OUT IN THE GARDEN

Waipukurau Press, Volume XXVIII, Issue 120, 16 May 1932, Page 6

OUT IN THE GARDEN

THE WEEK’S WORK AMONG THE FLOWERS Order any new Roses as soon as possible to be sure of getting the best plants. Remember that every standard variety was once a novelty. Therefore, while not discarding any tried and true friend, become acquainted this season with some of the novelties. Place garden walks in good condition. Any repairs to surface or drainage should be done as soon as possible. Hedges should be trimmed, except Macrocarpas and other conifers. Clean weeds and rubbish away from the base, Renovate and top-dress lawms. Prepare new lawns and sow seed as soon as possible. Hand ■weed Anemones and Ranunculi. A light forking between the rows can be given. Weak or old, decrepit or out-of-date Roses should be taken out and replaced by better sorts. Herbaceous plants that have finished flowering can be cut down. See that all herbaceous plants and perennials such as Paeonies, that die right down are plainly labelled and the positions clearly marked. Sweet Peas must be watched. Tie up the growths; do not allow them to lie on the soil and get slug-eaten. Stir the soil between the plants. Cuttings of many hardy shrubs and trees planted now will root quite readily. THE VEGETABLE PLOT Look over vegetables in store. Remove those showing signs of decay. Harvest Pumpkins and Melons. Store, away from rats. Hand weed.any seedling crops. Plant Cabbage and Cauliflower according to requirements. Work the ground on every favourable opportunity. Dig over to keep down weeds. Sow cover croys to provide' humus. ■ ■

As soon as Asparagus tops begin to ; turn yellow cut them off and burn ’ them on the bed. Rake off the Asparagus bed the top inch of - soil and with it any fallen : or germinating seed. Re- , place with manure or good clean soil. Asparagus should have a good dressing of manure or seaweed, or, failing that, bonedust and super in about equal parts mixed with four or five parts of good -weed-free soil. ; Strawberries can be planted. Keep the crowns at ground level and spread the roots out fan-like. Thin out and keep seedling crops hand weeded. If standing crops are weedy, dig i over between the rows, burying the j weeds. j Collect and bury all old Cabbage j and Cauliflower leaves. Burn all the old stumps. Broad Beans can be sown. Although these do not do too well about Auckland, they are a good crop on heavy soils in cold districts. Commence the pruning of fruit trees as soon as possible. If planting bush fruits such as Gooseberries and Currants, do so as soon as possible. Early planting is essential to success. PRUNING ■ Contrary to general opinion, pruning encourages growth, and lack of pruning discourages growth. Young trees may be heavily pruned and so may straggly old ones. Trees that make much growth should be pruned as little as possible. As a matter of fact, a tree can be cut and hacked about at any time of the. year, and it will replace the lost wood and heal its wounds all through the growing season. All young fruit trees should be pruned for the first three or four years, not so much with the view of producing fruit as to the forming of a shapely, strong tree, capable of carrying a number of sub-branches. The branches should be cut back just above two suitably placed buds, so that from these buds new branches may grow. Too many are afraid to cut back young trees, thinking that it will delay fruiting, but without pruning young trees never make satisfactory growth or shape. CHRYSANTHEMUMS The first part of the season was very favourable to chrysanthemums and there was every cause to expect

a fine show of blooms. Alas for the poor gardener, the weather did not hold fine quite long enough, and the last storm simply played havoc. Not only did the wind and rain damage the blooms, but the rust has been so bad that many of the varieties failed completely. At this time, when such things are fresh in the mind, is those sorts that stood up to the weather conditions. The following sorts are worth noting as varieties +hat were more or less clear of dis ease: A. Staples, Doreen, Lady Somers, Marjorie Gould, Mrs R. C. Pulling, Mrs E. Alston, Mad. Maggie S+irling, The Sun, William Turner, Yellow Louisa Pbckett, Miss Editn Alston, The Jason. Sir William . McPherson, J. J. Dickenson, Harry Clements and E. N, Ward. This by no means includes all the varieties that stood up to the weather of the past few days, but they were meritorious enough to be considered as worthy of inclusion in a .collection where exhibiting is not the only aim.