HOME GARDENS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 14, Issue 6, 1 July 1949, Page 6

HOME GARDENS

(By J. W. Goodwin, N.D.H. (N.Z.), F.R.H.S., Massey Agricultural College.) TOWN BEAUTIFICATION As the country returns to noimial after the war years, “clean up” drives have been started by cities, boroughs and townships. Many organisations are interested, and the common objectives are to clean up and beautify untidy and neglected areas. Horticulture takes its place in the planting up of roadsides, streets and vacant land whilst the degree of success also depends a great deal on the individual gardener and his efforts around, his home.

Many organisations have the ability and foresight to see what is needed but quite often they do not know a great deal about the future size of the plants that are planted. Once a scheme is mooted, a leading horticulturalist should be consulted before development work commences. It is his job to know the like and dislikes of plants and their ultimate habit and height. He is a plantsman and will give freely of his time and knowledge to' such a worthy cause and many disappointments will be avoided. Selection of Material

Selection of material is important and whilst judges award points for colour in beds at judging time, they also give credit to well grown shrubs etc. which flower at other seasons. A healthy plant which is noted' for its long flowering period, foliage effects or berries will always appeal. In fact any plant which tends to raise many of our shrubberies from a dull, sombre and ineffective category will score. Planting's in small gardens have been discussed before and the same marginal plantings to give shelter and spaciousness are necessary when a garden is judged from the street. Planting on the street frontage however should not be dense. A few* small jowering trees interplanted with low growing evergreens may be very effective, or the position may be revei'sed and a few selected conifers or other evergreens interplanted with deciduous plants. Each plant should be selected with a view to creating effect of zower, foliage or fruit at some time of the year and so placed as to emphasise the character or display of its neighbour or foreground planting.

Nature endowed us with attractive hillsides and valleys, almost free from erosion, it is our obligation to posterity, to restore all unused land and conserve rainfall and soil. Plants should be colourful and attractive for as long a season as possible but the decision should never be made to plant specific subjects unless everything points to their doing well. Even a sound horticulturalist may be swayed by the enthusiasm and insistence of a committee’s wishes. It is far better and much more attractive to see groups of common plants growing well and zowering freely than to see choice plants windswept and broken, struggling for their very existence. One and twos, particularly in the shrub and small tree groups, are not effective in larger plantings or exposed positions any kind. It is much better to mass from five to 12 or more of the same plant, their growth is uniform, they protect one another and grow together to give a mass effect of foliage, colour or berries. The last point but not the least is that these plantings need care and maintenance particularly in the early years.

We turn now from our district to our own street or roadside. Here it is, in some streets, that we find real civic pride as exemplified in the home garden and the street frontage. An attractive well kept home, a tidy fence or hedge, a neat lawn and colourful planting all contribute to the beauty of the street. Each street contributes to the beauty and popularity of a district which in turn gives the town or city a reputation. The cumulative effect of the work of thousands of home gardeners is just terrific. There is a tendency to overplant near the house which frequently results in windows- being shaded and the architectural features being hidden. Dwarf low-growing subjects should be planted to hide the foundations with a few taller subjects in corners or against larger areas of bare wall to avoid any tendency to flatness. Large spaces of bare wall may carry a trellis on which to grow a not too rampant climber. Terraces when necessary should drop down quickly when the house is near* and above the street and thus give a more spacious foreground. When the house is below street level the reverse is the position and spaciousness in front of the house should be the aim. Long uniform slopes may be used when the house is well back. In the latter case more informal plantings and arrangement of drive and paths may be made.