THE GARDEN

Southland Times, Issue 20147, 6 April 1927, Page 15

THE GARDEN

VEGETABLES (By "Horticola.”) Most gardens are showing the effect of the very unseasonable weather last month. The rainfall during March—B.4s inches —was the heaviest for many years, and the result was that growth has been checked, with the exception of the weeds, and all work has been suspended. During the past few days conditions have showed a distinct improvement, although the ground is still very wet.

GARDEN WORK. Trench and manure all vacant ground. Should it .be of a heavy, sticky nature, leave the surface as rough as possible for the weather to operate upon. A dusting of fresh newly-slaked lime will improve matters. No ground should be left without digging or trenching at this time of the year. Cabbage and cauliflower may still be planted. The former should be put in under the crowded system—that is, 12in

apart, so that in spring, when they have grown to a useful size, every other one may be cut and used, and the remainder left to grow on to full size. Celery should be earthed up, taking care to tie up the heads just below the leaves, and not too light, leaving them sufficient slack to allow for the expansion of their leaves. At the same time strip off all suckers and small lower leaves, so that the soil may be packed well in from the base upwards. Draw a little earth up about leeks. These should be earthed up by degrees.

Plant out lettuce in a rich, well-sheltered border, and a sowing of seed may be got in on a similar bed, the Cos lettuce being the hardest and best for this late sowing.

Onions should be taken up, dried off, and roped or stored. Take up shallots and garlic if this has not already been done. APPLES FOR HEALTH. Being now in the midst of the apple season, the remark of a noted analyst upon the health-containing properties of this fruit may be appropriate. He states—- “ Chemically, the apple is composed of vegetable fibre, albumen, sugar, chlorophyle and much water, and contains a larger amount of phosphorus than any other fruit or vegetable. “The phosphorus is admirably adapted for renewing the essential nervous matter — lecithin of the brain and spinal cord. It is perhaps for this reason, rudely understood, that the old Scandinavian tradition represents the apple as the fruit of the gods, who, when they felt themselves growing old and infirm, resorted to this fruit, renewing their power of mind and body. “The acids of the apple are of great use for men of sedentary habits, where livers are sluggish in action, those acids serving to eliminate from the body noxious matters,

which, if retained, w'ould make the brain heavy and dull,, or bring about jaundice or skin eruptions or other allied troubles. Some such experience may have led to the custom of taking apple sauce with roast pork, roast goose and like dishes. The malic acid of ripe apples, either raw or cooked, will neutralise any excess of chalky matter engendered by eating too much meat.” FLOWERS. Ply the hoe on flower beds and borders to keep down weeds. Remove dead flower leaves and pull up annuals that are past flowering. Cut off seed pods and dead flowers from roses. Dig and otherwise prepare ground for bulbs and other plants. Plant perennials that have been cut down. Plant also bulbs of various kinds, such as lilies, irises, narcissi, anemones, ranunculus, tulips, and other small bulbs. Carnations —Those layered early should be ready to lift and pot up if required for greenhouse decoration, or be planted directly into beds properly prepared for them, taking care that the soil be made firm. Carnations do not like the soil loose about them. Now is a good time to take up, divide, and transplant approved kinds of polyanthus and primroses. Plant also pansies. Seedlings raised from this season’s flowers should be ready to go out now. Stocks sow r n early last month should be ready to go out now. East Lothian and Brompton kinds are the best for planting now. Plant also wallflowers, Canterbury bells, and others of that class. Continue to sow hardy annuals to stand the winter in the seed bed. Sow sweet peas directly into well prepared trenches, or they may be sown in small pots or seed boxes to be transplanted later. THE ARGENTINE PEA. Those gardeners who are planting new plants of the Argentine pea (Lathyrus pubescens) this year should have them in as early as possible if they wish to have them in flower next spring. This lovely perennial pea begins flowering towards the end of winter, and throughout the spring months

the bushes, which become covered with masses of pale blue flowers, are wonderfully beautiful. The flowers are longstemmed when the plants are well grown, and last for a long time in water. As the plant is such a vigorous grower, it is necessarily a gross feeder, and without a good supply of food bears only puny flowers. Before planting dig out a hole about 2ft deep and 2ft square, half fill it with a mixture of cow manure, leaf soil, and a little loam and grit, and then fill up with a mixture of loam, wood ashes, and well-decayed vegetation. Allow the contents of the hole to settle down thoroughly before putting in the plant. Old-established bushes should be cut back

as soon as they have finished flowering, and the roots should be covered with a mulch of well-decayed manure or vegetable rubbish. Water should be supplied during the dry weather. The plant is easily propagated from cuttings, the young lateral shoots being used.

THE BEST YELLOW ROSE. Quite a number of yellow roses have been introduced of late years, but after careful comparison Mabel Morse claims pride of place as the best. How long it may hold its position is a query left unanswered, but it is safe to say Mabel Morse will long be a very popular rose, for it has all the qualities required to make it such.

