THE GARDEN

Otago Witness, Issue 4006, 23 December 1930, Page 11

THE GARDEN

FOR THE WEEK®

'NOTES BY

D. TANNOCK,

A.H.R.H.S.

As, soon as the seedlings of primulas pnd cinerarias are large enough to handle they should be pricked out into boxes pf nice light rich soil and when they have taken to the new soil they should be kept as cool as possible. It is always difficult to keep seedlings of the winter flowering plants growing during the hot, dry weather, and it is necessary to keep them cool. Begonia manicata is a very useful winter flowering species suitable for the heated greenhouse. The old plants have now finished flow’ering and as soon as the young growths are available they should be put in as cuttings in a bed of sand and leafmould, with a little bottom heat. The young growths of the euphorbias should now be long enough to take off as cuttings. Take with a heel, dip the cut surface in powdered charcoal to absorb the milky juice pnd put in firmly round the inside edge of small pots which can be plunged in bottom heat. Continue to pot or topdress orchids and maintain a growing atmosphere by damping the walls and floors at intervals during sunny weather. Old plants of poiosettias which were cut back can be shaken out and repotted in similar receptacles. These will develop into good specimens by the autumn and produce a number of bracts. Continue to thin grapes, to pinch back the young growths to one leaf and to tie them down to the wires. Tuberous begonias are now making rapid growth, and they will have to be stood out a bit to allow the foliage room to develop. Continue to pot up the chrysanthemums in pots and bins, and after watering Stand out in their summer quarters, which should be sunny and open, but sheltered from the cold. THE VEGETABLE AND FRUIT' GARDEN.

Strawberries are going to be late this year, but they promise to be quite a good crop and as soon as the berries begin to ripen they should be protected in some way from the birds. Old fish nets are quite suitable, and these can be supported on strings fastened to pegs about two feet above the plants. Applications of liquid manure will assist the development of the berries and the formation of runners to provide young plants for extending the plantations or renewing the old ones. It is not advisable to take too many runners off one plant and they should be thinned out to three or four. To ensure the development of roots a stone should be placed on the runner near the young plant to keep it in position until roots are formed. It is also a good idea to plunge pots or sandy loam among the plants and to peg the runners down on them, or to put in small pieces of turf and peg the runner down on to them. By rooting them into turf or little pots the plants can be lifted with little root disturbance when the time arrives for transplanting. The growth in the vegetable garden is now quite rapid and attention has to be given to the thinnipg of all crops before the plants become drawn and spindly. Make another sewing of round or summer spinach also silver beet, which is so useful in the late winter and early spring when greens are scarce. Plant out celery in the specially prepared trenches giving them a good watering should the weather continue to be dry. Keep the side shoots of tomatoes pinched out. Continue to thin out the young growths on peach trees and thin the apple and pear crops THE FLOWER GARDEN.

As soon as all the bedding is carried out for the season a start has to be made to stake things whieh require it and to scuffle hoe and weed all the beds and borders. Paths will require edging and everything possible should be done to have the garden tidy by Christmas time. Sweet William and Canterbury bells are coming on rapidly, and we find them most valuable for filling in the gap between the spring flowers and the summer bedding plants. The rock garden is very gay nt present and now that the three big A’s—aralus, alyssum, and aubretia—are passed their best their place will be taken by dainthus and helianthcmums, both of which are very hardy and good for massing. The various types of bog primulas are also flowering freely, the most useful being Bcesiana and Lissidale hybrids. These are easily raised from seed, and this should be selected from the most desirable varieties. The native section of the gardens is very attractive at present, the dwarf and spreading veronicas and celmisias are all flowering freely, and they are very suitable for .rock gardens and raised borders. Veronica macrantha is one of the largest flowering of the genus, and the large white flowers are very freely produced on the stiff, erect branches. V. catarracta is a very good spreading kind suitable for growing over banks and stone edgings, and V. Lyallii is a real gem and one of the freest flowerets of the genus. V. epacrideae is a peculiar looking species and the various whipcord kinds are all very interesting and useful for covering banks. TWO STATELY HARDY HERBACEOUS PLANTS. The stately and very useful hardy herbaceous plants are the various varieties of lupins and delphiniums. They are

both very good for adding height to the herbaceous border, and both are also very satisfactory in borders by themselves or grouped among the shrubs.

