FLOWER GARDEN

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLV, Issue 21126, 27 August 1938, Page 15

FLOWER GARDEN

LAYERING Trees and shrubs with branches near the ground can almost always be increased by layering. There are several different methods of bringing the shoot to the ground and keeping it firm but the two really important things in layering are keeping the buried portion In a permanent state of moistness and in perfect fixity. Wilst the time at which layering is best undertaken is in the spring, it may be undertaken at almost any time. Some method of checking the flow of sap must be adopted, either by partly severing the branch or by twisting wire tightly round it. The accompanying diagram shows what is known as serpentine layering by which method quick growing climbers such as clematis or wistaria may

be propagated. The stems are laid along a shallow trench and covered with a few inches of good soil. A certain number of nodes are left exposed for growth, and when this has developed sufficiently the soil is filled in around them to the level of the ground line. Under normal conditions one .season is usually sufficient but if there is any doubt the layer may be completely severed from the parent

plant the first year and removed the second season. Dwarf shrubs like heaths and daphnes, are often layered by merely weighting down the branch to the ground by placing a stone on it. “FLOWERS FOR THE WOODLAND GARDEN’’ Fortunate is the gardener who possesses a piece of woodland within the boundaries of his garden—its possibilities are boundless. It can be made a most attractive spot, and many beautiful plants can be grown there. Woodland'gardening is essentially a form of wild gardening —any suggestion of formality would be completely out of place. Light is essential to all green leaved plants—overcrowding must be avoided; open spaces, in which bold drifts of flowering plants can be planted will add delight to the scene. The approach to the woodland from the more formal part of the garden should be so planned that the transition is gradual and as natural as possible. Groups of large flowered Rhodo’s may provide one means of approach, and Azaleas another. They furnish glorious displays of bloom in the early summer and the leaves of the Azaleas are beautifully autumn tinted. The ground should be well prepared, for the successful cultivation of woodland plants depends largely on this. The sites for individual plants and beds for groups, or drifts, should be dug 2 feet deep, cleared of weeds and enriched with leaf mould and decayed manure. A very suitable subject for the woodland garden is the evergreen Gatiltheria G. Shallon —will form dense masses three feet high, with large leathery leaves and clusters of pinkish flowers followed by purplish fruits. Gaultheira procumbens is a creeping, red-fruited shrub among which daffodils and snowdrops may be planted generously. Room ought also to be found for the rare white fruited G. pyroloides. Heaths will flourish in the open spaces, planted in generous drifts with daffodils among them. Near the path, and tucked beneath a loose growing shrub, the Mayflower of North America, Epigaea Repens, should be established. Sandy peaty 1 soil suits it best, and if satisfied will form an ever-green carpet a few inches high, which in spring will call attention to its presence by the fragrance of its pink-tinted wax-like flowers. Many kinds of lilies that appreciate the coolness of open woodland may be planted among the low growing shrubs. The Tiger Lily will flourish and quickly become naturalised by scattering its bulbils in all directions. The Panther Lily (L. pardalinum) may bear it company. The stately lilium Giganteum from the Himalaya, seen only at its best in a woodland setting must have a large bed specially prepared for it several feet deep of leaf mould and peat, and other decaying matter, while Lilium Auratum and its varieties should be 1 planted on the outskirts of the woodland. For carpeting the margins of woodland paths, there are few more delightful subjects than the creeping Bunchberry “Cornus” canadensis. Its i stems, four inches or so high are surmounted by whorls of leaves that display the ivory flowers bracts and, later, the red edible fruits of sweet flavour. Bunch primroses, or polyanthus should be planted in masses to light up the woodland in spring in company with daffodils, Spanish squills (Seilla campan ulata), the dog’s tooth violet, and such dainty anemones as blanda, and nemorosa in their many varieties. The North American wood lilies or trilliums will create a delightful effect in association with hardy ferns. When most of the woodland flowers are over, the Plantation Lily or Funkia, now called Hosta by botanists, will come Into its own. Rising above masses of bold, handsome foliage, the tall spikes of flowers create a charming effect in late summer. Fortune!, with grey-blue foliage and purple flowers, is one of the loveliest, and Seiboldiana, having grey green leaves and lilac flowers is also handsome. To bear the Plantation Lily company, the graceful Willow Gentian, Gentiana —asclepiadea, should be planted. If it is happy it will seed itself and form a natural colony. Finally there are the Candelabra Priumlas and allied kinds, a host in themselves, and all suited to planting in groups and generous drifts in the open woodland, in deeply dug beds of leafy soil. Although they will seed about freely, and become naturalised, to obtain the best effects it is wise to plant beds of them annually, and a selection should be grown to give as long a season as possible. Several fine varieties of Primula Japonica are available, but none are better than the typical kind which has purple-crimson flowers. The golden Primula helodoxa raises its whorled spikes to a height of three feet or more, and is lovely in association with Primula pulverulenta. The orange yellow Primula bulleyana, and its offspring in shades of salmon, pink and orange, flower well into summer in company with the rose purple Beesiana, and the orange scarlet Cockburniana. The Sikkim cowslip P. Sikkimensis, with pendant clusters of pale yellow flowers, loves a cool moist spot, and where it will flourish there also should be planted its giant relative (Primula florindae) to see the summer out with its large bunches of yellow flowers. —“Good Gardening.”