FLOWER GARDEN

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXI, Issue 18973, 26 March 1924, Page 3

FLOWER GARDEN

Put in the cuttings of hydrangeas and bedding geraniums. Feed chrysanthemums with liquid manuro. Sow ten-week stock seed. Plant spring flowering bulbs. Plant out equilegia and delphinium seedlings that were raised from seed sown in spring and early summer. Where carnations are to be sown on a seed bed, sow before the end of the month if possible, in order to hav e the seedlings strong before cold weather sets in. When preparing beds for Brompton stocks, make the soil thoroughly rich, and plant from eight to twelve inches apart. Sweet Williams sown during the next few weeks can be had to flower in spring and early summer. These old favourites have been greatly improved by the hybridisers in recent years, the strains now available being more floriferous and exhibiting beautiful combinatons off colours. Cut away the old flowef stems from perennial phlox, lupins, adnnd delphiniums-

Plant out seedlings that are ready for removal from seed-beds, boxes, etc. BORDER AND EDGING PLANTS. Taking up, dividing and replanting borders of violets that have been growing in the same place for some years and hav e exhausted the ground and want a change is necessary and may be done now. The ground should be deeply dug and well manured in readiness for replanting. If in the same place, the old soil should be dug out and replaced with new earth, mixing with a little lime. Select single crown for replanting, arranging them about four inches ; part. Borders of polyanthus, primroses and cowslips may also be taken up and divided

and replanted, well manuring the ground with well-rotted, stable manure. CARNATIONS AND PICOTEES Favoured by exceptionally good weather conditions in keeping the soil moist and warm, layers that were put down towards he end of December and early in January have rooted freely and will lift with a ball of earth attached to the roots. These should be transplanted into rows jin the specially-prepared raised bed, arranging the rows about six inches apart and five inches between the plants in the rows. Dig out a trench about four inches d-ep and carefully plant, pressing the soil firmly around the rott s when filling it in. They will soon become established, root well and grow into healthy, strong bushy plants for transplanting into their permanent places towards the end of th e winter. This system of planting the newly-taken-off layers closely together in specially prepared raised beds keeps the soil drier during the winter and enables the weeding and the tending of the plants and also controlling slugs to be done without treading on the soil in the bed. If necessary, the plants being closely together may be protected from heavy rains by arranging for a canvas cover, to be rolled up during the fine weather. The layers may also be potted with a single plant in each pot and placing them under a glass light in a frame and plunging the pots in powdered charcoal. CINERARIAS AND PANSIES Seeds of these may now be sown in seed pans or trays; present sowings have a much better chance of succeeding than earlier, when the weather was so very hot and occasionally muggy and conducive to the seedlings damping off. As seeds of the best strains of both cinerarias and pansies are expensive it is economical to sow thinly and also better for the plants, giving them more room and enabling the pricking off to be done better- As soon as the seedlings appear above ground admit more light and air and prick them off as soon as they are large enough to handle. Seeds of Beauty and other hardy stocks should be sown, stocks being specially prized for early flowering. Now, too, is a suitable time to sow the different varieties of antirrhiniums, dianthus, Margu -ito carnations, sweet scabious, nemesias, guillardias, Dimorphothecas, wallflowers and a few others. Hardy stocks that have been transplanted into boxes may now be planted out; also flowering peas. Attend to the thinning out of annual seedlings that were sown in the beds and borders that are large enough to handle; also to weeding among the plants. Now is a suitable time for making and putting in cuttings of meserabryanthemums, shrubbery calceolarias, zonale and bedding pelargoniums, Marguerite chrysanthemums, kalosanthes, dividing aubretias, cerastiums, dianthus montana and several other varieties of rock plants to have a fresh supply for spring planting.

LATE TOMATOES. DEVELOPING THE FRUIT. Late-grown tomatoes are now slow in ripening, so that every assistance should be given to develop and ripen the fruit. Keep all side lateral growths removed, so as to give the fruits the full advantage of the light and sun. The late rains have resulted in the loss of manv of the matured fruit, through splitting, while much of the smaller fruits is badly affected with black rot. At this season, the safest plan is to pick the fruit as soon a they begin to colour, and place them in a warm sunnv place to fully colour and ripen, while upon the least sign of the rot the affected fruit should be at once gathered and destroyed. , ASPARAGUS BEDS. These, too, will need attention. Too often after the best of the heads have been cut the beds receive little or no attention until the tops are decaved and are ready for cutting down. This in a measure is due to the difficulty in hoeing between the plants, but to allow the beds to become covered woods, not only robs the plants of the necessary moisture but impoverishes the soil. Hand weeding is at all time the fastest, unless when the plants have been set at suffici-nt Gstance apart, to allow of hoeing without risk of damaging the crowns. As soon as the tops have become yellow and ripened they should he eut down, but it is not advisable to apply manure until the heaviest of the winter rains are over.

LAOHENALIASThese are among the most distinct and beautiful of dwarf bulbous plants for pot culture and also for planting in pockets in the rock-gar-den and in clumps in the flowerborder. They also have a pretty effect in the circle that is kept lightly dug ayound small shrubs planted in the grass. There are several species, L. Tricolour and L. Aurea being the most plentiful. For pot culture five inch pots are the most suitable. About six bulbs should be placed in each, covering them with two inches of soil- No further potting is necessary. They may also be sown in seed pans. Place the pots or pans in a light airy position to encourage sturdy growth. Each of the bulbs, if strong, will produce from ono to four spikes; they last a long time in flower and are much prized* for room decorations. In planting groups in the border or in the p ;kcts in the rockery, arrange the bulbs about three inches apart and lightly cover themPlant now. SPRING FLOWERING BULBS. POPULAR VARIETIES. ■ In addition to anemones, ranunculi, narcissi and freezias, which everyone provides for, there is quite a number of other kinds of bulbs and bulbous plants that are exceedingly showy when in flower. Ixias, babianas, sparaxis and tritonas are of similar habit of growth and require to be planted in clumps, placing the bulbs two inches deep and the same distance apart. The ixias is a slender, graceful grower. Sparaxis and tritonas are of compact dwarf habit with spreading sprays of flower. Babianas are taller with hairy foliage. AU are exceedingly attractive and easily grown. Spanish irises merit a placo In every garden. They start early and should be planted at once, arranging them in clumps of two a;id a-half inches apart and two inches deep; they are easily grown and the flowers are georgeously beautiful and exceedingly quaint in their combinations and blending of colours and construction. Tulips and hyacinths, too. produce a georgeous effect with their brilliant and diversely-coloured flowers and they are extremely hardy and of easy culture. They should be planted in beds or in groups, mixing double and single-flowered varieties together and arranging the bulbs five inches apart and two inches below the surface.