GARDEN NOTES.

Waikato Times, Volume 122, Issue 20422, 12 February 1938, Page 18 (Supplement)

GARDEN NOTES.

FRUIT AND VEGETABLES Bow Uttaoe turnip including a ■ ah, an early variety of cabbage such as Flower of Spring and Enfield Market), and silver beet. Plant cauliflower, cabbage and borecole •'kale). Dip the plants first in a mixture of arsenate of lead ioz. to 2 gal.), with some milk added to make the mixture adhere. Use cucumbers, beans and marrows as fast as they develop sufficiently, so that the vines will keep on bearing. Plant leeks In well-manured trenches. Protect grapes from birds by means of scrim or flshnetting. Bud fruit trees of all kinds. 2nrn or bury deeply (two feet deep), all diseased fruit. FLOWERS Sow Iceland poppy. The earliest sowings should now be ready for pricking out into boxes of a special soil (sand, good loam and some rotted farmyard manure or compost). Sow winter-flower;ng sweet peas, but do not sow the ordinary type of sweet peas until March or April. Make sure that dahlias and other tall plants are firmly staked. Last wef whaf damage may be done in a few' hours. Layer carnations. Bud roses and various shrubs and trees. Use the arsenate of lead spray to kill all kinds of caterpillars and grubs on flowering plants and shrubs. Plant narcissi and various other bulbs, also bearded irises.

NATIONAL FLOWER SHOW Last week one or two features, •specially the gladioli, were mentioned In this column, and now we may coneider some other features of this great show held in Christchurch. From one point of view the main fea- , tlire’ was the series of District Courts. The winner was Wabnite, a town about 130 miles from Christchurch. In spite of the distance at least twenty persons came up to prepare their stall, and probably as much enthusiasm was displayed by Dunedin, North Otago and Amur! also. The Waimate exhibit was a triumph of art, and seemed to combine the best features of Die displays made at English shows by such Arms as button. Carter. Webb and Beeg. The higher part of the background was occupied by a series of bowls and baskets of gay dahlias, sweet peas, hydrangeas, gladioli and roses. The middle of the foreground was occupied by vegetables arranged as daintily as flowers, and I y the small fruits for which the Waimate district is famous. Currants ''red, black and white}, gooseberries, raspberries and strawberries were all there, as beautiful as any that ever graced the pages of a gardening book. And amongst the berries was blackberries—what a pity it is that they are so wicked! The Otago and the North Otago exhibits were not so beautifully arranged, but contained some wonderful flowers and fruit. The Otago fruit included the largest apricots ever seen by the writer. They were labelled as Ambrose. In the North Otago exhibit were many beautiful begonias, single and double, fringed and plain, of many shades, and most of them as large as big dahlias—over seven inches in diameter. The Amur! section was too ambitious, for exceeding the i I iwed, but was given '» siher medal for merit. The exhibit Included belt of poplar trees, a summer hisp. . pool, a lawn, gardens and collections of flowers. The southern exhibitors were it really chagrined when It was found that many of their exhibits had been carried on lo Wellington. Six cases •t roses and sweet peas, incidentally, had been sent by air from Dunedin. Th-s City Exhibits As Christchurch prides Itself on being the “City Beautiful,” and the “Garden City.” is was fitting that some the finest exhibits in the great show should be up by the civic authorities of Christchurch. First and foremost was a display of flowers and flowering plants set up by the Reserves Department of the Christchurch City Council. Size !s sometimes unimportiat, yet It is worth stating that this display was one hundred feet long and over fifteen feet high. It sloped back and was arranged on six tiers. Hardy perennials, annuals and green-house fuchsias were the main features of the beautiful display. The Domain Board had a less ambitious exhibit: it was made up of foliage plants arranged in great contrasting masses—red-leaved Dracaenas, Marantas. Dioffenbachias, palms, variegated flax. Crotons. Frittonias, and Begonia Rex. Both exhibits were awarded a silver medal. Unusual Exhibit* An unusual exhibit secured a bronze medal; it was set up by the Avon Theatre, advertising ‘‘Vogues of 1938.” These words were picked out with the scarlet flowers of Crassula cocclnea set in a floor of little rock chips, with appropriate lighting for the whole display. A silver medal was awarded to the hydrangeas and begonias grouped on the North Otago stall. It was perhaps the finest exhibit of hydrangeas yet shown in New Zealand. A gold medal was awarded to a display of gladioli of various types and colours set up by W. R. Toon, the leading exhibitor in New Zealand. Perhaps the most attractive variety was “Picardy.” Another sold medal was secured by Mr C. \V. Barren’s exhibit of polished woods. This also secured an award for the most meritorious display in the vast show. As might be expected, rimu, totara and rewa-rewa were prominent, but there were many other remarkable exhibits In the display. One of the most beautiful was a vase of gorse. another was of fuchsia, and others were of tree fern, broom, plum, apricot, cherry, and so on. Laburnum, •yeamore. elm, beech, and the rest were shown as vases, stands for clocks and barometers, etc. In many cases the wood was a knot, perhaps of totara or Irish yew, and rivalled the famous “bird’s eye maple” or burred walnut. It was pleasing to see how beautiful a table could be made of broadleaf. One of the most Interesting specimens was a cross-section of the top of a Douglas fir, showing the branches radiating from the centre. Still another exhibit out of the ordinary was ‘hat *#»t up by the Greens’ Research Committee of * New Zealand Golf Council. What a title: U showed the perfect sward of brown top and Chewing’s fescue, and then a series of weeds and their treatment. Then there was n display showing the culture of chrysanthemums for fxhlWt’on. Plants In pots and diagrams 'black and white showed the stages from the cutting to the plants with crown buds, terminal buds. etc. in another 1 irt of the si ow wen two early-flowering chrysanthemums in full bloom; both were yellow, and their names were Early Buttercup and Herbert Sutcliffe.) Other meritorious displays that secured awards of medals or eertifl cotes were numerous. For example, a display of maidenhair ferns by E. Yates; a bold group of hothouse plants shown by T. J. Edmonds, Ltd.: a large

