GARDEN NOTES SEASONABLE WORK,

Waikato Times, Volume 116, Issue 19314, 21 July 1934, Page 18 (Supplement)

GARDEN NOTES SEASONABLE WORK,

SPECIALLY COMPILED TO SUIT WAIKATO CCNDiTLONS.

(By "Nikau.”)

FRUIT IN SMALL GARDENS. In spite of leaf-curl, woolly aphis, pear midge, black spot and other dis- . eases, a great many people will still decide to grow their own fruit even on small sections. It is for such people that the following hints are penned. ' Probably the first question to settle is: How many trees should I plant? After allowing for a drying green, a lawn, flower beds, vegetable plots and outbuildings, there is still room for several fruit-trees on a quarter-acre section. A way that saves a good deal of space is to set some of the trees along a sunny fence or wall. Gordon and espalier shapes will be splendid for apples, and a plum can also be trained along a wall, as a kind of espalier. Nectarines and Peaches. Owing to the almost complete destruction of the fruit of nectarines by brown or ripe rot, it is advisable to leave out this kind of tree. Fortunately peaches do not suffer so badly from this disease, so a peach-tree may be planted. As the early kinds ripen in December and January, when so many people are away on holiday, •'lt may be better to choose a late variety such as the favourite Golden Q,ueen, or Osprey Improved. If one plum only Is to be planted, let it be Satsuma (the blood plum) or Burbank. Doris and 'Purple King are perhaps better, but they do not come quickly Into bearing, and each needs another plum-tree to fertilise it completely. Apples. Apples must then be considered. They are very profitable, and also have a flavour which is rarely obtained from fruit, which has been picked and stored under commercial conditions. As for diseases and pests, all can be kept In check by about four sprayings: One with Bordeaux (lib. to 5 gals.) In winter for fungal diseases; one with Bordeaux (lib. to lOgals.) or limesulphur (1 in 100) in summer; two with arsenate of lead, (one just after the petals have fallen, and one three or four weeks later). The arsentate sprays will check the codlin moth i grubs, which are probably the great-est-draw-back to apple-growing. If four apple-trees can be planted, the following varieties should be considered: Scarlet Pearmaln, early dessert, a little later than Gravenstein and preferable to Gravenstein, as the latter grows too srongly for a small section; Golden Delicious (mid-season - dessert) preferable In some ways to the ordinary Delicious; Granny Smith, late cooker and dessert apple, even better than Ballarat Seedling and Lord Wolseley. For a fourth kind there are dozens available, such as Munro’s (Dunn’s) Favourite, Jonathan, Delicious (later than ‘Golden Delicious). Readers should remember that dual trees are now obtainable, carrying such varieties as Golden Delicious and Granny Smith, or Gravenstein and Rainier. Pears. Pears may be passed over, as several kinds are .self-sterile, and need other varieties near to fertilise them. Apricots rarely do well in tho Waikato, and cherries suffer too much , from birds. Oranges and lemons however, remain to be considered. In spite of tho newer varieties introduced, Lisbon is probably the best lemon still, and Eureka the secondbest. Sweet oranges can be grown in warm situations in the Waikato, but the grape fruit (Poorman Orange) is far belter. Some local trees 20 years old are still bearing very heavily. If room is hard to find, the orange tree might well be planted _on a front lawn as a specimen; very few trees can compare in beauty with an orange tree at any season, but especially when it is laden with its golden fruit. LILIES’ LAST . CHANCE. t The lime for planting lilies is rapidly passing, especially for those bulbs which have been out of the ground for some time. Unlike most other bulbs, lilies have loose scales which soon dry up and become spoiled, but they can be kept for a good while in moss which is slightly damp, in this way they are brought from Japan and other distant places. The merits and claims of many species of lilies have often been put forward in this column, so that little more than a reminder is necessary now. The following should be found in every garden that prides itself on being a garden: Lilium aurntum (Golden-Rayed Lily of Japan), L. spccosum (or lancifollum, the beautiful spotted pink lily of autumn) L. Henry! (similar in habit to the last, but yellow instead of pink), L. longiflorum (long white trumpet, flowering about Christmas here), L. rcgalo (early4-flowering trumpet lily, pink outside and yellow-ish-white inside), L. tigrinum (the tiger lily, with single and double forms). Besides these are many species which lily-lovers will want lo grow, such as L. pardalinum (scarlet, reilexed flowers), L. parda-boldti (orange, spotted purple, hybrid), gigantcum (giant white, needs sheltered corner, and shallow' planting, with only ha I f bulb buried), L. Hanson! (golden-yellow) 1.. Sulphuheum (sulphur-yellow trumpet), h. Croccum (the famous orange lily), L. umbellntum (another orange-coloured lily), L. clialcedicum (scarlet Turk’s Cap), L. Maiiagon (Turk’s Gap). ROSES. A firm of nurserymen gives tho following list of 24 exhibition roses, for the Auckland Province: (thus. H. Siiea, Coronation, Dorina Ncave, Earl Haig, Elizabeth of York, Everest, Fclberg’s Hose Drusehki. Frau Karl Druscliki, Cjeorge Dickson, Gorgeous, Hugh Dickson, J. G. Glassfonl. .fame Boa. McCready’s Ivory, Margaret Dickson Hamlll, Margaret MeGredy. A. It. Barraclough, Mrs. AVeinyss Ouin, Mrs. \V. Ghristie’-Mlller, Mrs. \Y. 11. Howe, Oliver -Mee, Sachsengrnss, Shot Silk, Souvenir dc G. Pernct.

