GARDEN NOTES

Chronicle (Levin), 15 April 1946, Page 8

GARDEN NOTES

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There is only a short time now before the planting season for trees and shrubs cooiJuL'Uces and those wiio put their orders 111 early to tne nurserymeu . wiri fare best. A'ready tne gartlen is teginning to looi: wiutry anu it t-an easily be seen vvhexe new trees or shrubs wiii be requireu. Ciieclc up ou your rotation of flowering and berried shrubs and even in a snnill garden, see tliat there will be soniethmg of interest coining alohg in ;each season. JUany shrubs flovver in the spring and often too many of this iype are pianted whieh means that for tne rost of the .season there are parts of the garden ivhieh niay iaelc a cglouriful iiackgro luhI. Tiiis is easily reniedied i by referenee to a good nursery eataiiogue whieh will give ihe approximate |time cf fioweriug of the shrubs iisted. j Cherries and deciduous a/.aleas have 'double value as they are grown mainly for their fiowevs but they are also love|Jy in the autumn when their leaves jturn and this should be reinembered Iwlien they are being plantcd so that Ithey are put in a position where their ; autumn beautv will be seen as well as | their spring flowering. ! Garrya Elliptica is a shrub whieh iproduees long tassels of pale green catkins in the winter time, but is shabby ! arnl uninteresting for the rest of the ■ season. Therefore it ean have tall | plants sueli as delphiniums, dahlias or j Chrysantheniums pianted in front pf it whieh will hide it during the summer but will be eut down in winter when j the garrya 's catkins are at their best. ! If the flowering times of shrubs are studied in this way, mucli can be made ,of a little space. j Jledge plants will. be available for planting soon and the value of dwarf and ornamenfal liedges in the garden j should not be overlooked. For general use as a boundary hedge, tall or dwarf, lonieera nitida is of partie.ular merit. It will grow praetieally 'anywhere and its smal] leafed foliage ;is a verv attractive shade of green, and : provided it is clipped twice a year it ! urovides a solid wnll of slielter riglit to | the verv base of tho plants and does 1 not get thin and seraggy at the bottoni. | This plant is a very useful one for j low hedges dividing one part of the : garden from another sueh as separatjing the flower garden from the vegeItables and its soft green makes a very' /good baekgrounds for tall plants sueh 'as hollyhoelcs and delphiniums. St i 1 1 another point in its favour is that it has a verv compact rooting svstem and does not rob the surrotmding garden of all its nonrishment. The only thing lonieera really ob.jeets to is wet feet jin winter so see th'at it is pianted in 'a well-drained positon. ! Tn land that is verv heavv all through the winter a better proposition ' wnuld be the eseallonia — e.ither the pink or white. This plant fhrives in heavv soil and e.an be. allowed to grow to six or eight feet in height iO good slielter is wanted. I