COLOURFUL CITY RESERVES

Southland Times, Issue 24986, 24 February 1943, Page 3

COLOURFUL CITY RESERVES

MANY FLOWERS IN BLOOM Despite an acute shortage of labour the staff of the City Reserves Department have succeeded in making the flower beds and borders of the public reserves an attractive spectacle. At present there is a brilliant display of blooms, particularly many-hued dahlias, in the beds surrounding the rose gardens. Ranks of dahlia Vesuvius with its dark foliage and cardinal red flower, interplanted with yellow tagetis, make a brave show in front of the rose gardens. Inside the Feldwick Memorial Gates red geraniums, blue visceria and white allysum flaunt their colours in a patriotic polychrome. In the border leading from Gala street to the Museum there is an outstanding display of callendula chrysantha, a species of deep yellow marigold, interspersed with dahlias as a background and bordered with the blue and cardinal red of the annual visceria.

The season for roses is almost past, but the trees are still blooming. The quality of the blooms is, of course, not up to the standard attained about Christmas, which was the peak of the season, but nevertheless the rose gardens are worth a visit. AUTUMN TINTS

The poplars in the gardens are beginning to shed their leaves, which are assuming the yellow and brown colours indicating the approach of autumn. The leaves of the poplars and other deciduous trees will now begin to drop, a process which will be hastened and finally completed by the frosts of May. The vista of broad, shady trees, both native and exotic dotted over the immaculate lawns of Queen’s Park is a pleasing one. The beds and borders surrounding the Feldwick gates are set off by two splendid specimens of copper beech and a well-developed kauri tree. Few people are aware of the existence of this kauri, which is now about 14 feet in height. The kauri is a native of North Auckland and does not generally flourish well in Southland because of unsuitable climatic conditions. The tree was planted in a well-sheltered corner and since it was planted about 16 years ago it has grown remarkably well. The blooms in the rhododendron dell, which borders the patch between the duck pond and Elies road, have passed, but will be 'seen again with the approach of spring. The ornamental brooms and lupins in the centennial border, which replaced the unsightly row of pinus insignis along Elies road, have likewise passed. At the height of the season in December this border was probably the most spectacular in Queen’s Park. In the No. 2 gardens the annuals are at their best and present a mass display of colour. Decorative dahlias are a feature of the display and the beds include some magnificent blooms. They are all named varieties. Many people have been seen on numerous occasions jotting down the names of those flowers which take their fancy, probably with the intention of ordering similar varieties from their florist. DISPLAY OF BEGONIAS

There is a splendid display of begonias in the glasshouse and with them the geraniums, coleus, maidenhair ferns and Kentia palms combine to make an attractive picture. The coleus, a plant cultivated solely for foliage, possesses unique markings and richness of colours in its leaf. Behind the display of beauty in gardens and glasshouses thre is a great deal of careful planning. Preparations must be made months ahead. In the nurseries no fewer than 12,000 young wallflower plants have been planted in nursery beds. They will be transplanted to various flower beds in the reserves in May and will make a blaze of colour in the spring.

DESERTER SENTENCED

(P.A.), WELLINGTON, February 23. The sentence of a general courtmartial on Private Jack Reynard, who was tried last Saturday, has been promulgated. He was found guilty of deserting and was given hard labour for a year. He was absent from July 13, 1942, till February 16, 1943.