GARDEN NOTES.

Waikato Times, Volume 122, Issue 20464, 2 April 1938, Page 20 (Supplement)

GARDEN NOTES.

hrrrmrrrm Seasonable Work . r wbbbsbxtksub VEGETABLES AND FRUIT Sow lettuoe, turnip, spinach, onion (main crop), curly cabbage, cauliflower, parsley and silver beet. Plant all kinds of winter greens that are fairly free from grubs, as a precaution, dip them in a mixture of arsenate of lead (1 oz. to 2 gals.) before planting. In dry weather, the holes for cabbage and cauliflower should be filled with water before the plants are put in. Burn the diseased fruit and foliage of tomatoes, and give the plants a Anal spraying with Bordeaux 1 lb. to 16 gals, of water). Also cut off the tops of the plants, so that the fruit already formed will ripen. Loft pumpkins for winter use ripen fully before cutting. Sow oats or lupins in pparo ground. The budding of fruit trees can still be done, as the bark is still lifting quite easily. Peaches, nectarines, apricots, plums, and ornamental ‘i’runus’ trees can be budded on one another. FLOWERS Sow hardy marigold Calendula), Beauty Stock, Antirrhinum, Dianthus, and most kinds of biennials and perennials. Plant narcissi (all kinds of daffodils , also anemone, ranunculus, snowflake, freesias, gladioli (only of the early types to flower in November), most kinds of irises, ixias, crocuses, lechenalias (fine for baskets and rockeries;, tulip, hjacinth, inuscari .grape hyacinth), Tritonia, Montbretia, etc. Put in cuttings of geraniums, fuchsias, pentstcmons, and rock plants. Next month will be a good time to put in cuttings of roses and hydrangeas; in cold districts the hydrangea cuttings should be kept in a frame all winter. If this is done, the plants will be in splendid condition for planting out in September or October, and will flower in the summer. Sa\e seed of the best French and African marigolds. Label the dahlias while they are in flower; as the season Is nearing an end, cut out the bad kinds and burn them. Trim up most kinds of roses, but do no real pruning until July. Plant calendula, sweet pea, polyanthus, Iceland poppy, and other hardy plants available. Sow new lawns In the next five or six weeks. Use the arsenate of lead spray for chrysanthemums and dahlias, a check on caterpillars and all other kinds of chewing insects.

TURNIPS In the summer, most people do not appreciate turnips, but in autumn, winter and spring it is a different story. The grubs of the diamond-barked moth have always damaged turnips sown in summer, and in the last six or seven years the grubs of the large white butterfly have made matters worse. If seed of turnip, radish, cabbage and related plants is sown now, the seedlings should be dusted occasionally with derris dust and sprayed at least once with arsenate of lead. Two main types of turnip may be •own now; the white .such as Snowball), and the yellow-fleshed (such as Orange Jelly, often called Golden Ball). The white is the more attrac- • tire, but the yellow keeps better In winter. Early Milan Is very pretty with its coloured top, but it does not grow as large as the others. Its easiness is its chief merit. For turnips the soil should be fairly rich; if it is poor, some super-phos-phate should be worked well into the soil (if It Is left in the bottom of the drill it interferes with the germination of the turnip seed). As the weather Is so dry now, the drill should be well watered an hour or two before the sowing, and the surface of the soil will need a patting down to consolidate It. Black cotton should be stretched along the rows, otherwise the birds will pull up nearly all the seedlings. When the plants are about two and a-half inches high, they should be thinned, and then sprayed with arsenate of lead. Swedes can also be sowfl, but they need more spacing. It is better to sow them in November, but then they are so much exposed to the depredations of the dia-mond-backed moth. To help on all varieties of turnips sown in autumn, give them a good watering, once a week, and dust a little “ super " alongside the rows. LAWN SOWING Some weeks ago we gave full instructions for preparing the lawn f«»r f sowing—deep digging, draining, level- j iing or at least grading) and a stirring of the surface soil every fortnight to kill successive crops of weeds. Unfortunately there has not been enough moisture to germinate most of these weeds and it may pay to wait another month for a shower or two. When the soil is worked down to a fair tilth, as for most vegetable or flower seeds, the sowing may be done. The setyl «ho»ild be divided into two a#T.\• and the one half’ sown all over the lawn. The other half should then be sown over the whole lawn, preferably In a direction at right angles to the first. This helps us to secure an even sowing. Another way Is to divide the lawn up Into about eight parts (marked with a line), and to use the proportionate amount of seed. A good quantity Is from three to five pounds to every hundred square yards ten *by teu). An advantage of the heavier sowing is that it tends to keep the weeds from getting a good hold. After the sowing, the ground should be lightly raked so as to cover the seed, or some fine soil should be lightly scattered over It. Next comes the rolling; If this is not done, the seed many germinate readily, but the seedlings will be killed by the wind and the sun. If the soil sticks to the roller, wait a day or two until the conditions are right. To keep the birds from doing much damage, either mix some red lead with the seed before sowing or else use scarecrows and lines with short streamers. KINDS OF GRASS There are many different kinds of grass available for lawns, but the two best are Chewing’s Fescue and Brown Top, at the rate of two parts of the fescue to one of Brown Top. Other kinds may be added, such as Crested Pogstail and ryegrass. The latter grows in tufts, but if it is sown fairly thickly it makes a good lawn. It needs frequent cuttings, however. The' easiest to manage in this respect is one made of Brown Top, but the addition of Chewing’s Fescue gives a better allpurpose lawn, able to stand a prolonged spell of dry weather and plenty of hard use. If the lawn is to be used for playing purposes, no clover should he used, as it becomes dangerously slippery. DAPHNE ONCE MORE It Is now a fortnight since the first pink daphne came into flower in at least one local garden. The hot weather, combined with artificial watering, has hurried on the daphne, os it often does. Since daphne remains in bloom until November, it is a rival of heaths and other such long-Moomin« shrubs, and its beauty and its sweet scent make it a first favourite wherever it can be grown in the open. In the South Island, unfortunately, the frost is usually too severe for daphne—both pink and the white. Readers who like to propagate plants should layer some of the lower branches of their daphne bushes. A few people can even grow this lovely shrub from cuttings. We unite our readers to try this.

