WORK IN THE GARDEN

Southland Times, Issue 23767, 15 March 1939, Page 14

WORK IN THE GARDEN

By

BRENDAN P. MANSFIELD,

F. Inst P.A.

THE COOL GLASSHOUSE Cyclamen for winter flowering should now be in their final pots, or be ready for potting. Do not advance them unless the pots they are in are well filled with roots. In potting the surface of the corm should be above soil level; all leaves and flower spikes arise from this portion and if too low they readily damp off. Sturdy plants of cinerarias should be advanced from four-inch to six-inch pots before they begin to suffer. The principal ingredients of a good compost are turfy loam, leaf mould, charcoal, sharp sand and soot. The lower leaves should always be removed. They are usually infected with green aphis. Be careful not to over water and always shade the plants from strong SU Feed chrysanthemums liberally with liquid manure, but never apply it when the plants are dry. Fresh cow manure to which soot is added is best. Keep tree marigolds for winter flowering in the open as long as possible, but be prepared to afford protection should light frosts occur. THE FLOWER GARDEN If bulb planting is not yet completed lose no time about it. Tulips, hyacinths, anemones and ranunculus may be planted later, but other bulbs should be in the ground now. The rockery will require exacting attention. Many of the plants are spring flowering; they require dividing and replanting now. Where plants have been growing in “pockets” for some years fresh soil should be added. Cuttings of such things as sun roses, aubretia, phlox, armeria, saxifragas, arabis, thymus, cerastium, dianthus (rock pinks) and so on, inserted in sandy soil now will root readily. Only short portions selected near the tips should be used. It is important to remove old flowering wood of rcses or any snags so that strong young growth, from which next season’s flowering wood will arise, may become thoroughly ripened. . Mildew and aphis are very much in evidence on roses everywhere at the moment. Mildew is best controlled by spraying with lime sulphur and aphis with a nicotine spray, such as Black Leaf 40, to which a little soft soap, to serve as a spreader, is added. Cut out old flowering shoots of rambler roses to afford space, light and air to young growths and permit them to ripen; it is on these shoots that next season’s crop of flowers is carried. Perennial asters, michaelmas daisies, now developing their flowering buds on long strong shoots, will benefit from a light dressing of artificial manure gently worked into the surface soil. Each shoot should be staked out separately. By continuous surface cultivation, loosening of the soil to the depth of an inch, and removal of spent flowers, the display of annuals can be maintained until well after Easter, subject to frosts. THE VEGETABLE GARDEN Celery which is growing vigorously will require earthing up. Take away side growths near ground level. Tie in the stems loosely before placing soil about them and do not permit soil to come within an inch of the lowest leaves. Copious supplies of water are necessary if first-class celery is to be produced. Give weak liquid manure occasionally, dust the surface soil with soot and gently work it into the soil. Potatoes should be lifted as the haulms wither. Do not expose the tubers to strong light or sun. Store, when dry, in a cool, dark, frost-proof shed. Where grown in big quantities they are best accommodated in pits. Promote growth of winter greens by surface feeding and hoeing. They are now well established and growing fast so will stand light applications of weak stimulants at regular intervals. Plant spring cabbages now, or as the ground is ready. Allow 18 inches between the rows and 15 inches from plant to plant. Where available savoys may still be planted in a well-prepared site on rich ground. Growth will be rapid and they will form quite nice heads. Carrots and beetroot are best lifted and stored in sand till required, otherwise they become very coarse, but parsnips and Jerusalem artichokes may be left in the ground and lifted as required. Lettuce or endive may still be planted at one foot apart each way in care-fully-dug well-nourished borders facing east or north. Use, or cut away, the biggest leaves of parsley to permit young growth to develop from the crown of the plant. They benefit materially from surface dustings with soot. Light ground frosts may now be expected so be prepared to afford light cover and protection at short notice to young seedlings with light scrub, strawy litter, scrim or canvas. THE FRUIT GARDEN A point to note in storing fruit is never to mix material picked from young trees with that picked from old ones. The reason for this is difference in moisture and nitrogen content. Fruit from trees grown in grass is usually smaller, more highly coloured and of better flavour than that grown on open, or soil. In texture it is much drier and consequently keeps longer when stored. In gathering grasp the fruit in the palm of the hand and sever the joint by a gentle pressure with the forefinger and thumb. If the fruit is tugged from the spur or twig the stalk may be broken and the skin damaged. Because of the abnormal amount of shoot growth this season attention should be paid to summer pruning—shortening the leading growths—which concentrates vigour and affords opportunity for next season’s fruit-pro-ducing ’wood to become thoroughly ripened. Special care should be given to the vinery at this season to avoid great fluctuation in day and night temperatures. Admit air freely on every available occasion, for this aids in controlling mildew, but close the house in the late afternoon to conserve natural heat. IN OTHERS’ GARDENS To the casual observer the greatest pleasure and delight is to be found in the gardens of others. An excellent example of clematis Jackmanni covers the veranda of a house in Ythan street near Eye street, and. the secret of its success is that the roots are planted in shade. There are many other fine examples of clematis in full flower at the moment in suburban gardens. The clematis, with its many shades of colour, freedom of bloom and hardiness, is the most popular of climbing plants, adapting itself to a variety of situations. For posts, pergolas, arches, trellises, verandas, tripods or over the front of a garage the clematis is indispensable though it is always best when planted among other climbers, such as roses. It gives their tendrils something to cling to and the foliage of the other plants helps to shade their roots. The summer and autumn flowering varieties should be pruned each year to within 12 or 15 inches of the roots as they bloom on the growth made each season.

