THE GARDEN

Waipawa Mail, Volume XXXVII, Issue 8015, 13 April 1918, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE GARDEN

Gardeners, like farmers, are apt to grumble unnecesarily at the weather, but it would be difficult to find a man accustomed to gardening who could reasonably grumble at tho fine weather being experienced. The nights are getting cold, and with the outgoing of the month of April, the winter season will not ho far away, and Jack Frost will make an end of tho more tender annual plants such as tomatoes, capsicum, melons and other members of the eucurbitaceous family. Wood ashes are a valuable fertiliser, and they can be used with advantage upon almost any kind of soil. They are often looked upon as of little worth, and are carted away to the tip or destructor, as rubbish to he got rid of by some means or other. Especially at the present time, when manures are scarce and dear, ashes, the burnt residue from garden refuse of any kind, are particularly rich in potash; in fact, they contain about half as much potash as there is in kainit, and that, of course, at a minimum cost. Kainit, and all other potassic artificial manures, are practically unobtainable just now, as the chief commercial source of potash has been obtained from tho vast saline deposits in Germany. All garden rubbish that is in any way burnable should be made into a bonfire, and the residue of this, if not required for immediate use, should he put into tags and stored in a dry place. If allowed to lie about on the damp ground, or exposed to the rain, tho valuable properties of the potash will be washed away, and the ashes become useless, from a fertilising point of view. Soot is another article not so much appreciated as it deserves. Soot acts both as a fertiliser and a purifier. It is very rich in nitrogen. A thorough and judicious use of soot would go far towards curing many of our soil diseases and difficulties. Its caustic properties prove very injurious to slugs, snails, caterpillars, and other garden pesfs; the cleansing properties of tho soot also renew tho life and fertility ol the soil when for any reason h has become sour and stale. If soot i: not as rich in plant food as some of tho other artificial manures, it is, on tlie other hand, not exhausting to tho soil. Soot may be applied as a surface dressing, dusting the soil with it until the latter is quite black, or else it may he forked into the ground. In any case, care should he taken not to bring the soot in contact with tho leaves of small or delicate plants, on account of its burning properties. If not already done, see that a good supply of winter vegetables is assured by the sowing of seeds and the rowing out of plants of members of the brassica family. The soil is both moist and warm, and germination and growth should he rapid in such favourable circumstances. THE FLOWER GARDEN. Some of the early flowering varieties of chrysanthemums are now well in bud. Where these buds are too numerous on the plants, and finely-developed flowers are desired, they should be liberally thinned out. care being always taken to preserve the central or crown ones, from which the best blooms are usually produced. The thinning out can bo expeditiously done with a pair of fine-pointed scissors, but the super-

fluous buds may be easily n*ni ov ,j tween tho finger and thumb, jf ground on which the plants ar,. ‘ ing is not rich, liquid fertilisers highly beneficial. One of tin* made by dissolving four ounces phate of ammonia in twenty jr a ||J water, and this stimulant should 7 diciously applied to the roots week as soon as the buds begin. ’ pand. In the more favoured of anemones and ranunculuses m av lie planted, but in the colder part, ! ust will be soon enough to set. in the open. Although tin . beautiful flowering plants thrive * similar cultural conditions, u ~ advisable to plant them together i attain perfection in a sheltered 1 open sunny situation in thor 0 ’ u worked, rich, sandy loam, hut d# on a variety of fertile, friable so j| grown in a bed by themi* h,.. . rows, the tubers should he planj inches apart and one inch dc,.,, tubers of ranunculus should l„. ,) with tho “claws” pointing down*, for the plant develops from th,. ' ite end. The only attention r«! until early spring is to keep then, ol w eeds. BULBS FOR EARLY FLOW Kins Bulbs of various kinds an* cultii to a greater or less extent in ni<J dens, and are greatly valued fJ beautiful, and in many instance,] liantly-coloured flowers they . )r! J at their appointed seasons. Th« generally considered garden decoration, and those who a large and varied assortment < ai] flow ers u greater part of the war time has arrived for planting a pm collection of hardy b .lbs whose fo will make the garden gay in wi nl(l . xcry early spring. Amongst the* ost flowering ones are the varuiuh «d polyanthus or bunch-fl.nveiJ cissus. These produce large | lPa( i sweetly scented flowers, ranging jj our from pure white to deep low, and if planted now sonic of. will bloom in May ami June in the, favoured districts. The allied J(% which bloom later in tin* season] single and double flowers, which deliciously fragrant, and ol a dm, low colour. Daffodils also 1,..u this family, and the newer creatim a wonderful improvement on the, varieties, and as they are „ ot numerous, tho range of selectioni great as it is varied. As .ill th,,* oils plants thrive under the sa , n ,. ca fI renditions, it is not treat them separately. They E j v ,' results when ni-own in a m,mu terod situation in deeply. w o ,y tile rather strong loams; l„, t .veil on a variety of fertile J have been brought to a good tilth grown in a bed by themselves, rows, ordinary-sized hull.s shoul planted Gin. apart, and left m with two inches of light soil. | varieties of these different types J cissus can he successfully grown it hbre in howls, and when in (lower are admirably adapted for indoor oration.

Crocuses and snowdrops give tin results when grown in the colds tricts They thrive in any good and should ta planted din apart 2J inches deep. Freesias an* non obtained in great varietv. Thevf m a sunny situation in light wind] that is rich in humus. The hull*] ho planted 4in. apart and lin, J he.se dwarf, beautiful flowering can he grown to perfection in ij boxes, and in pots for indoor di lion in winter.

Snowflakes, which are distinct snowdrops, should ho grown in the favoured districts. The l, n lhs J be planted sin. apart and 2in. J Sjiaraxis tricolour and its nun very showy flowering varietta 4 be planted in masses if a goodt effect is desired. If grown in this the bulbs should he planted 3in. and lin. deep and, if possible, in sandy soil, where the best result usually obtained.

1 ulips arc exceedingly showy li •ng plants, hut do best’in them the colder districts. They thm deiep, rich sandy loam, tin* i bulbs should he plantsd (Jin. i and 3in. deep. Tulips con be ul 1 ully grown in pots. HEDGES. This season hedges have reqtfl most us much attention as lar keep them in anything like order, growth is still considerable, and should be frequently clipped*, hr ing in p garden is more nnsightl an untrimmed hedge. This doesi course, apply to floral hedges, l should not he cut until the flo* period is over. Recently-planted mental hedges should have tlieir| regularly and judiciously cut baa ing the growing period, in orderl sure a dense growth at the m without that a hedge is not ml eyesore, but fails to answer tkl pose for which it was planted. I