IN THE GARDEN

Taranaki Daily News, 7 August 1930, Page 17

IN THE GARDEN

WORK FOR THE WEEK. > the flower garden.’ • Get the roses pruned as soon us possible. . ’ . Cut away all suckers and collect and ■ burn all primings. , i Worthless varieties- and old decrepit plants should be dug out, burned and replaced by new ones. : ‘ No.time should be lost in ordering new varieties of roses if you Vvish to get ; ■ good plants oi the varieties you ic- " ■ ■ quire. . After pruning give the plants a spraying ; with lime sulphur or an oil spray. . ’ When pruning, use discretion in cutting and. cut the \yeaker sorts back: harder ; : , than the strong growers. ’ j ■ gome of the species hardly need prun- : ing at all, a cutting out of interlaced ; ■ or ■ dead branches is all that is • re- • : quired. ■ •' Dig over the beds after applying an a?plication of manure. . 'iThe planting of new shrubs, etc.; should ! T be pushed on. Cut out or cut back some of the old, dull Privets and other evergreens and replace by some of the newer flowering shrubs. Look over dahlia tubers and see that there.is no decay setting in. A mix-- ' hire of powdered sulphur and charcoil dusted in will check decay., ; Hedges should be clipped and have a ’ -i. gene-ral overhaul. Do not forget to .clean ..out underneeath —-this is a hid- } ■; inplace, for pests of all sorts. •'C'npressus . mncrocarpa and hedges of •: other varieties of conifers can be trimmed'now. Now is, a good time to give a general overhaul .to the rock garden. . Those ‘ J j ' varieties that have overrun, their space ;. . should be trimmed back. . -Topdre'seing .with new soil will be Ikjneficiah to, many of the plants, . iOuce the soil is in condition, the plant- '•! ' ing of stocks, calendulas, antirrhinums,' pdntsteinons, lobelias, prim- ■:>. ■ roses, polyanthus, etc., can be done. •1 Carnation bode should be" kept free of \ ’ weeds and. the plants give a dusting . ji of basic;slag. ■ Chrysanthemum cuttings can be taken '. : off. Those that were taken earlier . •; 1 and arc footed should be boxed off or. ip*, planted in a- nursery bed. ■:'f.Bulbs are now showing ■ freely and . weede.should.be kept down.either by j; hoeing or hand weeding. • , ~ ; '.Prepare”the ground fdy..planting gladioli. . The bulbs will'be cleaned and ready • . for planting next month., I’iiDo not-forget to order a few of the >h. .new gladioli to keep the collection up-td-ditie. , , ;? Discard any out-of-date varieties; do r : not put labour and time into varieties ; j that are past their prime. the vegetable garden. The ground is still very wet and, cold, -. and little planting is possible except ! •: on light soils. ■ ‘Vacant patches of’, ground should oe i .sown down in oats or Ipins. These can be dug in when .the ground is required for crops. Hand weed any seedling crops. lorking over the surface is the best means of getting rid of weeds between any ; ■ standing crops. ► • Where the soil is ready autumn-sown G " onions . can be transplanted. Do not P plant deeply, and trim back the roots about ohe third of their length. The tops should also be shortened so ; that the plants stand upright. Keep the seedling onion bed free weeds by hand weeding. Peas can be sown, but must bo protected from birds. On heavy or wet .soils it is best to sow- on a ridge. Potatoes can be planted on light soil or in warm districts. Plant on ridges if soil is at all wet and cold. The potato tubers should be sprouted before planting. Place in boxes in full sunlight to encourage a short, stout, dark , green sprout. Plant .rhubarb and give established beds a good dressing of manure. Fruit tree pruning should be done. Collect and burn all primings and rubbish from under the trees. Spray the? trees as soon as the pruning ;: is done,- - . j . ,; Any new fruit trees required should be t; ordered and planted. H Delay.- planting citrus fruits until 'September, but it is best to. order i- them to make sure of getting the H order- filled.. < ; ' H HEDGES. j; ? The hedges around a garden are often ii locked upon as a nuisance, and there ji is, no doubt that the average hedge Is nothing more than an unsightly harbour i- for weeds, rubbish and pests of all kinds. G This is not as it should be, for a well- ’• kept hedge is a good setting to a garden, acting the part of the frame to the picture. The chief fault with, . most .; hedges, is that their owners aye not severe enough .with the shears. To have • a good hedge one must keep it well trimmed, and. it should, never be allowed : to get beyond a certain size. As soon as it commences to get too wide or too ? tall or top heavy —a very common fault j, —a good cutting back should be given. Some may be. dubious , about giving a ' hedge such. a severe, cutting back, out : . if a hedge will not stand it, then tne !' plants forming the hedge are in their wrong places. A good hedge plant should stand almost unlimited cutting; C , it is useless to try and have a good hedge if it cannot be trimmed sufficiently to keep it within bounds. The present is a good time for cutting, espedaily if a severe one is to be given. P When cutting, keep the top level, and in trimming the sides keep the top part rather narrower than the base. Thia j. will prevent the hedge getting tO P heavy. The moat growth is always made at the top, and consequently the cutting should be more severe there than elswhere. * Also keep the centre of the top rather lower than the out- ' aide. This will also help to keep a better balanced hedge. There ia a certain amount of knack in using the shears, and, if properly used, a better job can be made. Most people cut with the tips of the shear blades pointing m- into the hedge. That is wrong; the • shears ehould bo used flat, so that they cut the whole length of the blades. It ■ will be found easier to cut level if one blade ia kept steady and the other is •. given the' motion to do the cutting. Thia will be found much better than if the two hands-are brought together at • the same time.' Tho blade which is kept steady acta as, a‘ level, -and' the other draws the portion to it to be cut. In

