THE HOME GARDEN

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 55, Issue 3929, 21 July 1937, Page 10

THE HOME GARDEN

WORK FOR THE WEEK.

THE-FLOWER GARDEN. | All shrubs and trees can now be I planted. | Remove dead foliage from bearded ■ irises. Seedling sweet peas can now be ' planted. Weed around the Japanese irises. Young shoots will soon be making their appearance. Plant out new subjects in the herbaceous border and divide old clumps. Propagate hydrangeas by means of cuttings. Plant out seedlings of iceland poppy, calendulas, stocks, pansies and violas. Sow antirrhinums, calendulas, calliopsis, pansies and sweet peas. THE VEGETABLE GARDEN. Weed the asparagus bed and cut down the top growth of plants. Pruning of fruit trees should commence as soon as the leaves fall. Sow for succession turnips, winter spinach and a pinch of lettuce. .Plant out strawberries. Earth up seedling cabbage and cauliflower. Lime the plots intended for early sowing. Plots not likely to be used tor some time should now be sown down in green crops for digging in. Thin out all seedling crops. Lift, divide and replant herbs. TIMELY TOPICS. NOTES, NEWS AND VIEWS. The beautiful copper beeches, among the most ornamental of trees, should never be overlooked when planning a large garden. These favourites of Old England are among the aristocrats. Newly planted loganberries and raspberries should be cut hard down, or they may prova unsatisfactory for several years. Useless stumps of any of the cabbage family should be cleared early, as they impoverish the soil. Dead tree stumps can be made attractive by planting clematis to climb ever them. When plants of garden peas showthrough the soil, run strands of black cotton along the rows to guard against birds. Seeds sown in drills are more easily kept free from weeds than those sown broadcast. Cuttings which are rooted in pure sand must be potted immediately they have formed roots. RHUBARB. HOW TO GROW IT. To grow rhubarb successfully the soil should be trenched and have plenty of strong manure put in at the time the work is done. It is hardly possible to give too much at any time but if a good foundation is laid, the subsequent manurings are done by top dressings, which are dug into the soil. The plants should be put in deep enough so that the crow-ns are just below the soil, and the plants should be two or three feet apart in the rows and the row’s about four feet apart. There are several good kinds in commerce, but the one to choose is the one that grows w-ell in your near .vicinity. The climate in your part may ’ suit one sort and not another. ASPARAGUS. THE SOIL IT PREFERS. Soil that is deep, rich, moist and

randy is the natural home of the edible asparagus, and any garden which can provide conditions approximating this specification should have a generous area devoted to this useful crop that is harvested when few other vegetables are available Good plants for the purpose may be grown in 12 months if the seed is sown as soon as the growth commences. Sow the seeds thinly so that plants will stand 3in or 4in apart, covering them with about 2in of soil. The di ilh: may be JBin apart and wider if motor or horse implements are used for aftercultivation. Five pounds of fresh seed should provide sufficient plants for setting out an acre of land; but as careful grading is recommended more seed should be planted to allow for culling all inferior plants and setting out only vigorous plants of good type. By sowing early such plants may be obtained for setting out a permanent plantation about the month of August, 12 months after sowing. HEDGES. PREPARE FOR PLANTING NOW. Hedges are often indispensable adjuncts to a good garden, but it very frequently becomes a question with the inexperienced of what to plant and when to do it. The present is a good time for preparing the ground and planting. Whatever is the nature of the soil it should always be trenched two spits deep, and if some good manure is m ailable, a dressing may be incorporated as the work proceeds. Roots of trees or large shrubs, and perennial weeds, such as couch grass, etc., must also be carefully removed during the operation. The former, if left in the ground, will generate fungus and destroy the roots of the growing plants, while the latter will grow rapidly in the loose soil and cause endless trouble and expense another season. ROSES. PLANT THEM NOW. June, July and August are the months in which to plant roses, but the earlier you make your purchases the better bushes you are likely to obtain. It is a mistake to dig over the ground and plant immediately. At least a week or two should elapse between preparation and planting to give the soil time to settle. To ensure success thorough preparation is necessary, and it is not too much to trench the ground 18in to 2ft deep, breaking up the subsoil well and mixing with it a generous dressing of well decayed farmyard manure, with a sprinkling of bone meal in the surface soil. If natural manure is unobtainable, there is no better substitute than hop manure supplemented by a dressing of bone meal at 3 ozs to 4 ozs to the square yard.