EDELWEISS. Much interest attaches to the edelweiss (Leontopodium alpinum), because so many people have risked their lives in climbing the Alps to procure it from the ledges and shelves of rocks where it grows. It is named edelweiss from “edel,” noble or precious, and “weiss,” white, from the silvery grey colour of the large, woolly bracts surrounding the cluster of flowers. This plant may be raised from seeds, sown in pans of sandy soil, potted off singly, and planted out in a dry, sunny part of the rockery in the spring of the second year, or plants in pots may be procured and planted. The flowers themselves are not showy, but the plants are peculiar and highly interesting. The best way to grow it is to plant it in pockets of the rockery, amongst bold stones, to give it a natural appearance. The soil should be light to keep the roots dry in winter, and, where the space is narrow, the roots should have facility to penetrate deeply for moisture in summer.

FLOWERS IN TOWNS. A plea for the cultivation of flowers in front gardens and window boxes appeared recently in an American paper. “Two cities, both well laid out,” it says, “with smooth pavements, clean streets and attractive houses. In one, in almost every yard a bit of colour strikes the eye of the traveller as he passes through; in the other, there is almost an absence of flowers. Which will the traveller hold longer in pleasant memory? Cities are naturally drab in colour; they are of low tone. Flowers furnish the opportunity to give colour to a city, just as a man in choosing a necktie can ’ give colour to the grey or brown of his ' dress. They make a community pleasant to i the eye; they give it a feeling of life. The ; man in the city may not have much ground, I but he should remember that if he chooses | his flowers with care and nurtures them ' with success the blossoms, because they are I few, will stand out all the more in beauty.” i In growing a few flowers where they can be [ seen by those passing by we not only benefit ourselves but the community at large.

SINGLE CHRYSANTHEMUMS. At exhibitions where single chrysanthemums are shown well the visitor is first ' attracted by the variety Molly Godfrey, and its form Bronze Molly, Red Molly, and Susan (says the Gardeners’ Chronicle). Then, per- • haps, Phyllis Cooper and Sandown Radiance 1 appeal next, and after these such sorts as ! Mrs W. J. Godfrey, Mrs T. Hancock, Reg- 1 inald Godfrey, and Isabel Felton for their large size. Others like Catriona have too prominent centres or discs, and others may appear to have been made single by pulling away superfluous florets. The most perfect of all, those of the Mensa type, have somewhat small flowers with discs out of proportion. If the above estimate of popular exhibition single chrysanthemums be correct, there is considerable room for improvement. The system of stopping the points of the plants in spring is prevalent with growers, and this has undoubtedly contributed to the defects that have been mentioned, more particularly the one of the flowers coming too double, and another which has not been named—i.e., the foliage near the bloom developing over large. Many of the flowers of single varieties, if from early buds, will throw' blooms that are nearly double.

A successful method of growing singles is to root the cuttings in January or February and, when ready, pot the plants in pairs, and subsequently treat them as one plant. The growth is allowed to develop and branch at will and then thinned according to the size of the pot the plant is finally grown in. From the one branching there is usually a sufficiency of stems to carry from eight to a dozen blooms to a pot. It is found that the central branches of certain varieties develop too much vigour, and 1 when thinning is done it is well to begin ‘

with these extra strong shoots, which not i only furnish comparatively coarse blooms, but prevent the others from growing evenly, j The shoots of many single varieties 'j grown in a natural way rise to a consider- | able height before the bud, which is followed i by branching, forms; and when this occurs the grower looks forward to the next bud, as being near the terminal, and it is then he anticipates securing the more characteristic flower. The best kind of growth is that hardened by firm potting, allowing the plants plenty of space through the season and feeding them moderately with stimulants.

From the aspect of the cut-flower trade, the singles have, with lew exceptions, been wanting in substance of floret, and thus this type of the flower has been not nearly so

much in evidence for market purposes as improved varieties are likely to be in the future. Phyllis Cooper and Sandown Radiance have both been very popular with florists, and the introduction of Absolute brought perfection somewhat nearer. This and Laddie are remarkable for the lasting quality of the blooms, although they are a trifle small. If the size of these single chrysanthemums was improved and the colours more varied they would become

very popular with the general public. TREE PAEONIES. When not in leaf tree paeonies are very unpromising subjects, consisting of a number of bare, stout, short and upright stems. But when the large, deeply divided leaves begin to unfold, followed by the huge flowers, they are amongst the most attractive plants in the garden. They are perfectly hardy, but the open flowers are liable to be damaged by late frosts in November if they are fully exposed to the rising sun. This can be avoided by planting them near a wall or fence facing west, so that they are thawed before the sun shines upon them. Tree paeonies will grow in heavy or light soils, but they like sandy soils best and make huge bushes in course of time, carrying a great number of their massive and bright-coloured flowers. In really poor soils, manure will help them, but they are not half as particular as the Chinese paeonies in this respect. They may be obtained in a great variety of colours, such as pink, rose, wine, salmon and yellow.