THE GARDEN

Southland Times, Issue 22218, 10 January 1934, Page 10

THE GARDEN

WORK FOR THE WEEK

By J. A. McPherson.

The Greenhouse.

Seedlings of Cinerarias must not be permitted to starve in the seed boxes; but must be potted up into 3-inch pots as soon as large enough to handle. Stand the pots on a bed of cinders in a cool frame. This is the correct time to take young cuttings of Hydrangeas, especially if they are to be grown on as singleheaded specimens for blooming under glass. Choose short stout cuttings about four inches long and insert them in pots of sandy soil. Five or six will fit into a five-inch pot quite comfortably. As soon as they are rooted, pot each singly into three-inch pots and stand outside till early autumn. They should then be potted into five-inch pots and brought under cover before heavy frosts appear. If it is intended to colour some of the flowers blue, a few iron filings mixed with the potting soil will give the desired effect. Plants that have finished blooming should be placed outside as soon as the required number of cuttings have been taken. The Flower Garden. Violet beds require attention during summer if good healthy crowns are to be built up. This can only be done by cutting off all useless runners and forcing the growth into the main clumps. Watch out for attacks of red spider on the under surface of the leaves and spray with lime-sulphur if the pest is very bad. Constant syringing at intervals of every few days throughout the summer will keep Violet plants in good health. New beds can be formed by planting rooted runners six inches apart each way in beds of well-drained and rich soil. It is useless to try and grow the plants under trees where roots rob the soil and expect large long-stemmed blooms. Special attention should be given to the removal of all spent flowers from the herbaceous border. It is not necessary to cut plants right down to the ground for this robs the garden of furnishing and also robs the roots of plants of milch nourishment that is taken in by the leaves. Stems well furnished with leaves should certainly be left, but the stalks with their spent flowers removed. A start can now be made to feed Dahlias with liquid manure. This can be given twice a week, especially if the weather is showery. Plants that are to produce show blooms must be restricted to one main shoot which in turn will produce enough side growths for carrying the large blooms. Layering Carnations. Carnations may be layered any time during January. Clear away a little of the soil from round the base of a plant and fork some sand into the remaining soil. Next take good healthy shoots and after cleaning off some of the lower leaves, make one upward slanting cut fully half way through each shoot and finally peg each shoot down into the soil with wire pins. The shoots that have been pegged down should be held in as upright a position as possible while some sandy soil is placed round them to replace the original soil taken out. If the weather is at all dry the layers should be given a thorough watering. Towards the end of March all will be rooted and the joins between the parent plant and the layers must be cut with a sharp knife. This leaves each layer to lead an independent life on its own young roots which will quickly extend to support the newly-formed plant. There is nothing difficult in the work of layering Carnations and if excessive growth hinders the commencement of the work much if not all of the old shoots not required for layers can be cut off prior to the actual layering. Plant Collecting. During the holiday season many people bring back to their gardens plants from the bush and hills. In collecting such specimens choose small and well-rooted plants, they do far better than large full-grown plants. Do not take ferns from densely shaded areas but try and find specimens as near the open as possible. These latter specimens.are more used to bright light and will not suffer on shifting. Do not take plants from scenic reserves nor from private property unless the owner has given his permission. Do not take more than you require and in bringing them home protect the roots from drying winds. A little moss or wet grass tied round the roots with a piece of flax will serve the purpose. Plants will keep fresh for several days if packed tightly together in a good thick rucsack. Herbs.

Thyme and Sage appear to be the only herbs found growing in many gardens at the present time. Why this should be, it is difficult to say, for there are a whole host of easily grown herbs which are of use for many purposes. Most of the following can be grown from seed sown during this month or during early spring. Rampion; imparts nutty flavour and should be used as Radish.

Rue; excellent for use with poultry. Savory (winter and summer varieties); much used for general seasoning. Thyme; for soups, sauces and stuffings. Wormwood; used in drinks and,as a tonic.

Sorrel (large leaved); useful for imparting a slightly acid flavour to various salads.

Anise; leaves used for seasoning. Basil; both the sweet basil and the bush basil are used for flavouring soups.

Dandelion; (thick leaved) used for spring salads. Horehound; an extraction from the roots is used in making a serviceable beverage. Dill; both to sauces and pickles this plant imparts a fine flavour. Borage; used both in salads and in claret cup. Pot Marigold; extensively grown in dry and windy districts; but few people realize the value of the flowers when added to soups. Fennel; the leaves are essential for the best types of fish sauce and also for garnishing. Marjoram (both sweet and pot); one of the principal ingredients for stuffings and for flavouring soups. The Vegetable Garden.