ON BULB PLANTING METHODS OF FORCING AND NATURALIZING Pot cr plant in boxes bulbs intended for forcing as soon as possible after delivery. If they are early it is quite an easy matter to retard them, but unless they are well-rooted before they are taken into the heat, the results are most unsatisfactory. Give the pots or boxes a thorough watering betore plunging them in ash; behind a south wall is a suitable place to plunge, as the cooler the hmlbs are kept the better, but they should be away from overhanging branches, and rain must not be allowed to reach them to any great extent. Ash is most commonly used for plunging, but unless it has been at least 12 months in the open, some other material such as soil or leaf-mould should be used. Bulbs for naturalizing should also be planted as early as possible. Where they are to be planted in grass the proper way is to scatter them on the space they are to occupy, and plant them where they fall: The depth at which to plant depends a great deal on the type of soil, but it is a mistake to plant too deeply; three inches is quite a good average for narcissi, and the smaller bulbs such as aconites, chionodoxas, scillas, crocuses and snowdrops should be placed not more than two inches deep. My experience of snowdrops is that they cannot be planted too shallow to get the best results. IRELAND’S NATIONAL EMBLEM TRUTH ABOUT “THE DEAR LITTLE SHAMROCK” On Friday Irishmen throughout the world will do honour to their patron saint and it may be of interest to many to learn something of the history ot the shamrock. For years there has been confusion about which plant St. Patrick actually used to demonstrate the Gospel message but the brief history, set out below, written by Edward Knowldin in The Farmers’ Gazette, Dublin, explains the position clearly:— Humblest and meekest of the herbs ot the field no other floral emblem on earth, not even the proud rose of England, the fair lilies of France or chry-sos-anthemos (chrysanthemum), the “Golden Flower” of old Japan, can emulate the honours in excelsis paid to our tiny trefoil, “chosen leaf of bard and chief, the green, immortal Shamrock.” Wherein the mystic charm? What is it that not only inspires and impels all creeds and classes from peer to peasant, including the stranger within our gates, to honour it, but lure folks at home to mail it on its mission afar off that absent ones, too, may ‘‘sport’ their spray of “The dear little Shamrock of Ireland” on “Patrick’s Day’? Ah, well, the answer is not in words. Anyway, not in the hard English tongue. It lies too deeply soul-seated to reach the lips, and those who feel it is so in their unutterable love for dear Ireland know all about it. That is so. Surely it seems almost unpardonable that doubt should ever have arisen as to the true and original species chosen by the great missionary bishop to explain the mystery of the holy, blessed and undivided Trinity, when carrying his wonderful message to those simple, untutored folk in the wilds of Wicklow, A.D. 432, but it is so, and magna est veritas. Even today honours are pretty equally divided between two distinct trefoils. Trefolium minus and T. repens, and what is sworn by in one country as “the true and original” is sworn at in the next as an imposter. , . , , And yet again, back, back in the long ago, ancient records point to a totally different plant, and that the little woodsorrel, Oxalis acetosella, now a rare wilding, but abundant when Ireland was densely wooded, and the sun-lov-ing trefoils were probably and apparently non-existent. Purely trifoliate the shade loving ozalis is a pleasantly acid herb, and when, as that early writer, Sir Henry Piers in the “Collecteans de Rebus Hibernicis” says, “Between May Day and harvest, butter, new cheese, curds and shamrock are the food of the meaner sort,” we can only conclude it was the wood-sorrel. In the “Irish Hudibras,” 1689, it is recorded of our islanders “Shamrogs and watergrass he shows, which are both meate, and drink, and close,” thus identifying the wood-sorrel, albeit the poet must have been “humbugging” as anent Paddy’s costume. Further, Fynes Morrison, secretary to the ill-fated Essex when in Ireland, says “They willingly eate the herbe shamrocke being of a sharpe taste.” Other data from the long ago further confirms the view that oxalis acetosella, our last find of which was a colony on the hard, clay bank of a ditch, under dense shade, in Luttrellstown, 'Clonsilla, was the original shamrock. For all that, nevertheless, what was shall not, can not, lessen our affection for what is—the little trefoil, and be that minus or repens, according to local belief and faith, all honour to the dear little shamrock of Ireland.