-There are two distinct types, or, perhaps, I should say there are three, the tree lupin, which is very useful' for arresting sand drifts and providing shelter by the sea coast, but far too common a plant in the flower garden, the herbaceous perennial, Lupinus polyphyllus, also a native of North America, and the annual hybrids which are so very useful in the annual border. The herbaceous kin is are by far the most useful, and it is among them that we find the enormous spike of beautiful art shades which are so much admired. It is possible to obtain named varieties, but they are fairly expensive, and a very fine assortment can be raised from seed if they are obtained from a specialist such as Donards. The seeds are fairly large and germinate readily, and if they are sown in pots in early spring and germinated in the greenhouse and pricked off as the seedlings are large enough to handle into boxes of nice light but rich soil they soon develop, and if planted out in early summer some may develop spikes in the first year. In any case, they make good strong plants by the following year, and they continue to flower for years if left undisturbed. With so many beautiful art shades it seems a pity to occupy valuable space with washy'blues and mottled looking kinds which are never satisfactory except in the wild garden or wilderness. I strongly recommend the purchase of a packet of seed and the- raising of a few seedlings each year.

Delphiniums are the real true blue aristocrats of the herbaceous border, and we can hardly imagine a border without them. 'They have been so improved during recent years and so popular that some nurserymen specialise in them and send out lists with coloured illustrations of their novelties for which they charge fairly high prices. These have been developed to a wonderful state of perfection, and instead of the old-fashioned kinds with the bee in the centre we have double and semi-double kinds with contrasting colours and tall tapering spikes with a great many flowers in bloom at one time. Those who can afford to buy named varieties and have only a small space in which they desire to grow the very best should obtain a selection from a nurseryman, but very fine varieties can be raised from seed if they are obtained from a specialist, particularly in named varieties. Of course they do not come true to name, but many will be quite superior and all are well worth growing in gardens where plenty of space is available. Seed can be sown in pots or boxes in early spring and if these are put into the greenhouse germination soon takes place. When large enough to handle they are pricked out into boxes, and when well grown are planted out in the borders, in which they are to grow or they are lined out in the nursery or reserve garden, where they will soon flower, and the best varieties can then be selected and planted in the herbaceous border or in the special blue border, which is such a fine feature in many large gardens. The cultivation of delphiniums is very simple. In spring, when the new growths are pushing up through the ground, slugs are often very troublesome, and it is sometimes necessary to protect them by placing a circle of ashes round them.

Well established stools also send up far too many shoots, and it is advisable to reduce these to five or three if very special spikes for exhibition purposes are required. If the young growths are taken off with a keel they soon root as cuttings, and in this way the very special varieties can be increased. Their growth is very rapid and soft, and as winds are often very troublesome in the spring stakes should be provided at once, not necessarily the final ones, ■which are very high, but preliminary ones of from two to three feet, which are replaced by permanent onus later on. During dry weather they like plenty of water and occasional applications of liquid manure. In very dry weather a mulching of w’ell-rotted manure or lawn mowings is beneficial. To get spikes in the autumn the old flower stems can be cut right down as soon as the flowers wither, but this is rather drastic treatment, and has a tendency to weaken the stools, therefore it should not be practised with special varieties. For very windy gardens, those who desire blue cut flowers should find the Bella Donna types very useful. They are perennials, but they are so easy to raise from seed that it is advisable to raise a batch every year. Delphiniums are giant larkspurs, and the annual larkspurs in their many colours are very useful for providing cut flowers for house decoration. They are perfectly hardy, and can be sown in the open, but are really better when raised in boxes and transplanted like the ordinary half hardy annual. There is a dwarf perennial larkspur, D. Nudicaule, with scarlet blossoms. It is not quite as showy as we would expect it to be, but it is well worth including in a collection. /