THE GARDEN.

Otago Witness, Issue 3886, 4 September 1928, Page 11

THE GARDEN.

WORK FOR THE WEEK. By D. Tannock. THE GREENHOUSE AND NURSERY. Though there’ are occasional frosts it is now possible to place most of the early annuals and geraniums outside under a framework which can be covered with scrim at night. The work of pricking out bedding plants will have to be pushed on as quickly as time and space will permit. Continue to pot out the various kinds of foliage plants, plant out tomatoes, and pot those which are intended for outdoor cultivation in six inch pots. Keep the pelargoniums, schizanthus, and calceolarias as cool as possible, giving them a little weak liquid manure occasionally. THE FLOWER GARDEN. The various kinds of flowering plums and almonds are making a fine display at present, and other shrubs are preparing to follow. Daffodils are pushing up Rapidly, and an effort should be made to complete all digging and cleaning so that everything may be in order for the spring show which will soon be on. The planting of ornamental trees and shrubs can still be carried on with safety. THE VEGETABLE AND FRUIT GARDEN. This is a busy time in the vegegtable garden; potatoes have to be planted, W peas and other vegetables sown, and the fruit trees should be sprayed as soon as possible. HARDY ANNUALS. Hardy annuals are plants which are grown from seed sown in the open in spring, and which grow, flower, and seed in the same season. These are very useful for providing a display at a small cost artttr with little effort, and for filling in the spaces between newly planted shrubs and small flowering trees. The ground intended for them should be trenched or deeply dug and a good dressing of stable manure should be dug into the- surface. It is not advisable to bury it too deeply for the plants have a short season and have to find their supplies of food easily. If stable manure is not available, a dressing of bone meal or blood and bone can be given when the soil is being prepared. In preparing the soil it should first of all ■be forked over and any lumps broken, the fine surface soil which lias been formed by the action of the frost being kept on top to form the seed bed. If the soil is lumpy or sticky it is better to prepare a heap of light, fine soil such as old potting soil or that obtained from the seed boxes, which should have been sifted and stored under cover. An open, sunny border is the most suitable position for annuals, for if the soil is moist or the position shady they have a tendency to make a growth of stem and leaf instead of flowering. After making the surface soil reasonably level and as fine as possible with the rake, the border should be marked out in irregular patches with the handle of the rake, allowing a space of from six to 12 inches between each patch. Annuals are more effective when grown in irregular patches, although some prefer to sow them in rows to form a ribbon border. They can also be sown in square blocks, but both the ribbon and block systems are very formal. Annuals are very useful for sowing in any vacant patches in the herbaceous border or for filling in blanks when the spring flowering bulbs wither off. Some thought has to be given to the arrangement of the colours, and the height to which the plants grow, but it is not desirable to have all the dwarf i varieties in the front, the medium \growers in the middle and the tall kinds at the back. It is better to bring the medium growers almost to the front in places,,the dwarf varieties going well back in others, giving prominence to the more desirable blooms. Write labels for each kind and put these in position first. Next put down the packets on the spots where the seed is to be sown and then sow the seeds thinly and evenly all over the spot set aside for each variety. Rake the surface in order to bury the seed partly, and then cover with the prepared soil or the soil taken from the spaces between each patch to a depth not exceeding half an inch, pat firm with the head of the rake or the back of the spade, and cover with pieces of scrub or twiggy branches to afford protection from birds and to provide a little shade until germination takes place. As soon as the seedlings appear the scrub should be removed to prevent them from becoming drawn and spindly. If birds are still troublesome a few strands of black cotton will keep them away. Thinning is very necessary, for if the plants are too thick they will run up with a single stem and flower for a very short time; but if allowed plenty of room the side branches will develop and these will extend the flowering season. Six to 12 inches is not too much room for each plant, but the space required will depend on the height, to which the plants grow. It is really better to give two thinnings, one as soon as the seedlings are large enough to be handled, • and another before they become overcrowded. A dusting of blood-and-bone manure after thinning will help growth; and weeding will require attention until the annuals cover un the soil and prevent any further undesirable growth. Some of the taller plants require staking, and this is best