Vegetables and Fruit.— Wait until the soil is dry enough to continue digging, sowing and planting, but probably it is dry enough now to allow the pruning of fruit trees, roses, etc., to be done. Sharpen tools in readiness for the next campaign. Sprout potatoes of an early variety for planting next month. Flowers. Prune roses and hydrangeas, and put in cuttings of these. Make out a planting list of ornamental trees and shrubs. Give lawns a dressing of basic slag. Apply lime to beds, borders, and mossy lawns. Put strands of black cotton along rows of sweet peas to protect them from sparrows.

Enthusiasts will probably prefer the list of twelve which .we published some weeks ago. It appears . that some of the new kinds included in the 24 above come with great reputation —James Rea, for example. This is a ‘rose pink,’ sweet-scented, very large, and has been awarded the gold medal Of the National Rose Society. English Rose Lists. Through the courtesy of a friend, the writer has been able to peruse the lists in the 1934 issue of the National Rose Society’s Rose Annual. Voting lists were sent out to 15 nurserymen, residing In different parts of , Great Britain, and these men were asked to place, in order of merit, the roses they considered as best for exhibition purposes (as specimen blooms In boxes and baskets). There were 129 varieties mentioned in the lists, and the voting was as follows: Dame Edith Helen 15, Julien Potin 15, Mabel Morse 15, Mrs. A. R. Barraclough 15, Mrs. Henry Bowles 15, Mrs. Henry Morse 15, Rev. F. Page-Roberts T 5, Earl Haig 14, Frau Karl Drusehki 14, George Diokson 14, McGredy’s Ivory 14, Mrs Beatty 14, Mrs Chas. Lamplough 14, Mrs S. MeGredy 14, Admiration 13, Lady Inchiquin 13, Barbara . Richards 12, Hugh Dickson 11, J. G. Glassford 11, Portadown 11, Gorgeous 10, James Rea 9, and the following received eight votes: Capt. Kilhee-Stuart, Golden Dawn, H. V. Machin, Mabel Turner, Miss Wilmott, Mrs. Foley Hobbs, Mrs. G. Marriott. Voting papers sent out to leading amateurs yielded very similar results, except that Barbara Richards was placed first by them. General Purpose Roses. Amateurs and professionals sent In lists of roses suitable for general garden purposes. Results are as follows: Betty Uprichard 28 votes, Etoile de I-lollande 28, Mme. Butterfly 27, Mrs. H. Bowles 27, Mrs. S. MeGredy 27, Emma Wright 25, Mrs. A. R. Barraclough 25, Shot 'Silk 2*5, Mrs. G. Van Rossem 24, Mrs. Wemyss Quin 23, Christine 22, Dame Edith Helen 22, and others in this order: Lady 'Forteviot, Duchess of Atholl, Mrs. H. Morse, Angele Pernet, Clarloe Goodacre, Rev. F. Page-Roberts, C. P. Kilham, General McArthur, Julien Potin, Los Angeles, Mme. E. Herrlot, Ophelia, Hortulanus Budde, Lady Inchiquin, Mabel Morse, Mrs. G. Geary, Independence Day. Seeing that the voters live in various parts of Great Britain (and probably Ireland), the lists can be followed closely by Waikato readers, but in a hotter climate like that of the northern part of this province, results might be different.