Plant out the last of the Celery and Leeks into their trenches.

Sow Carrots of the stump-rooted type for pulling in the autumn. This will save the main crop from being disturbed till the winter supplies are required. Sow the yellow-fleshed varieties of soft Turnips. These do very well especially in a dry autumn and last reasonably well into mid-winter.

Lettuce are best from now on if the seed is sown direct on the land they are to occupy and thinned out when required. Dwarf Peas can still be sown on sheltered areas.

Commence in earnest to plant out the main batches of Brussels Sprouts, Kale, Savoys, Drumhead Cabbage, and Broccoli.

EDGING PLANTS FOR THE GREENHOUSE

There are many plants which can'be used to soften the hard outline of stages in the greenhouse and conservatory. They may be grown in small pots and arranged closely together, or, in some cases, grown directly on the stage. Pot-grown plants can be moved and re-arranged at any time, whereas those which are growing in soil on the stage are more or less permanent. The latter, however, require little attention, and by close planting a dense, continuous edging is produced. For growing in pots the following are suitable:—lsolepis gracilis, a graceful grass-like plant; Helxine Solierolii (ornamental cress), having minature bright green leaves on long creeping stems, which hang over the sides of the pot; Tradescantia zebrina, a creeping plant with large ovate leaves, having alternate longitudinal bands of purple-green and silvery-grey. Pilea muscosa (the artillery plant) has stiff, succulent green stems and miniature leaves. Sclaginella kraussiana is similar, but the stems are very slender and the shoots hang downwards over the sides of the pot, which they cover with a dense mass of greenery. For covering the supporting legs of the stages Ficus repens is ideal. If planted at the bases of the supports it will climb upwards, attaching itself in the same manner as ivy, with its roots.

For summer use Coleus Mrs Sanders is effective. The leaves, which do not exceed one inch in length, are daintily marked with splashes of green, yellow, crimson, and purple. Ivy-leaved geraniums, with their flower-laden shoots hanging over the sides of the stage, are also suitable for summer; so is Campanula isophylla, a creeping kind with blue flowers. Selaginella, Pilca, and Helxine can also be used as a permanent edging on stages covered with ashes or shingle. Pilea is the simplest to grow. It is necessary only to break off small pieces of shoot and place them along the edge of the shingle. With a daily damping they will quickly take root and quickly form a continuous edging of greenery. For Selaginella and Helxine place a narrow band of soil along the edge of the stage, then dibble the cuttings in thickly and damp them over twice a day. At the bases of the staging supports there is usually a bare strip of soil which looks unsightly. This can quickly be made attractive with the trailing shoots of Tradescantia or verdant tufts of Helxine or Pilea.—Popular Gardening, London. BACKWARD SWEET PEAS The best pick-me-up for backward sweet peas, says a writer in an English exchange, is a sprinkling of sulphate of ammonia around the rows a few inches away from the plants. Apply this in showery weather if possible, if not it must be watered in. Do not give too big a dose. One ounce per yard run of a row, applied at intervals of a week, until the plants show signs of vigorous growth, is all that is necessary. Use it simply as a stimulant. A careful watch must be kept for slugs until the plants are above their reach. Soot is a good preventative and an excellent fertilizer. Sometimes it is not quite efficient if the slugs are very numerous. Finely sifted ashes should then be used. The slugs will rarely cross this gritty substance. TO ENSURE CLEAN CELERY There is often a vast amount of waste attached to the celery crop in the ordinary garden. Sticks are frequently cankered or eaten by grubs, necessitating the removal of most of the outside leaves. This can be avoided by the use of brown paper collars when moulding up the plants for blanching; in fact, the earliest row may be blanched entirely by the collars without any soil being placed round them. As growth proceeds add one of the collars. When it has grown still more some fine soil may be drawn round the base and another collar added. Do not make the collars too tight. The use of soot round the plants before the soil is drawn up will be a distinct advantage, and a weekly sprinkling of old soot will prevent the celery fly from settling on the plants. Early morning is the best time for this operation, when the dew is on the plants.—“G.A.P.,” in Popular Gardening, London. THE NAME “PASSION FLOWER” The name of “passion flower,” by which all the passifloras are known, was given originally by the Spanish priests of South America, because of the resemblance their piety led them to detect between the various parts of the flower and the instruments of Christ’s passion. The late Dr. Masters has pointed these out to be as follow:—The three stigmas represent the three nails, two for the hands and one for the feet; the five anthers represent the five wounds; the corona represents the crown of thorns or the halo of glory; the five sepals and five petals stand for ten apostles, Peter and Judas being absent; the hand-like leaves and whiplike tendrils represent the hands and scourges of His persecutors.