THE GARDEN

Southland Times, Issue 20659, 15 April 1929, Page 5

THE GARDEN

WORK FOB THE WEEK

J. A. McPherson.)

(By

The Greenhouse. Begonias and Fuchsias are showing signs of finishing their blooming, and plants which have ceased flowering are better removed to a frost-proof shelter or shed to rest for the winter. Seedling Begonias which have been raised this season will continue in flower until the Chrysanthemums are ready. Make a sowing of ]Lobelia for early planting next summer. Sow thinly and just cover • the seed., with fine eoil. Deep sowing is often the cause of failure in raising Lobelia. When the plants come up, prick them oft into well drained plant trays and provide them with plenty of light. Later on they may be placed in cooler quarters; but away from frost, there to remain gradually building themselves into sturdy plants till spring time. Give Freesias in pots plenty of light and stake when necessary. Carefully watch chrysanthemums and bring them indoors as they show colour. Buds are swelling very well this year. Watch for frosts; they may be expected any time. A frost on April sth of last year was severe enough to damage buds outside. A small batch of Cinerarias may be removed from the cold frame and placed in the cool end of the house for • early flowering. Feed the plants liberally with liquid manure. The Flower Garden. Carnation layers which have rooted may be planted in their permanent positions. If the soil is at all heavy, work some sand and lime in before planting; this will materially assist in producing strong plants. Continue to prepare ground and plant bulbs. To plant bulbs three times their own depth is a good rule to go by. Snowdrops should be put in without further delay and left undisturbed for several years. The Reserve Garden. Autumn is a busy time in this portion of the garden. Frames have to be made and sandy eoil mixed up to fill them. Then | proceeds the work of making and inserting such cuttings as Pentstemons, Verbenas, Pansies, Violas Calceolarias, Pinks, Lavander, and a host of other plants, not . forgetting to include Nepeta, (Cat mint). Wrench Wallflower and other plants in > order that they might lift with good roots for planting out at the end of this month. Rose Cuttings. Cuttings of rambling roses may be made and planted this month. Choose half ripened wood, not too soft nor too hard. Make them twelve inches long and be sure to have a nice clean cut at the base of each just I below a node. Open out a trench, mix some sharp sand in with the soil at the base, and place the cuttings three inches apart with at least two thirds of their stem buried. Fill in with soil, tramping the ground thoroughly as the work proceeds. Very little air is required underground until the cuttings make root. Readers who wish to grow a few bush roses from cuttings must procure them now, and treat in the same manner as rambling rose cuttings. Michaelmas Daisies. Cultural detail of these most useful of autumn flowering plants has been given from time to time, and for the benefit of growers I shall content myself by giving a list of the outstanding varieties as a guide to those who wish to purchase plants. In the Amellus group, which only grow to a height of two feet we find King George a splendid variety with large deep violet | flowers. This variety and another by the I name of Rodolf Goethe (clear medium blue) look particularly well when massed in beds I for autumn effect. The ericoides group is ' also dwarf growing but the flowers are j very small and produced in great quantities on the stems. Charmer (pale pink), | Delight (white), Grey Dawn (grey blue), j and Hon. Edith Gibbs (white with brown , eye), are outstanding in this group. It is from the Novi Belgii group that we , have obtained the tall large flowering varieties so much admired to-day, and the fol- ) lowing can be relied upon as suitable for ] giving the best garden effects. Anita Ballard (incurved, china blue), Brightest and Best (rose coloured, semi-double). Climax (large bright blue), Edith Goodwin (semidouble deep blue), Blue Gem (deep blue), Rachael Ballard (double rosy lilac), Rosy Morn (single rose pink), Heather Glow (crimson rose), and Maid of Colwell (white). The Vegetable Garden.

Remove all spent crops from the garden and turn over or trench, according to situation and conditions, all vacant ground. Freshly slaked lime is most useful in sweetening and improving the texture of stiff soils, and assists in keeping pests within due bounds.

