THE GARDEN

Otago Witness, Issue 3995, 7 October 1930, Page 11

THE GARDEN

WORK FOR THE WEEKgjfe NOTES BY

D.TANNOCK, A.H.R.H.S.

THE GREENHOUSE AND NURSERY.

Many of the hardiest of the bedding plants which have been put in the cold frames for some time can now be placed outside altogether, but it is not advisable to plant any except the very hardiest of the bedding plants until after the middle of the month. When bedding plants are put out too early they become stunted and never come away the same as those put out in the latter half of October or the beginning of November. Tomatoes can be planted out in tins or in unheated houses now, and if the ventilators are closed early in the afternoon a certain amount of sunheat will be bottled up._ Continue to pot up schizanthus, clarkias, and godetias into their flowering pots, and those with a warm house can pot up gloxinias. Hippeastrums are opening just now, and these gorgeous plants make a fine show when the warm greenhouse is a little bare. The cool greenhouse will still be gay with cyclamen, which are about thier best just now, primulas, and cinerarias, all of which should last until hydrangeas and greenhouse annuals are ready. Calceolarias are coming on rapidly, and a little liquid manure once a week will assist the development of the flower stems. All the tuberous begonias and dahlias can now be started into growth. THE FLOWER GARDEN. Spring flowers are now coming on rapidly. Already there is a fine show of primrose polyanthus, wallflowers, and daffodils of various kinds, whilst the grape hyacinths and Scilla siberica are doing their best to provide the blue until forget-me-nots come out. Young grass should be rolled with a light roller when the soil is not too wet, and in a few weeks it can be mown. This is necessary to cut the weeds of various kinds which usually spring up before the grass and to cause the latter to spread out and form a good close sward. There is no need to dig or' .broad-leaved weeds. They cannot stand the mowing, but the grass can. It is not too late to plant out trees and shrubs, and it is quite possible to transplant rhododendrons when they are coming into flower, as they have such a compact root system and the weather conditions are still moist.

THE VEGETABLE AND FRUIT GARDEN.

When planning the vegetable plot it is a good idea to sow or plant such temporary crops as spinach, lettuce, and radish near the more permanent crops such as peas and beans. They will be cleared away qui’ early enough to allow the peas and beans to develop, and in this way we secure what is known as catch crops, and more fully utilise the valuable space. Continue to plant potatoes and to sow all the various maincrop vegetables whenever the weather is suitable and the soil dry. It is a mistake to get on to wet, sticky soil and to puddle it up merely for the sake of getting the sowing and planting done to

time table. Apple trees can still be sprayed with lime sulphur to check mildew. The treatment for this disease is: Spray with lime sulphur (1 —30) between the open cluster and pink, with precipitated sulphur (10 —100) when the petals fall, with precipitated sulphur (10 —100) early in the new year, and again with the same spray in February. GLADIOLI. The gladioli is one of the most useful of our hardy summer and autumn flowering plants, and, though the large-flowered kinds may be a bit stiff for house decoration, they are excellent for the garden and for exhibition purposes. The more slender-stemmed kinds, such as Colvilli and the Primulinus hybrids, are good for arranging in vases and bowls; so we have types suitable for all purposes. The gladioli belongs to the Iris family, and most of the 90 species which have been described belong to South Africa. Hybrid-

ists have been at work on them for a long time, and there are several types raised mainly by European nurserymen. Gandavensis was raised at Ghent by "he late Louis Van Houtte. Nanceianus and Lem- 'nii were raised by M. Lemoine of Nancy, and Childsii was raised by Max. Leichtlin and distributed by J. L. Childs. The large-flowered kinds have been so mixed up by raisers that it is difficult to distinguish the various original types, and we just class them all as largeflowered hybrids. The Colvilli types or miniature and early flowering gladioli are a form of Gladioli nanus, and they are very useful for grouping in the herbaceous border

and for growing for cu* flowers, for they are available at a time when there is a great demand for cut flowers for house and church decoration. Unlike the largeflowering kinds, it is not necessary to lift them every year, but they soon oecome overcrowded if left alone too -ng, and it is better to lift and replant every two or three years. The variety the Bride, with pure white flowers, is the most extensively grown, but there are also coloured varieties worth having. Gladiolus primulinus, a native of soutncast Tropical Africa, , has thin stems and a lax spike of primrose yellow flowers with a curved perianth tube. At first