AN ASTER YEAR Quite often in the last few weeks the writer has heard the present year described as an Aster year, and certainly there seems good reason for the description. A very few' people have had trouble with aster wilt, but the great majority of gardeners have had healthy plants, largely because of the dry season. The comparative immunity from disease is not nearly all due to wilt-resisting strains. In the South Island the writer was shown a large arter plot which had “wilt-resistting” and ordinary asters growing under the same conditions, and the so-called “ wilt-resisting ” were a little worse diseased than the ordinary. Most of the gardening experts are advising that the aster seed should be sown where the plants are to stay, as the tearing of the roots during the transplanting allows the entry of disease. One of the YA gardening experts spoke very bluntly on this subject a fortnight ago. A correspondent had written that he could not grow asters in his garden, and the expert said: “Why should you? Your ground Is aster-sick, and you must not grow asters for two years or more.” Some good local displays of asters have been noticed lately; one was in Union Street, Claudelands, and another in Hukanul Road. A SEED HINT Once more we want to save - Is, and once more the birds wan* lu eat them. A simple way to protect the seed-head is to cover it up on a dry day with a little bag of ordinary paper or cellophane, and to tie this ‘around the flower stem. This procedure is necessary in the saving of seed from cosmos, French and African marigolds, zinnias and other flowers with daisylike heads. The same is necessary with the seed of lettuce, except that :rvcral dozen seed-heads may be enclosed in the one paper bag/ THE WOOD ANEMONE One of the beautiful flowers of March and April is the wood onemone or Japanese Windflower. The main type of the species has rose coloured flowers, but there are other types with ! pale pink or even white flowers. Tho ! white is especially beautiful, as the ' snowy appearance of the petals is set ; off by the centre with its many golden stamens. Essentially, it is as beautiful as the bloom of our Mt. Cook buttercup, but It lacks the extrinsic interest which they have. It is a native of Japan and might be entered as the ” hardiest perennial,” for It can survive and even propagate itself in the most unpromising situations. The Japanese Windflower is very suitable for growing in partially shaded places —under trees, on steep western banks and so on. It would be well worth planting in parts of the Hamilton Domain. SHALLOW PLANTING Quite often there are failures with amaryllises and hippeastrums through deep planting. Good results are usually obtained when the bulbs are barely covered; indeed, some varieties need to have only part of the bulb covered. Shallow’ planting also suits two species of lilies—candidum (Madonna) and giganteum. The former should have only an inch of soil above the bulb, while that of the giganteum may be partly out of the ground. Flag irises also need firm but shallow planting; the horizontal item (rhizome) should be barely covered at planting time, and later on it will lift itself out of the soil and seem to lie on top of it. Brunsvigias (related *to amaryllises; need to have only half the bulb covered. Nerines. also related closely to amaryllises, should have part of the bulb showing. The Guernsey Lily (Nerino sariensis) is a beautiful species which has been in flower during the last week or two.