Lift a few strong crowns of Rhubarb and leave them for a week or two on the floqr of a shed. These crowns will be required for forcing later on and it is beneficial for them to have a little rest out of the ground. Some gardeners are not aware that Runner Beans are perennials. The roots may be lifted carefully and packed neatly in boxes of ordinary sand and placed away from the frost. In early spring the roots may be planted out again in a warm sunny corner resulting in an extra early crop of this favourite vegetable. Lift a few clumps of Mint and pack them closely together in an ordinary plant tray. Cover with some fine soil and place the tray in the greenhouse or warm porch. By this method a supply of Mint may be obtained throughout the winter months. Lift Beetroot and store them, being careful not to cut the tops off with a knife otherwise the roots will bleed. The correct method is to catch all the foliage in both hands just above the shoulders of the root and by a sharp twist remove it. Place the Beet in layers on the floor of a shed with a covering of sand between each layer. When storing Carrots a little of the shoulder should be cut off with the foliage; this prevents them from breaking into fresh growth. Turnips will keep well if buried under the soil in a sheltered position and a sheet of iron placed over ro keep off excessive moisture. Onions and Eschallots.must be well dried before tying into strings or storing away in a mass. Parsnips, Chinese and Jerusalem Artichokes are best left in the ground and lifted when required. Celery and Celerac may be lifted as required; but if severe weather conditions set in, a few roots may be lifted and placed in sand or practically dry soil under cover. The storage of potatoes has already been dealt with in these notes. In all cases the utmost care should be used and when lifting root crops so that no damage from spade or fork results. Any vegetable with an uninjured ekin will keep much longer in storage than those which have been carelessly pierced or bruised. Bulbs in Bowls. A very interesting part of horticulture is the growing of bulbs in bowls of moss-fibre. On receiving the fibre one will note that it is very dry and must be soaked in a quantity of water for twelve hours. Thoroughly drain the fibre and place a little in the base of the bowls. Next sit the bulbs in position fairly closely, and cover over with fibre, leaving half an inch at the rim for watering purposes. Place the bowls on an airy shelf for a week or two, and when once the leaves appear give them the sunniest positions in the porch or window, turning the bowls round each day to give all bulbs an equal share of light. The most essential points to remember are the following. Thoroughly work the fibre through the hands to see that every particle is watered. Choose bowls which you

know will harmonize with the blooms when flowering. Avoid letting the plants become drawn for want of light. Select the strongest and biggest bulbs for this purpose. Never allow the bulbs to suffer for want of water, especially Tulips, lor if once these subjects have their roots shrivelled for want of water it is good-bye to any bloom. Bulbs which do very welt under the above conditions are Hyacinths, Ixias, Grape Hyacinths (match-heads) Tulips, Narcissi, Crocuses, and Snowdrops. . . When growing Hyacinths and Narcissi in bulb glasses containing water only, a few points must be borne in mind if success is to be obtained. Use only clear rain water and change it frequently. A chip of charcoal in each vaee will assist in keep the water stveet. Use only the biggest bulbs. .With Hyacinths it is essential that the water does not touch the base of the bulb; but with Narcissii it does not matter. Root action must be the first aim, and for this the glasses should be stood in a shady corner for a week or so until good roots have been made. After that, every possible care should be taken to see that the growing tops have plenty of light.