a similar manner a person, in using a pair of scissors to cut a piece of cloth, rests one blade upon a table, find uses the other blade to give the cutting motion. There are many plants which are useful for hedges, and amongst the uncommon which make good garden hedges, but are not cattle proof, are the following: Fuchsias of variety, tamarix gall’iea (especially near the sea), scnccio greyi, pittosporum (different varieties’). One of the best hedge plants in existence is Eleagnus. This can become a nuisance if lot run wild, but if kept well trimmed is as good as a brick wall, and will stand unlimited cutting. It is only equalled by the old-fashioned holly, of' which, perhaps, where it can be o-rown, there is no equal-. An eieagnus hedge should never be allowed to go long without trimming, and instead of allowing it to go on until the growths Cjre several feet long, hard, and with lon'o- f.hbrns, it should be cut when the growth are about- a foot or eighteen inches long. The growths are soil, and easily cut at that stage. This meanfl that an eleagnus hedge would have to be cut several times during the year, but the hedge would be improved and the labour would not be so hard. SHRUBS. ' - The season is now .here..when most people who own gardens have, time to look round and consider the shrubs. Throughout the greater part of the vear the shrubs are . mostly looked upon as something to give shelter to the more tender, plants. During the cold weather, however, when the rest ; 6f the' garden is more: or -less dormant;: the shrubs stand out niore prominently and they receive a certain amount of attention. Shrubs, like every other plant, give a proportionate return for the attention received. One mistake often made with shrubs is that during the winter they z all get their pruning whether they want it or-not. When dealing with flowering shrubs the best guide is prune after flowering. When dealing with evergreens prune in winter or early spring. If the shrub is on the tender sdie it is best to prune in the spring, as the plant begins to grow. Autumn flowering shrubs or those that are grown for sake-of the foliage produced during thb summer, prune in spring. As much care should be given to keeping shrubs a good wellbalanced shape as fruit trees. There are so many beautiful shrubs in cultivation that to try and make a selection is diificult.. .The three genera erica, or heaths, azaleas, or rhododendrons, daphnes, and berberis would alone fill a large garden. There are scores of varieties and all of them good. Then there are abelia, abutilon, bignonia, cassia, clienthus, escallonia, dentzias, eistus, magnolias and plenty more. Shrubs that will fill any position in the garden and fill it with credit, in addition to which it will; be there next year, and wth a little pruning'and Jan occasional dose of manure go on improving year by year. Now is a good time to look over the shrubs. If any of them are decrepit, ugly or coarse, cut them out and replace by some of the new, sorts. Shrubs in many gardens are represented by laurels, privets and such like, and although one or two of tnese are not our of place a crowd of them are, and could- be replaced by rhododendrons, berberis, etc. Then there are some of the i>ewer selections, that will adorn the lest of gardens. Amongst the beet o f oriwinental plants are the new crab apples, beautiful in flower and in fruit; Japanese cherries, persimmons, the foliage a glorious colour in autumn. In fact, on' could, go on for hours rambling tl-rcugh the list of beautiful shrubs and then ti f »e a eirol’ round Lie gardens and wonder why people will plant the poor varieties that are planted. ROSEMARY. Rosemary is well known, yet it is seldom one finds a plant growing in the •mi-dens. A plant with associations such as this should .be foqnd everywhere. It is one of the sweetest smelling of plants and for centuries has been used for different preparations. In the language df flowers it stands .--for- remembrance, i It was always present at weddings and funerals. It was used in homc-nja.de wine, in scent, and as physic. The chief commercial use at •the present time is in the manufacture of eau-de-cologne. It makes a nice shaped. small shrub and can certainly be considered as a welcome addition to any garden. The foliage cut and dried should be used in making pot pourri. SOUTHERNWOOD. . ./Thia .old-fashioned member of - our gardens at one time had a place in every, garden, small or large. With the., on-: ward march of time it has given way to more recently-introduced members of the floral world, although they may not be so sweet. Southernwood is known under several local ribnies, ' amongst which arc: Lad’s love, old man,- maiden’s r.uin. At one time it was used by herbalists, but has now been entirely discarded. The plant forms a shrub with finelycut grey-green foliage, vvhiclj is very pretty, and has a strong scent, which is supposed to be more pleasing to the young than to elderly people. It was introduced to cultivation about 1548, and is a native of Europe. It is well worthy of a corner in the garden, and will do in any soil in an open, sunny position. It can be propagated by cut; I tings taken off and put in sandy soil and shaded from bright sunshine. feijoa .SELLOWIAXA. This is a member of the myrtle family and is very nearly related to the guava (psidiuin). The fruit is egg-shaped and of a delicious aromatic, spicy flavour, and so far has not been proved of_ any value in this country as an edible fruit. It is, however, well worth growing for the sake of its flowers, which are each about two inches across, and composed of four fleshy petals of a curious hooded •shape. These petals are purplish, . inside, and almost white on the cxtenor, but owing, tito .. their hooded shape-, the , interior is almost hidden, by. the incurving of the edges, thus expressing the

