The Garden.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 11757, 22 July 1916, Page 16

The Garden.

Work for this Week.

KITCHEN GARDEN

Seeds to sow—Broad beans,, cabbage, cauliflower, cress, lttuce, onions (for salad), peas, turnip arid spinach. Wh:U to plant—'Cab cage and cauliflower. . .. Tbe groat seod-?ownig season win soon Arrive, when both gardener am J seedsman will be very busy, -uucli ot tbo rush can bo avoided by making preparations at once : by ordering the seeds and roots, making a plan or how the garden is to bo cropped, and pitparing the labels, etc. i Where leeks, an excellent vege„aole, are esteemed, it is .-a good plan to make two or three sowings to secure good roots over a long Koason. A P 1 . 1 . 1 / 01 seed sown now in a cold frame vail provide the oarly batch of plants. Another should bo made in the open int. tbo end of August, and a final one at the end of September. These will give u food succession or plants. for the present sowing, prepare some light soil and scatter the seeds thinly, as thov germinate well, and one should avoid overcrowding the seedlings. When the small plants are large enough to handle, malce up a nursery bod ii\ a sheltered corner and pricic them off about three inches apart. Arrange a cover to protect them against cutting winds. Peas enu be sown in warm, welldrained gardens. Do not put the seeds too deep. Potatoes should ho prepared ior planting out next month. If tbev aro not in boxes, get them in as soon as i possible, and stand the boxes in a light, warm position. Do not keep them in the dark, as the object is to encourage sturdy shoots. Select the .seed as true to typo as possible, reject all misshaped tubers, and plant only those that are of good shape. VINERY. The shoots on -early vines should be large enough to handle, but disbudding must be done with great care, it is safer to wait a week or two and make certain which growth has the best bunch of. buds on it before removing any. Some gardeners arc tempted to leave the strongest shoots, but often a weaker one has the better bunch. Examine the border and make sure the soil About the roots is damp. Maintain a moist atmosphere and keep the day temperature below 75deg Fah. Clean and dress the canes oi ! late vines and limewash the brickwork, ana if passible paint the wood. Keep the house as cokl as possible, to give the vines "a good rest. FLOWER GARDEN. Where herbaceous- beds and borders have to be rearranged, the work should be pushed on as fast ar> possible. The long spell of mild weather will encourage some plains to make an early growth, and all transplanting should be finished at scon as possible. Many of the herbaceous plants increase so fast that it. is necessary to transplant them every second season. Retain the outside portions, and discord the centre. The arrangement of plants is ono that affords great- scope for taste, in large borders the best, results are obtained from bold groups of the different kinds. The system of one plant ' only of orto kiud is nob .a good one if j there are a number available. An- j I other mistake is to arrange the plants so that -nil the tall kinds are at the j back, and all the dwarf at the front, j This is too formal a;l '- stiff. A bold | group of delphinium* quite near the j front .is very effective, and clumps of j another subject at a little distance, : with more dwarf kinds between, is j more natural and much more etfec- J . tive. . ! Another important pofmt is to so ! distribute the kinds over the border I as to liave some in flower nearly all the season. Dig deep, and work in plenty of well decayed manure. In large borders it fo well to put in a i>hrub or two that I flower in winter and early spring—-to ; relieve tbo bareness of tbe border during these seasons. Erica pj'ramidalis m ono of tho most useful for this purpose. His evergreen, begins to open its blossom in April, just at the time when early frosts cut dahlias and other summer flowering plants, and i° at its, best during June and July, when flowers are very scarce and the border very dull. Another brignt pJaiH is tho .Tesammc Nudiflorum. This flowers all through the winter and s;pi'ing, luvil its bifight blossoms are very cheerful during the dullest, season in the garden. _ Tho Japonic a (Cydoma) rnaKe good shrubs for this purpose, flowering during July and August and September. Forsy'thia Suspensa .is another fin© plant for this purpose. With a littleattention it can be kept quite dwan, from three, to four feet high. It, begins to flower in August, -and makes a great show for about* six w eelc?. In the autumn its leaves give splendid tints in brown, red, crcr.m and gold. It must be ' distinctly understood that these shrub 3 must not be planted close to each other, <ls the object is to break the bare appearance of the border during the winter and cavlv spring mov/her.. t-bo horI baceous plants arei leafless; taking i their winter rest.

GREENHOUSE. j The days are gradually lengthening j and many plants are starting into new growth. Thir- will give a. stimulus to rc*-patt.ing -mid - propagating. Tacro are some plants that tor several reasons it ic not desirable to put into larger pots, but they should have some fresh food. Take a strong pointed stick and remove as much soil as possible. without injuring the roots, and then give them some now compost. Palms "and other plp.nts can be kept in good condition foryears even m com paraiivclv small iJots by tins treatment, together with rome manure water, during the summer months. Plants with soft leaves, such as eiuernrifiß and oclargomumß, will need more space to keep "their foliage hi good condition. It is a good practice to turn the plants about just a little, say every second week, to prevent the growth inclining more on one side _ than the

other, and so secure a more even growth. If these plants remain very long in one position the roots grow out at the bottom of the pots, but si: it'ting them prevents this. Cyclamen in flower should manure water' twice a week. .Do not. overwater these plants, as too much will cause many of the buds to clamp off. Ihis loss puzzles a, good many, but too much water is the. cause. If seeds of' Primula sinensis are to be saved, secure it from the earliest, and not the latest flowers. Put one plant aside and brash the first lot of blossoms, then pick off all the other buds and trusses of imds to concentrate the force of the plant into the development and maturing of the seed. Tne result will prov« strong seedlings, bigger plants with finer Bowers.