done by placing twiggy branches amongst and round outside of the groups. The following varieties are well worth growing:— Acrolinium roseum is everlasting, and when the flowers are dried they are useful for winter decorations, —colour, rose and white; height, one foot. Alonsooas are very useful annuals not at all common in gardens. The flowers are scarlet and pink, and their height is nine to 12 inches. Alyssum is very useful for edging beds and borders, but it can also be grown in patches with success. The sweet alyssum has white flowers and grows to a height of six inches. Arctotis grandis has pearly-white daisy-like flowers with delicate, mauve centres. It grows to a height of two feet, and the flowers close up in the evenings. Atriplex rubra (red mountain spinach) has red foliage and fopns a striking group in the border, where it grows to a height of four feet. Bartonia aurea is a free flowerin" plant 18 inches in height, with lar<m yellow flowers. ° Calendula officinalis, a flowering perennial, is a very useful plant for massing or for cut flowers. It is a very useful plant for the wilder parts of the garden, for once established, it continues to send up seedlings every spring. The flowers are orange and lemon, and the height is 18 inches. Candytuft is one of the old fashioned plants which has been greatly improved during recent years. It is too well known ®to need description; it can be kj ln white > carmine, pink, and lilac shades, and it grows to a height of one foot. The various types of hardy annual chrysanthemums provide a great variety of daisy-like flowers in many wonderful colours. The flowers are both single and double, and the plants grow to a height of two to two and a-half feet. Cornflowers are the very hardiest of annuals, and are specially valued for their blue flowers. There is also a pink and white variety. Their height is about two feet. ° Collinsia has lilac and white flowers, grows to a height of nine inches. xr V" norphotheca aurantiaca (Star of the Veldt) is a most useful annual for a dry sunny position. The species has orange flowers, but the hybrids show a great range of colours—primrose, apricot, buff, and salmon. Eschscholtzias are really perennials, but are usually treated as annuals, and in dry, sunny, well-drained places they sow themselves readily. There is now a great range of colours from primrose to bright claret, and a mixture will produce a, very varied and gay effect. They are • specially suitable for sowing on dry banks, and for grouping in separate colours in the mixed border. Their height is ope foot. Godetias are valuable both for cutting and garden decoration, and when well thinned, out they branch and flower for a long time. The colours vary very much, but the double and single mauve and lilac varieties are most appreciated. They grow to a height of from 9 to 18 inches. Ornamental grasses are very useful for arranging with cut flowers for house decoration, and a packet of mixed varieties should be sown. Gypsophila elegans, which grows to a height of 18 inches, is an annual variety of the chalk plant, also useful for cutting. Hawkweeds are not very much grown (they resemble the Cape weed too much for some people), but they are quite' useful, and can be had in pink, white, and yellow shades. Their height is 18 inches.

lonopsidium acaule, commonly known as violet cress, is useful for growing among the stones of crazy paving, or for rock gardens. Its height is two inches. Larkspurs are quite hardy, and the newer colours are useful for cutting. The colours range from rosy-scarlet-to pale mauve, and the height from two to three feet. Lavatera Sutton’s loveliness is a most useful annual, often sown in boxes like a half-hardy annual for early flowering —-height, two feet. Limim grandiflorum rubrum (searlet flax) is an elegant free-flowering plant growing to a height of 12 inches. > Love-lies-bleeding has drooping crimson flowers—height three feet. Though the perennial lupins have been so much improved recently, the annual kinds are still worth growing. Colours vary, but are mainly blue, pink, and white, height 18 inches. Malope is a showy border annual, growing to a height of two feet, with red or rose flowers. Mathiola bicornis (night scented stock) is valued more for its delightful perfume than its bright flowers. It should be sown somewhere near the house. Nigella (loye-in-a-mist) is a charming profuse blooming annual 18 inches hjgh, the variety, Miss Jekyll, being a special favourite. Nasturtiums are everybody’s flower, and are most useful for filling,up an odd corner, covering a bank or keeping down weeds. There are both dwarf and tall varieties, and when once established they sow themselves. Nemophila insignia ia a dwarf annual with beautiful blue flowers suitable for edgings and ribbon borders —height six inches. Phacelia campanularis has also bright blue flowers—height- nine inches. The various kinds of poppies are too well known to need description. Massed effects can be obtained by sowing them in breadths, and though they have a short season they are very bright when in flower. They vary considerably in height from two to three feet.

I’ortulacas are especially suitable for very dry sunny positions, and do well in grave paths. Other hardy annuals are rhodanthes, sweet sultan, Swan River daisy, Venus’s looking-glass, Virginian stock, and whitlavia.