collection of polyanthus and other roses by John Poulsen; a collection of cacti by h. M. Garrick; and various stands of dahlias by Shailer and Sons, J. E. Granger and F. Mason. Mention must be made also of a vast series of paintings of native plants by Mrs 0. M. Tonkin. Visitors to the 1936 National Show held in Auokland are probably familiar with these paintings. Another Interesting exhibit was that of the Department of Agriculture, though It was not nearly as ambitious as those which used to be set up at our Waikato Winter Show. Messrs Duncan and Davies showed literally dozens of kinds of shrubs in full flower, and some of these will be described from time to time, as they are mostly novelties. Competitive Classes It is safe to say that the gladiolus section of the show was the best ever set up In New Zealand. A general account of that was given last week, so we shall pass on to other sections. The cut flowers, apart from the gladioli, were not up to the standard which we are used to in Waikato shows. This was largely due to the fact irises, lupins, delphiniums, sweet peas and roses were much beyond their best, and dahlias had not yet reached theirs. Then, too, the climate of Christchurch does not favour the growth of gerberas. The decorative classes were also behind those to which we have grown accustomed. This fact appeared in the tables, bowls, and “boxes ready for posting,” except where gladioli were shown. There were gladioli vases and bowls that were simply a revelation. Vegetables and fruit showed great quality, but the entries were not numerous. In this connection it should be mentioned that a remarkable display of tomatoes and fruit was made by the Christchurch Tomato and Stone Fruit Growers’ Association. (Another title!) Another fact to be noted Is that at least ten judges Judged the classes, each taking a section. Miscellaneous Some special exhibits noted by "Nikau” were: Wiggins, Triumph and Carmen peaches; Green Gage and Santa Rosa plums; Moorpark and St. Ambrose apricots; scarlet delphiniums; the lictrums of various shade’s; standard fuchsias of the Gartenmeister Bronstedt, Sophia, and Swanley Yellow varieties: Cosmos daplioides; various Igrinum, Humboldt!, Henryi, and Philfppinense); masses of carnations (they succeed admirably in Christchurch); a gladiolus named Mrs Robert Nash; a decorated table whose ration was a bowl with gaily-

coloured begonias sunk in water; Burmese honeysuckle, and various new Heleniums. The six flowering shrubs which won the prize included Tamarisk, Pomegranate, a Hawthorn, Callistemon Bottle-brush), and Calodendron (“Cape Chestnut”). The Reserves Exhibit It Is impossible to resist quoting a “Press” report of this section— Along 100 feet of the northern wall, stretching 16 feet up to the ceiling and 10 feet deep, pot plants, cut flowers, and blooms of every hue, made by their radiance the dull walls of the barracks even more sombre. This was the exhibit by the Reserves Department of the Christchurch City Council prepared by Mr M. J. Barnett, the superintendent. To the majority of those who visited the show this was the main feature. Brave as was the showing of the tiers of gladiolus in the centre, and interesting as the district bays certainly were, it was to this magnificent array that the public always turned. Every plant and flower in this display could be grown by anyone In Christchurch with a square yard of soil in his garden, for there was not one among the hundreds of plants which had been assemble which had been grown in a hothouse. Every individual plant had come from a park or garden in the city reserves, and not one had been specially grown or prepared for the show. To attempt to describe the plants individually would be impossible; it whole which made the display effective. Keen gardeners from all parts of the Dominion admired here and there an excellent stand of fuchsias, or a glowing mass of red-hot pokers, but men with considerable experience of flower shows in all parts of the world said without hesitation that thrr bad not seen one display to put in front of this. More than this, the display was arranged in one of the most disheartening parts of the dark building, for no light fell on the blooms at all. The beauty of the plants depended on the harmony j n which they had been arranged and their own colours, without any fancy lighting or decoration to set them off. Criticism of the Judges in awarding this but a silver medal was very keen, many considering that it deserved the highest award at the show.