The Garden.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 11685, 29 April 1916, Page 16

The Garden.

Work for the Week. KITCHEN GARDEN. Seeds to Sow.—Cabbage, cress, lettuce, onions (for salad), turnips and spinach. What to Plant.—Cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower. May and Juno are tlie months of dull, damp, short days, and often very damp nights, and in some seasons many wot days. This is the time to make -any alterations to the garden. Heview the results of last season and 'make preparations for next season's crope. The remains of spent crops should bo cleared away as soon as possililo. The recent, frosts having blackened the tender growths of marrows, beans, cucumbers, etc., they can bo cleared' away, and the remains burnt or buried. All vacant, plots of ground should bo dug deep and thrown up rough to oxpose as much of the .surface as possible to the -weather. The winter frosts and rains -will do much to sweeten the soil, and change, insoluble plant foods into a condition' suitable for the roots of plants to absorb. Do not bo in a hurry to cut tho growth from the asparagus plants until Vno stems turn quite'brown. There is a great temptation to cut it off to tidy tho bed,-but the crowns suffer, aud the heads will be smaller next spnug. Asparagus is growing very late th's season on account of the heavy early autumn rains, and as long as the top growth remains green tho crowns are getting stronger, which means larger and liner produce next spring. Young tender carrot roots are much nicer'for soup than .old, hard roots. A supply can be obtained' during the winter and spring by sowing a pmch,of seed in a cold frame. A few degrees of frost will not harm the plants, if thev are- growing in soil that is well drained. Scatter the seedssparinglyto avoid over-crowding. Celerv should' be moulded up on a hue dav. *Tako care to remove all damaged leaves, and keep the soil from falling into tbe heart of the plants by holding the leaf stems firm m the left hand while the soil is packed round with the right. Leave the soil highest at the centre, with a sharp fall away from the plants, to conduct the water away from the hearts, as too much water tends to set up decay during wmEoots or seakalo for forcing should bo taken up and prepared for forcing. Keep the crowns in total darkness, as it tlwy are exposed to the light tho heads will turn quite purple. In districts subject to severe frosts, it may be necessary to cover tcnaer ■vegetables. Get the protecting material ready for use, so that when there are clear indications of a hara' frosty it is at hand for use at a minute's notice. \ little attention in this direction will save -Dounds' worth of vegetables. Autumn-sown peas ! develop much faster when protected from cold cutting winds. Efficient protectors can bo made by fixing two boards eight inches wide bv one inch thick, on edge, and tacking 'some sparrow-proof wiro netting along the top. It is surprising how fast peas grow when protected iiTthis way. Carrots, beet and potatoes that have not been lifted should be taken up and stored' as soon as possible. HABDY FRUITS.

Apple and pear trees can be pinned ,-m" time now. The Into frosts liavo brought doAvn most of the leaves, and this is a sign that growth for this season i" finished, and the sooner pruning is finished the better. Some people think this work should not be don© until the winter, hut this is a mistake, because as soon as the leaves aro all down the trees begin next season s work. If we carefully watch the bark on ti-fps, vc note they begin to swell (or plump up as gardeners describe this movement) soon «lter the leaves have fallen, and the buds go on swelling crraduallv until they hurst into blossorolmd leaf next spring. 'This bcrag so tlie sooner all the surplus buds are removed the better for those that are left, because the latter will tnen cet all the force from the roots and very littlo is wasted. The reason why jprumn"- is done in the winter m Europe 3 is an economic one, because very littlo other work can be carried on during the intensely frosty weather and owing to the low temperature of both atraosphero and soil, the growth (or movement) of both root and branch is arreste'd and there is very littlo loss froip deferring pruning to December and January m the Old Country. The pruning of apples is hotter understood than tho pruning of pears. The latter once the tree has grown into shape and the number of leading shoots required obtained, should not be pruned as hard as apples. It we treat or cut them just the same as apple tress it will keep them from bearing fruit for some years, /ears are so vigorous in growth that a greater length of the current season's growth should be left on the trees to give an outlet to this great vigour. The more wo cut away the greater the growth next season, and the more we leave.on the sooner the tree will bear fruits, bucli being the case, prune the pear trees sparingly once the shape and number of shoots required has been obtained. The habit of some varieties of pears is very upright, and means must be taken to encourage the shoots to spread. One of the best methods is to hang a weight near the end of a branch, heavy enough to make it mciine outwards. Tho constant pulling of this weight will encourage the branch to assume a more horizontal habit and when the fruits como they will bend it more and more in the desired direction it trees with an upricrht habit are left? to grow naturally their fruiting surface is very much contracted. They will only fruit on the outside branches, where the light and air can circulate freely around die buds. If, however, the outside branches are bent down, light and air can reach the centre shoots and ripen their buds, and then every branch wul give a good crop of fruit. FLOWER GARDEN.

Roses have been unusually plentiful this Easter, in fact, it is doubtful it many can remember a season when this queen of flowers has been as plentiful as it lias been during this Eastertide, This has given a good opportunity to note those that flower freely in the autumn. There are quite a large number of pink varieties that bloom well in the late autumn, but very few dark rod. There are a good number of white and cream, but few good yellows. Looking through the. rose garden in the Domain, the four best dark varieties were Grass Antoplitz, Hugh Dickson, Edward and Florence H. Veitch. Among" the pink varieties was jMt.s John Laing, probably the oldest of the pinks in that large collection. Jt is in splendid condition, in both flowers and foliage. Others were Mrs H. Stephens and Fran K. Dnisehki. Tho best of the white varieties. Mrs If. Stephens, is probably tha best white ro-e in cultivation for number and ehastoness of blossom, with good foliage. Betty and Lady JJoberts arc two varieties thai; should h'- in every, collection, on account of their vigorous growth and tho large number of blossoms they give during the season. Lady Hillingdon is one of the best of the apricot yellow varieties for autumn flowering, but, unfortunately, frosts early spoilt tho flowers.