GARDEN NOTES.

Waikato Times, Volume 123, Issue 20693, 31 December 1938, Page 18 (Supplement)

GARDEN NOTES.

(By “Nikau" )

uaccrrr nrnazazsD*~ Seasonible Work.

“ Rest and be Thankful ” This is ttir best we can suggest, unless plenty of work is wanted; in that case the reader may find it without any prompting here. By this time the garden should be in such a condition that its owner can *‘n,< >it without toiling and moiling. He should, for a time, be like the lilies: They toil not, they spin not.” APPLE TREES FROM CUTTINGS Nearly every year the writer has the interesting experience of seeing that apple-shoots put in the ground for subsequent grafting have made shoots and given every indication of rooting properly. Just as regularly, however, they die after they have exhausted the sap that was stored in them. Here is an extract from an issue of "Amateur Gardening” bearing on this subject : Fifteen years ago 'or thereabouts), soineone enquired about growing apples from cuttings, and the reply was not in any sense encouraging, as it was stated that to attempt to cultivate them from cuttings couid only result in failure. In answer to this a reader from Warwickshire stated that he had brought cuttings from a tree in a certain part of Wales, where he had been spending his holidays, and they were in full bearing when the answer to the reader's question was issued. History is said to repeat itself, and this seems to be a case in point, as you have replied to a reader in the Issue for June 10 this year in almost the identical words that v o u used fifteen years since. “That reply prompted me to put in three cuttings from an unnamed seedling with the result that all three rooted, and from the third year they have borne an increasing number of fruits until now. and I am sending the enclosed snaps, taken with a very small camera, as corroborative evidence. Since planting them, I have occasionally put in more cuttings, and at present I have five yearlings of Lanes Prince Albert, one White Transparent, one from the seedling above-mentioned, and one bush three-year-old, same variety, bearing five fruits, one five-year with eight fruits, and a friend has one from the same six years old, with sixty fivuits.. . I also put in twenty pips from New Hawthornden, and to-day there are four fruiting well; all are culinary varieties, not one shaped like its parent, but all are large. Ido not write this with a view to publication, but simply because of the coincident answers. I derive great pleasure from the paper, and most helplul instruction. The numbers on the back of the snaps denote years from cuttings; the eldest grew 118 lb. last year, and looks like having more this time.”

