Gardening Notes.

Wairarapa Daily Times, 20 January 1932, Page 2

Gardening Notes.

Making a Garden. Avoid haste in the making of a garden. Those who are dealing with a ’ freshly-enclosed plot of uncultivated land are advised to concentrate for the present upon cleaning the ground, digging, and path-making, and till beds and borders with temporary things to piovide a colour display next spring. There are many who have already concluded the first year of gardening, and it is such who will now be needing to form and furnish the permanent features. Autumn is a very important season for this particular work, and a busy time faces the amateur who confronts the tasks of planting trees, bushes, roses, and climbers, laying lawn turf, and filling herbaceous borders. It is prudent to pay close attention to details of arrangement, and one of the advantages of postponing permanent planting until the second season of ownership is that it gives time to become familiar with the peculiarities of environment, and to decide what may be done to minimise defects. It is a common occurrence for a garden to suffer from persistent draught from one narrow opening between neighbouring buildings. Sometimes a screen may be erected and covered with a stronggrowing climber. * * * *

'Carnation Layering. The time is here when we should set about this work; everybody who grows any carnations at all should put down

Fruit Flowers and Vegetables.

a few layers every year. Old plants may give the greatest number of blooms, but the best are obtained from young plants. In any ease, whether we retain the old plants or not, it is as well to have a few young plants each year, for what with disease and pests, one never knows when our plants will be attacked, and wo shall lose a variety we are extra fond of, and it is always nice if we have a good variety to be able to present some of our best friends with a plant or exchange it for another variety that we have admired. The operation is very simple, so simple in fact, that with due care and a sharp knife the youngest novice can ensure success. All that is needed is a few pins, large-sized hairpins will do; a sharp, thin-bbaded knife, and some good soil in which leaf-soil and sand form the chief part. Choose a good strong shoot for layering, and clean off the lower leaves so that no leaves are below the ground when it is layered. The leaves should be cut off; experts can pul off the leaves, but it is best if one is a beginner to cut them off, otherwise you are likely to break off the shoot, and that is the end of the layer.

Flower Garden. Artifiical watering is beneficial, but due care must be exercised or the results are not good. When water is applied give sufficient to thoroughly wet the soil down to the

roots. After applying water, break up the surface of the soil with the hoe. A mulch of almost any kind of waste vegetable matter is an advantage just now. Chrysanthemums must have attention to staking, tying and disbudding. The buds that are showing now should in most cases be removed. Remove all lateral growths except such as are required to carry flowers. Spray the plants to keep in check a] ihis. Use a nicotine spray. Dusting the plants with sulphur will keep rust in check. Lift bulbs when it is necessary. Seeds of biennials and perennials can be sown now. Keep spent blooms cut off to prevent seed forming. Do not allow seed pods to form on gladioli unless required for sowing. This is the time to prune Wistarias. * * * * Vegetable Garden. Keep beans closely gathered. Make sowings of dwarf and tall varieties. Peas must be picked as soon as the pods are filled. Sowings of lettuce, radish and others should have a little care given as to watering and shading. Water the drills before sowing, cover with dry soil and shade the rows with a few pine branches. This method can be used for almost all seeds sown just now. Onions are maturing and when ripe the bulbs should be taken under cover.

Stop the growths of pumpkins, melons, marrows at about- two leaves bevond the fruit.

Clear away spent crops and keep down weeds to prevent seeding. Burn any diseased .haulm or tissue. Plant out for winter use, leeks, broccoli, kail, savoys, Brussels sprouts, etc. Plant out celery in well manured trenches.

Greenhouse and Nursery.

Continue to prick off the primulas and cinerarias, to uJF 11 cyclamen to their flowering potspand to prepare for lining out the wallflower, forget-me-nots, and other biennials. The tuberous begonias can now be allowed to develop their flowers, and seeds of primrose polyanthus can be sown. * * * *

The Flower Garden, r The work in the flower garden will be mainly of a routine nature, but it is important nevertheless. Keep the scuffle hoe going in the rose garden, and wherever there is unocupied soil. Stake and tie up plants as they develop and keep everything neat and tidy. * * * * Vegetables and Fruit. Continue to plant out winter greens, to make sowings of lettuce, onions, radish and other quick maturing vegetables. Remove the protecting nets which were placed over tlio strawberries; remove runners unless required for extending the plantations, andjMph* mcr prune fruit trees.