OUR ALPINE PLANTB, The following report was published a fortnight ago by one of our contemporaries: South Island, alpine flowers, both common and rare, were described by Professor A. Wall in a lecture at the Auckland University College, under the auspices of the Auckland Institute and Museum. The professor, who has spent time in research over a period of years in the Southern Alps, was introduced by Mr. €. R. Ford, a member of the Museum Council. “Our alpine flora as a whole has had its characteristics determined by the persistent north-west wind, which has caused the evolution of a type of plant which shows distinctive features,” said the professor. “On the western side of the Southern Alps It is noticeable that the plants are of a sort which obviously depend for their existence upon rain, whereas on the eastern side of the great divide’ there is an important change in the character of the flora." The great force of the wind encouraged the plant to take on one of two forms. It became either a plant flattened for its own protection against the mountain slope, or else it grew in the form of the “vegetable sheep," a hard, thick cushion of vegetation. This genus was one of the wonders of the world. Nature’s adaptation of the leaves to varying circumstances was also described. The huge screes, or shingle slides, were another cause of the development of peculiarities of flora. Such slides were not found in those parts or the alps where there was a heavy rainfall. Notwithstanding the impression of barrenness, these slides undoubtedly held plants, but only where the slope and thickness of the shingle allowed a satisfactory hold for roots, most of which were extraordinarily large and grew uphill. Thick leaves and stems allowed the storage of water in these plants, and delayed the probability of excessive transpiration. Other strange features werS that the plants grew In isolation from one another, and, as far as the professor could ascertain, were never eaten by animals. Several attempts, both in New Zealand and in England had been made to cultivate “shingle" plants in rockeries, but these had been unsuccessful in every case where the type was rare and becoming extinct. A comprehensive series of lantern slides was projected to illustrate the lecture. A number of the plants photographed were _ of almost extinct types, and the professor had spent several visits to different parts of the alps to secure good impressions of the more unusual one. He said some of I he. dowering alpincs were extraordinarily beautiful, but they grew in rare isolation. A BEAUTIFUL WATTLE. In the next, few days the beautiful yellow-flowered Acacia baileyana (cootamundra Wattle) will be in full bloom, lighting up the winter landscape for us. There are some fine specimens of Ibis wattle on our river banks and along River Road. This species has distinctive, silvery, feathery foliage which is beautful in itself at all seasons. In view of its beauty and Its time of flowering, this kind of wattle should ho planted more extensively than it is in large gardens and parks.

POLITICAL CRISIS. VICTORIAN COUNTRY PARTY. MELBOURNE, July 21, A crisis has been caused in the Country Party by the insistence of the Central Council of tho Victorian Country Party that it has no moral or legal right to endorse the candidature of persona not > prepared to sign the new nomination form. Some candidates say they will not sign the form. BRITISH PREMIER. VISIT TO NOVA SCOTIA, Mr Ramsay MacDonald, British Prime Minister, has arrived In Nova Scotia, and received a warm welcome.