ON BOLTING All field and garden plants derived from species of biennial habit show, to a greater or less degree, a tendency to rush their development so as to bring it to the flowering stage within one 'season (says the Gardt tier’s Chronicle (London). The expression of this aptitude of biennials to behave as annuals, known as bolting, is manifestly influenced by seasonal conditions. Last year, for example, bolting was well marked among beet, onion, leek, ajnd other garden and field crops. The bolting’ of a crop is, or may be, the occasion of serious loss, for inasmuch as growth of flowering stem tends to deplete the stores of food material which would otherwise be laid down and conserved in the “root,” these stores in the bolting plant will tend to become smaller and of lessened food value. It is a good many years since the late Dr William Bateson turned his attention to the subject of bolting, and although he never published the results of | his investigations, it was known to those associated with his work that he had accumulated a large amount of valuable information on the subject. This information has now been made available in a paper published by Sir Daniel Hall, who succeeded Bateson as director of the John Innes Horticultural Institution. Bateson’s work related chiefly to the cultivated forms of Beta maritima—mangoid, sugar beet, and garden beet—and its object was to ascertain to what extent bolting is due to inherited characteristics as opposed to climatic influences. That climatic conditions play a large part in enmuaging bolting is easily • demonstrated. Early sowing or a check to growth may raise the percentage of “bolters” far beyond that which obtains when the plants are sown later and suffer no check in growth. For example, Bateson showed that, if beet or mangold are sown under glass early in the year and are transplanted into the open about April some 70 per cent, of the ;lanta will bolt. Starting from the fact- that even under such conditions, so favourable to bolting some 30 per cent of the' plants resist the temptation, he proceeded to investigate the genetical character of the non-bolters. By selection from the latter, continued for two or three generations, he was able to isolate strains which show no bolting under ordinary field- or garden conditions. It therefore follows that climatic conditions are not the only predisposing cause of bolting, but that hereditary characteristics also play a part. From a practical point of view these conclusions are, of course, of great importance, for 1 they pave the way by following which I our seedsmen may, in course of time, provide us with strains of plants which be- | I have as true biennials and refuse to try | i to become annuals, even when prompted so to do by seasonal conditions. As Sir Daniel Hall points out In the summary to his interesting paper, Bateson recognized that resistance to bolting does not depend on a single factor, but on several. This, no doubt makes the task of selecting non-bolting strains somewhat more arduous, nevertheless, it is one which will probably prove well within the powers of practical plant breeders. MY GABJDEN: ITS PEACEFUL JOYS IT IS INDEED A HEARTH. Being a home my garden means quiet peaceful days, calm night. My bedroom opening upon it, the room is but part ,of the garden. Sheltered by surrounding heights, storms pass lightly over its head, for the buildings ward of shrieking wind and by the time it reaches me, is only,a soft echo. Floods of water and crisp flashes clear the atmosphere and make more vivid still the hue of flowers. My garden is indeed a hearth, and when I sit there, the very walls seem to touch and welcome me. Each flower is a friend which seems pleased to line the sides of my nest. So few bushes, yet every room is the house has vases filled with olossoms. Roses from one’s garden are loveliest, and giving one away is a* joy greater than bestowing a jewel on a friend.

None enjoy the garden more than the black cat, who picked it out long ago as his very own. Beginning the day by promenading at sunrise, he leisurely sniffs flowers and tastes dew. His body is clumsy’, his face flat, but oh, his feet! They go white all of a sudden —where the soft velvet leaves off, to nestle into pink cushions of claws, the pink duplicated by the satin lining his car. He lifts his feet tenderly and sweetly treading so lightly that there is never a sound as he touches a pebble or sand. Very vain is Michael of his feet. The white comes not so much from contact with wet grass as from the wash of his red tongue. When he roams the garden, it is like a maiden at walk her dainty feet twinkling white and cloudy under her dusky robe. Wealth Untold. It is a joy that never ceases —pulling away yellow leaves of begonia, dry wisps of fuchsias, useless stalks of stock and geranium, to pile them into a paper to be carried off with seared ivy for there is no place in this garden for anything that is useless, or idle or unlovely. While the enclosure is redolent of a past, it is a past that rather seeks love and companionship than ghosts and regrets. The faded flowers and leaves were once friendly and beautiful. In__their place will come others as friendly and beautiful. My garden is alive, bright, gay, full of camaraderie that comes with years. It is wonderful in its penetration of present and future. When I am there and stroll about, a sense of romantic wealth pe'rvades me and all, for as my eye lingers on flowers, vines, leaves, hedges, it seems to me they are worth far, far more than anything material could ever pay for them. —From an Exchange.