paler-tinted outsdie. Like many other members of the myrtle family, the long slender filaments in the centre of the flower form a notable feature of the plant. A native of -Brazil and Uruguay, Feijoa Sellowina was introduced by M. Edward Audre in 1898, and although it would not prove hardy throughout the North Island, would do outdoors wherever the gviava <«r te bougainvilleas are hardy. THE NUTMEG., The nutmeg is the kernel of the seed of Mvristica fragans, a native of the East Judies. The tree is an evergreen, and requires a very warm situation and abundant moisture. l-DRGET-ME-NOTS. ’the members of this family are well known, and are surrounded with sweet associations, and what prettier and easier grown spring flowering plants have we in our gardens. The individual flowers tire not Inrgc, but tire- beautiful shades of blue cannot be. equalled in any other genera of spriiig-ilpw ering plants. A mass of forget-me-nots have a charm and beauty all their own, which is not equalled by any other member of the floral world. They are easily grown from seed which should be sown in autumn. 'They make chainring border plants, and are ideal for planting under trees and shrubs where other flowers fail. By water sides or upon a piece of moist ground some of the varieties make a lovely show. The following are some of the best:—Myosotis alpcstris: This is the pretty wood forget-me-not, and is an excellent bedding plant, growing about one foot high and flowering from early spring till slimmer is well advanced. The typo has blue flowers, with a light yellow' centre. There are several varieties of this offered by seedsmen, some having white and some, rose-coloured flowers. Myosotis dissitiflora: Spring forget-me-not; also useful for bedding. It is a dwarf er plant than the preceding, growing only-about six to nine inches. Ihe large sky blue flowers are produced in early spring. Seedsmen oiler seed of several varieties, all worth growing. Myosotis palustris: This is the true forget-me-not and is a pretty marsh or bog” plant, growing about one foot high. There is a white form of this offered by seedsmen. Myosotis semperfl.orens is a dvvaif flowering variety similar to Myosotis palustris. Myosotis sylvaiica: Wood forget-me-not. This is an excellent bedding plant, remaining a long time in bloom. FERriJ.ISING THE SOIL. The usual method is simply to spread or strew the chemical -fertiliser on the ground at a certain distance around the trunks of trees, but.it is found that this has a disadvantage in that the fertilising principles do not penetrate into the ground as rapidly as might be supposed, so that their action is felt but slowly. It is a much bettei- plan to uso an iron rod having an expanded part near the point so as to make rather, large holes in the ground. Such holes are filled with the fertiliser, which consists of a properly prepared mixture, using some precautions. The fertilise], in order to prevent damage to the roots from the caustic action, should be mixed with crumbled earth beforehand. From four to six holes should be used, deep enough so as to contain all the fertiliser required for the tree in question, and the holes ’ are best placed about twelve inches from the trunk. The depth of the holes is increased to keep pace with the growth of the tree.