THE GIANT MAGNOLIA i For the last three weeks the giant ) magnolias (M. grandiflora) has been i delighting us with their pure white j scented flowers, and they will continue ! in bloom for many weeks yet. Their 1 scent is like that of a lemon, and one j flower will perfume a garden. This i magnolia reaches tree-like proportions; some tall specimens may he seen in a garden in River Road, hut the tallest yet seen by the writer are in Tauranga. They are probably over 60 feet high. Specimens with dozens of flowers may be seen in various parts of Hamilton, especially In George Street, Claudelands. Another beautiful specimen is growing in Hood Street, behind the Bank of New Zealand. This species of magnolia is a native of the United States, an‘d is perfectly hardy. It bears plenty of seed, but only in one garden has the writer seen a number of self-sown plants beneath the parent. LYCHNIS CHALCEDONICA This old plant, known as the Jerusalem Cross, is still worth a place in our gardens. In the border it is a conspicuous feature, with its tall stems and handsome leaves surmounted by large, close heads of bloom. The original single scarlet type is said by some authorities to have come from Russia. It has glowing scarlet flowers which appear in December and last for some weeks. The height varies from two to four feet. There are single and double white forms, and also a single pink. Still, the vivid scarlet is preferable. The single forms are propagated by seed, and the double by division of the clump or by cuttings. Lychnises grow in almost any soil, but thrive best in a rich loam. The aspect may be shady or sunny, but the sunny is the better. THE SILKY OAK Most gardeners are familiar with the beautiful .foliage of the Silky Oak (Grevillea robusta), but how many know its Cowers? At present some trees of this species are in full bloom, bearing large numbers of flattened heads of peculiar orange flowers. These have the characteristic shape of the Proteaceal. an order of plants which includes certain bottle-brushes and the waratah, and our native re ware wa or honeysuckle (Knightia excelsa) and the toro. In England and other countries the silky oak is grown as a foliage plant in conservatories, and in some New Zealand gardens It is grown as a “dot” plant (spaced at wide intervals in formal bedding schemes). As the tree reaches a height of 50 feet, however, it is an unusual type 0 f “dot” plant: A specimen in bloom may be seen at the river end of London Street. The silky oak is only one of dozens of species of Grevilleas native to Australia: it is perhaps the most beautiful of them all. - but it is suitable only for large gardens. FAIRY BELLS Midsummer brings us one of the most graceful of all plants—the “wand flower" or “fairy bells." Its botanical name is changed from Sparaxis pulcherrima to Dierama pulcherrima. It has grassy foliage and long slender stems which are gracefully .v’ched by the weight of the dozen or so pendent bell-shaped flowers, which are of a rosy-purple colour.. This species of hardy perennial is a lover of sun and warmth. It should be planted in well-drained, rather sandy soil. and. once established, may be left undisturbed for many years. Spring is the safest t : me for transplanting the corns, which should be covered with fully four inches of soil. The plants look best when growing on a bank and drooping downwards to the gazer. There are many varieties now with white, deep purple, pink and other shades, but the old variety is still worth growing. There is scarcely a plant that is hardier than the fairy bells, so there is no excuse for neglecting its claims. THE FLAME CREEPER One of the most beautiful of all climbers is the Flame Creeper (Tropaeolum speeiosum). It is a member of the so-called “nasturtium” family, and is closely related to the Canary Creeper. The colour of the flowers is bright scarlet, and a plant in full blooin certainly seems aflame. This creeper is perennial, but dies down to the ground every year as soon as heavy frost comes. It does best in places with a cool summer, so in the Auckland province it should be grown od the south side of the house. In the South Island the writer has seen

hedges, shrubs and trees covered with | this species of Tropaeolum. but it. | looks well when grown on netting or other artificial supports. It may be ; trained on strings and wires, to run j along the side of a verandah. Seed i of this climber is usually procurable j from seedsmen; some may be sown ! now in big pots, and the plants kept in them until next November or the first week in December. ROADSIDE FLOWERS Will readers forgive our quoting a poem by Bliss Carman? We think they will, alter reading it. Roadside Flowers We are the roadside flowers. Straying from garden grounds; Lovers of idle hours. Breakers of ordered bounds. If only the earth will feed us, If only the wind be kind, We blossom for those who need us, The stragglers left behind. And 10, the Lord of the Garden, He makes His sun to rise And His rain to fall like pardon On our dusty paradise. On us He has laid the duty— The task of the wandering breed— To better the world with beauty, Wherever the way may lead. Who shall inqurc of the season, Or question the wind where it blows? We blossom and ask no reason, The Lord of the Garden knows. CORRESPONDENCE “Lily-of-the-Valley” has enquired about the treatment of this old flower. Full directions will appear later, but these few points should be considered now:—(1) The best time for planting is autumn (about April) or very early spring. (2) The plants are usually grown in partial shade. (3) The soil must not. be impoverished by the roots of trees; that is why some lilies-of-the-valley give little or no bloom when grown under trees. (4) The soil should be rich in leaf-mould or other humus. (5) Old crowded, beds should have little trenches cut through them: these may be eight inches wide, eight or ten' inches deep, and spaced two feet apart. (6) If these trenches are filled with rich turfy soil they will soon be entered by new lilies-of-the-valley from the sides. In this way some Harts of the bed may be renewed from year to year. (7) An alternative is to dig up the bed, manure it, and replant only the strong crowns. (8) A good deal of seed is formed in some seasons, ; and none in others.