over the beds and borders in preparation for planting out the spring flowering kinds, such as wallflowers, myosotis, primrose polyanthus, anemones, ranunculus, and daffodils if they are still out of the ground. Cut over the herbaceous plants and replant those which have spread too much, trench new borders for roses, and prune back the long growths on the bush varieties a little. Prune the ramblers, and if the order for new varieties is not away to the nurseryman it would be advisable to complete and post it as soon Las possible. The Vegetable and Fruit Garden. Continue to lift and store root crops, to dig or-trench all vacant ground, to prepare ground for planting out fruit trees and bushes, and continue to prune fruit bushes. Trees and Shrubs with Ornamental Fruits. In addition to the autumn tints we have also the trees and shrubs with ornamental fruits to assist in brightening up the garden in the autumn and early winter. There are two trees which rejoice in the name of strawberry trees, their fruit being considered to be like that much-appreciated berry. One is Cornus capitata, a deciduous or partly evergreen small tree, a native of the Himalyas and China. It is very hardy, and will thrive under any conditions, but it prefers a dry, well-drained soil and a sunny position to ripen the wood. It has greyish foliage, and though the flowers are small and inconspicuous it has four or six sulphur-yellow bracts, which are very ornamental. The fruit is a strawberry shaped, agglomerated, crimson mass which is evidently appreciated by birds, for they soon destroy them when they' are ripe. Arbutus unedo is. better known as the “ strawberry tree,” and it is really a more ornamental tree taken all round than Cornus capitata. It is a native of the South West of Ireland. And as it is a member of the heath family it will thrive in sour, moist, peaty soil, which is suitable for rhododendrons. . It eventually grows to a height of 30ft, but as it begins to flower and fruit early t makes a handsome specimen when from 12ft to 15ft in height. It has white or pinkish flowers, produced in drooping panicles, the fruit, which is globose, being strawberry-like, three-quarters of an inch across, orange led, and rough on the surface. It ripens in the autumn and winter, following the production of the flowers, at the same time as the succeeding crop of blossoms. There are three great berry bearing families of shrubs, the berberis, cotonesters, and pyrananthas. The berberis show wonderful variations, both in fruits and foliage—some are evergreen, and some deciduous —and their fruits vary in colour from bluish-white through all the shades of pink, scarlet, and crimson to rich purple-black. This genus includes about 150 species many of them variable, and a great number of extremely beautiful hybrids, which have helped to make this family very popular in the autumn. Most of the newer species have come from China, and, with the exception of the variety of Berberis vulgaris, which -bprs the coral-red berries, the. newer kinds are the most decorative. They are very hardy, and will thrive in any’ kind of soil, but they prefer a sunny bank with plenty of room to sprawl about They are readily and easily grown from seed, and the varieties with drooping branches will root readily if pegged down in to the toil. The following species are the -most useful for autumn tints and berries: B. diaphana, B. polvantha, B thunbersii, B. dictophvlla, B. ’rnbrostilla, and Ik Wilsonre. Many beautiful varieties have been raised from B. rubrostilla. which, being of hybrid origin, produces seedlings with great variations. The fellow mg are some of the Wi-sley varieties: Autumn Beauty, which bears berries nearly half an inch long, rather flattened at both ends and brightly coloured; Autumn Cheer, a polyantha hybrid bearing dense clusters of roundish scarlet berries on nendnnt branches ; Carminea, with berries of a deeper shade than Sparkler and a more erect habit; Sparkler, a seedling of pendulous habit, bearing numerous berries ai a bright coral colour: and Tom Thumb, a peculiar little hvhrid growing to a height of from Sin to 12jn, and very suitable for the rock garden. Cotoneasters, like berberies, have increased enormously in popularity during recent years. Large numbers of new