this plant was considered too tender to grow n the open air, and, though not a very decorative species, by crossing it with the large-flowered kinds we obtained a type with the thin flower stem which is so important for house decoration. The flowers are well spaced, slightly hooded, an. have all the delightful art shades which are so much appreciated at the present time. They are perfectly hardy, they increase rapidly, and are easily raised from seed, th seedlings flowering when quite young. Before commencing to plant, the corms should be sorted out into three sizes: (1) The large, well-developed ones, which are sure to flower and produce a good spike: (2) the smaller ones, which will flower, but the spikes of which will only be suitable for cut'flowers, and (3) the

spawn or cormlets. The large corms are planted about six inches apart in rows or groups. The smaller ones planted at from three to four inches apart in a wide drill, and the spawn can be sown in a wide drill like peas. Some of the fatter will flower the first year, and they will all develop into good-sized flowering corms by the autumn. To secure a few early spikes the large flowering kinds can be planted early, but the main planting season is the end of September and the beginning of October. Gladioli will adapt themselves to any

Kina oi sou proviaea ig is wen arainea, deeply cultivated, enriched with old farmyard manure, and fully exposed to the sun. A well prepared loam overlaying clay on a sunny slope suits them very well, and this should have been deeply dug and well manured during the autumn or early winter, leaving the surface as rough as possible to expose it to the effects of the winter weather. When preparing for planting, first fork the soil over, working in a liberal dressing of newly slaked lime, for the gladioli likes lime. Should well rotted farmyard manure not be available, a liberal dusting of bone dust and basic phosphate can be given during soil preparation. Gladioli are very effective in the herbaceous border when planted in groups of a dozen or more and carpeted with a dwarf spreading plant, which will come into flower after the gladioli are past, or they can be planted--in beds with a carpeting plant of Phlox Drummondii, verbenas or some other of the dwarf hardy annuals. They are also very suitable for planting in beds or borders of bearded iris. They come on after the iris are over, and their foliage is similar in appearance. When grown for exhibition purposes or for cut flowers it is better to plant in rows in the vegetable or reserve garden. These are from 18 inches to 2 feet apart, and the corms are planted four inches deep and from six inches to nine inches apart in fVlt* Wlinn nlunfnrl in U'OV

they can be supported by stretching a stout wire along and tying the spikes to it, but it is far better to provide every plant with a neat but strong stake, which will hold the spike erect. The after-cultivation of the gladiolus is very simple. It consists of weeding when necessary and keeping the surface soil stirred with either a fork or a scuffle hoe. Water is necessary during dry weather, and one or two applications of liquid manure when the buds begin to form will help them to develop. Unless it is intended to save seed the flower spikes should be cut as soon as the last flower withers, for the seed takes up material which should go to the development of the new corm or corms. COLOUR AND PERFUME AMONG SHRUBS. Colour is very important in the flower garden, but so also is perfume, and though there are many trees and shrubs

with bright flowers and sweet perfume, there are a number which are not worth planting for their colour, but the somewhat inconspicuous flowers have a delightful perfume. Azara microphylla is a delightful small tree, a native of Chile and perfectly hardy. The frondlike arrangement of the branches and

the small, dark green, shiny leaves are very attractive, and the small flowers, which are borne in great numbers, have a delightful vanilla-like fragrance, which is perceptible yards away. Naiallia cerasiformis (Oso Berry) is a deciduous shrub with the habit of a black currant. The stems, which attain a height of six to eight feet, spring erect from the ground. The male and female flowers are usually on different plants, and though not decorative they have a delightful almond scent, which, like the azara, is perceptible at some distance from the bush. It is quite hardy and is in flower just now. The boronia is a

well known and much appreciated -little shrub, which is quite hardy, and will thrive in a well drained and moist soil. B. elatior has rosy carmine 7 flowers, but no scent. B. lutea has green and yellow flowers and is strongly scented. B. megastigma, withychocolate-coloured flowers which are strongly scented, is the most popular species, and B. pinnata, with rosecoloured flowers, is only slightly scented. Boronias are not long-lived plants, but they will grow and flower- for a few years, and, if pruned when in flower nr immediately afterwards, will ' reir ain dwarf, bushy plants. Beronias can be obtained in pots when coming into flower,

and, though they only lasted one season, would be well worth planting near the house where the perfume may be enjoyed at all times. Olearia virgata, one of the native daisy trees, is not much to'look at, but in the summer it produces quantities of inconspicuous flowers which scent the air e some distance round. Other sfiented shrubs which are now over are Chimonanthus fragrans (Winter Sweet). Daphne Mezerum, and Hamamelis Japonica, the Japanese Witch Hazel. Camphora officinalis (Camphor Laurel), Diosma erieioides (Breath of Heaven), Senecio perdicioides, one of the native daisy trees, and Lippia citriodora (the Lemon scented verbena), have all scented foliage, the perfume being given off when the leaves are bruised, or on still warm evenings.