Amateur Gardener.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 121, 27 June 1914, Page 5

Amateur Gardener.

(By " AOTEA.") GOOD WINTER FLOWERING SHRUBS. Arbutus unedo.—The strawberry tree is a. very handsome plant at this season of the year by reason of the large drooping racemes of lily-of-the-valley-like flowers. As the fruits take a year to ripen it will often be found loaded with its scarlet strawberry-like fruits while it is in full flower. It is a native of Southern Europe and the West of Ireland, and grows in great profusion on the limestone rocks about Killarney. The berries are edible though rather insipid. Where fruit has been scarce I have known them to be made into jam. In Corsica it is said that they are ( made into wine that is rather strong in narcotic properties, while in some parts of Greece the bark and leaves are used for tanning leather.

A. andrachne is somewhat similar in appearance, flowering and fruiting at about the same period. The leaves are darker, smooth and more leathery, and the fruit considerably larger. They both grow rapidly, soon forming, large plants of bush rather than tree form, from eight to twenty feet high. They require to be planted in full exposure, and a sunny aspect to see them at their best, under trees the growth is loose and mostly flowerless. Elseagnus glabra, known in nurseries as E. japonicus, is an elegant ever-green shrub, native of Japan. The flowering is now just about over. Although the flowers are rather inconspicuous, the scent is very penetrating and sweet. Chionanthus fragrans.—The winter sweet in sunny positions is now flowering well. The flowers are very quaint, the many narrow petals being soft yellow with a reddish-brown blotch at the base. It is a capital plant for training up under a sunny window. The flowers are fairly long, lasting in the house, and a, small flowering branch w r ill scent a whole room pleasantly.

The Daphne, known as D. indica rubra, is a favourite wherever known. A warm free soil is. necessary for its well doing, but it should not suffer for want of moisture during summer. When doing well it will give a profusion of flowers throughout the winter. It is one of the most fragrant flowers we have. Grevilleas are nearly all tropical or sub-tropical plants, but G. rosmarinifolia (dellacliiana) is almost, if not quite, hardy in Canterbury. It is a dwarf-growing compact shrub from two to three feet high, and is perpetually in flower, its quaint red and white flowers being in the greatest profusion during the winter if in a sheltered position. Acacia baileyana is one of the smaller growing wattles and the first to flower. A. dry warm spot should be chosen for it. The flower buds are now beginning to show quite golden, and it will not be long before it is in full flower. The roots seem less aggressive than other wattles. It w T ill stand cutting back well after flowering, and can be kept in more shrub-like form. SOME ROSES FOR THE FUTURE. In the National Rose Society's annual for 1914 Mr H. E. Molyneux gives some descriptive notes on the new seedling roses that received awards from the Society. An abridged selection of those of which he speaks well may be of interest and whet the appetite in advance of * their being available to Dominon rose growers. IMfrs Ford, which is catalogued in the Dominion for the first time this season, he refers to in these terms: "It should have a useful career as an exhibition rose, and its dainty and distinct colouring will appeal to many who will want it in their gardens. Of fine form and shape, colour dainty rose pink, with that yellow base to the petal that betrays its tea blood. Altogether a fine variety.'' Madame Edouard Herriot, .also obtainable in the Dominion this season: — "This rose is now fairly well-known, having been frequently exhibited; its fine colour will make it popular. It is a garden rose that will largely displace the Lyons rose, especially if it does not develop the bad habits of that variety.''

Mrs George Beckwith (raised by Y. Pernet-Ducer) —"A line bright clear yellow of Rayon d'Or parentage; vigorous erect growth. Here again the hardy glossy foliage wiil render it mildew proof. It's habit is certainly better than Rayon d'Or. Fragrant, and should make a good garden rose." Not yet in commerce. Willovraiere.—"A beautiful rose of a soft terra cotta pink, a Lyons rose of more erect growth —likely to prove the most popular of this new race." Queen Mary.—"As the result of growing this rose in my own garden during 1913 I am now prepared to express the bold opinion that it is the most beautiful of all roses." It was awarded the gold medal of the N.R.S. by unanimous vote —a most uncommon occurrence. Obtainable in the Dominion this season. Mrs James Lynas "has not had long to wait for the coveted gold medal, and the rose richly deserves it, —a glorified Mrs Theo. Roosevelt, a pale blush on a white ground, the beauty of the rose lies in tlie regularity of the arrangement of its petals. The flowers are of great size and depth of petal, and it is an exhibition rose of the first rank. A fine grower, erect and vigorous and slightly fragrant.'' Red Letter Day.—"The rows of it at Newtownards could be picked out half a mile away, so free flowering and bright is its colouring." The colour is a dark shade of scarlet crimson, and is not much better than semi double. Should make a good garden rose. It was figured in the '' Garden'' with a coloured plate on April 25, 1914. Muriel Dickson. —"This variety goes out under the class of hybrid Austrian briars. This is a superbly coloured rose, not easy to accurately describe. There is a flow of vermilion suffused over the deep pink that is very effective. The plant is branching in habit and free flowering." Mrs Hugh Dickson. —"It is a delightful rose of exquisite form and fragrance, a hybrid tea of large size and good petal, cream with a suffusion of orange and apricot."

G. Amedee Hammond.—A fine exhibition rose that can be called yellow—a colour very rare amongst exhibition Hybrid Teas —a good deep yolk of egg centre, shading off to a clear sulphur on

the outside of the petals, which are round rather than pointed. A good vigorous grower, fragrant and free." Florence Forrester. —"A Hybrid Tea that will probably eclipse Fran Karl Druschki, as it is larger, has more petals and is further slightly fragrant. It is a good grower, not so vigorous as F. K. Druschki, and therefore likely to be a better bedding rose." Mrs Archie Gray.—"This is an exhibition rose of such beauty that it will be a garden rose too. A cream self of magnificent shape, and all the points of an exhibition variety, with a delightful fragrance, coupled with a free flowering habit. By many it was thought to be the finest rose in the show. I hesitated between this variety and another named Gorgeous, and I shall not be able to finally decide until I have grown them both.'' Gorgeous.—"l think this w r as the popular sensation of the show. It is certainly a very fine flower, and the first exhibition variety to give us the new colours, the result of the Pernet-Ducher cross; with the exception of the Lyons Rose, all the other varieties have been decorative roses. Here you have a variety that could hold its own with the best. The name is quite justified—flesh, orange, apricot, and copper are its colours. Fragrant and a good grower; a rose that will be in great demand." Colleen.—"Somewhat similar to Killarney, but distinct, having much larger petals and more cream colour in its colour scheme. It is not so subject to. mildew, and altogether an . advance on that old favourite. Given high culture it is capable of producing an enormous flower that will hold its own with the best in the exhibition box." Edward Bohane, gold medal. —"This is a very fine crimson scarlet Hybrid Tea of good shape and extra stout petal, a real good rose, likely to be useful for all purposes." Edgar M. Burnett.—"lt is one of our largest roses, with a very great number of petals of a blush pinic colour, with a deep edge of colour to each petal; deliciously fragrant. It is almost too large for a garden rose. A good grower and almost mildew proof." PRUNING. Note. —Roses should not be pruned before August. Rose pruning will be dealt with fully in due season.