species have been introduced, and we have still many with the collectors numlers, which have not been named. They aie extremely variable plants, some being small trees of erect growth, and others prostrate shrubs., which creep along the ground. Though they will thrive in any kind of soil they like a warm sunny bank, and the spreading kinds are among the most suitable shrubs for covering banks and low walls. They have also been used extensively for covering walls. They grow to a good height without nailing, and retain their berries for many months. Cotcneasters are easily grown from cuttings, or from seed, and the prostrate kinds are easily‘layered. The following are the best in the various sections :—Strong growing erect shrubs suitable for grouping are C. Dielsiana, C. Franchetii, C. frigida. C. Henryana, C. multiflora, C. salicifoli, and C. salicifolia var. rugosa. Spreading species, only a few’ feet in height, evergreen or sub-evergreen : C. amaena, C. horizontalis. C microphvlla, and C. rotundifolia. Dwarf sections for rock work: C. adpressa, O’, congests, C. humifusa, and C. thymaefoba. C. bullata is a distinct deciduous bush 10ft high, and one of the l>est of the deciduous species. C. frigid* grows to a height of 15ft. with a thick dense head, and is suitable for growing as a standard on the lawn or among dwarf shrubs It i s the strongest grower, and one of the most beautiful species of the genus, and if there is only room for one of the erect growing section frigids should be selected. C. horozontalis is the best of the spreading kinds, and the most suitable for covering clay banks or dwarf walls. It has leaves from half an inch to three-quarters of an inch long, bread, of a lustrous green. The flowers are round, rose coloured in bud, changing to pinkish white when open, and a great attraction to bees. It is beautiful when in flower in summer, and again in o ntumn when the leaves turn brilliant red. with the red fruits appearii g among them.

G. Simonsii is a better known plant than the species already described, and is to be seen in many gardens. It is a large branching bush generally considered to be deciduous, though it retains its leaves and berries well into the winter. Pyracantha are a small interesting group of shrubs closely related to the crataegus. 'they are all evergreen and s P‘**y, beautiful in early summer when laden with their snow-white blossoms, but still more attractive in the autumn and winter when every branch is thickly set with innumerable yellow, orange, or scarlet berries. Pyracantha coccinea (Firethorn) is a well-known species, often grown against a wall, but quite satisfactory as a shrub. The berries are small, and bright coral-red. The variety Lalandii i s a handsome plant with larger berries than the type which are produced more freely. P. crenulata is a large thorny bush with leaves similar to P. coccinea and small berries of a yellowish colour. P. angustifolia is nearly related to the Cotoneaster, and has been ki • own 'is C. august i folia. The leaves are rich green on the upper surface, pale grey and downy underneath. The ’flowers are white, produced in clusters in summer, followed later on with rich yellow berries, which remain on the plant till the following spring The Pyrus or Flowering Crabs are among the most beautiful of spring flowering trees,. and they are not only beautiful when in blossom, but many hav© most ornamental and richly-coloured fruits in the autumn P. arnoldiana has curious barrel-shaped fruits, yellow, flushed with red on the sunny side. P. haccata the .Siberian Crab, has little apples borne oi» a long thin stalk coloured brilliant scarlet. P. Eleyi has rich red cherrylike. fruits, which hang in clusters alon fr the branches P. Cargentii has brilliant crimson finds about the size of garden peas. Each dainty fruit is borne on a slender red stalk about an inch in length I l clusters of three To eight. The pvrus like a wed-cultivated soil, and require the same spraying as apples, but not quite such severe pruning. Eucnymus Europaeus, Spindle tree, is a small deciduous tree (but generally a htsh) valuable for its autumn tints and its peculiar ornamental fruits. These are pendulous and highly coloured, and are composed of five one-seeded cells ir lobes. The seeds are partly covered with the outer coat, known as the aril, which is usually brilliantly coloured. Several of the Crataegus (Thorns) have ornamental fruits which ripen in the autumn and hang on for some time. C. ccrdata (Washington Thorn) has scarlet orange-shaped fruits, which hang on the h-ee until the spring. C Mollis i s the Red Haw with sub-globose fruits threequarters to one inch in diameter, red and downy. ANSWER TO CORRESPONDENT. Subscriber, Spreydon.—Your climbing rose, if not cut back too hard, will flower very well next season. When yon received it from the nurseryman it would b.i cut hard back, and- it had to make strong young growths before it could flower. If the shoots are simply tinned and then pegged down they will flower from end to end.