GARDEN NOTES

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 2456, 8 May 1915, Page 15

GARDEN NOTES

(By "Kowkai.")

Tiese noies are written solely for tho amateur gardener, for tho busy city man who likes to spend an hour or two In his garden after being; shut up all day, for tho woman who derives graat pleasure from growing a few plants to brighten her home, but to whom it would be a weariness to study garden books, and for all taoso who aro ondoavouring to keep a small garden bright and attractivo all the year round. To those I say do not attempt to grow too much. Choose what plants you want for youi* garden and for supplying the house with cut flowers, and whatever you decide upon grow the best oi its kind that is to bo obtained, lteadore aro invited to ask Questions. PANSIES AND VIOLAS. Plants that ware cut back a few weeks ago should by this timo have developed (jnite a lot of fresh young growth. It is from this new growth that wo now take cuttings that will provide flowering plants for next spring. Take plenty of cuttings. Violas make beautiful summer edgings for gardens, and may be kept flowering all through the summer" and autumn with proper attention. Pansies are splendid for filling in gaps, especially among clumps of bulbs, and what is more beautiful than a whole bed of well-grown pansies? Intending growers of pansies must remember one thing, and that is that they will not grow in a starved soil. The ideal way to grow pansies is to trencShi a bed for them, and manure it as you would for sweet peas. If you.could manage to do that then you would see what pansiea are really capable of. But where trenching and rich manuring is out of the question, quite good results may be obtained by digging a good deep hole for each plant, and placing in it a little manure and 6ome ashes from a vegetable rubbish fire. Cover these with some fine earth and then plant tho pansy. Where manure cannot be had at all, then at least thu ground may bo well dug, and some decayed vegetable rubbish buried fairly deep. If some bonedust and rubbish or www ash is worked into the top soil, and the plants arc given stimulants in the way of liquid manure from timo to time then really good results may be expected. SCABIOSA CAUCASICA. Scabiosa Caucasica is a plant that will provide a quantity of beautiful blooms lor cutting with very little help from tho gardener. It is quite hardy, and delight* m a ligfhit soil. A heavy soil should have some sand or road grit added to it. Water is necessary for the plants during dry hot weather, and an occasional dose of weak liquid manure. The plants soon grow into big clumps that will flower freely. They need not bo broken up for several years. ROSES. If the roots of roses are very dry when they arrive from the' nursery soak them for an hour or two in water before planting. Any roots that are bruised or torn should be out oft' clean with a sharp knifo. When planting look for the old soil mark on tho rose, and then plant it so that this mark is only just below the surface of the earth. LILIUMS. Belladonna Lilies.—Belladonna lilies aro beautiful autumn flowering ones. Clusters of largo trumpet-shaped flowers are home at the head of a long straight stem. The colours range from pure white through all the shades of pink and rose to scarlet' and rich dark crimson. They aro splendid for cut flowers, lasting a long time in water. Belladonna Alba and Belladonna Rosea Perfecta are two beautiful varieties. Ivermesinum (Lilium Hippeastrum) is another beautiful variety; tho flowers are rich velvety red. ' The Hippeastrum has its flowering season during December and tho early part of January. Crinum.—Another lily that is well worth growing is the Crinum or Brazil Lily. It is quite hardy, and may be .treated in the same way as the Bella, donna lily, hut it is seen to greatest advantage when it is grown on a light soil, and in a warm situation. There is a number of yarioties, and the colours are white, or different shades of pink and rose. Crinum Capense is very sweetscented. WOODLICE. In some gardens woodlice are a great pest, and have to be severely dealt with. They are very troublesome amongst lilhuns, getting down into tho fleshy scales. These may be protected by covering the bulbs with sand, but there are other plants that become infested with woodlice, and the only thing to do is to entice the pests away and trap them. Cut some large potatoes in halves scoop out a hollow, and lay these, hollow down, on tho soil. Tho woodlice will make for them, >vnd may be caught in the morning. A bucket containing boiling water should be taken' round to each potato trap. Pieces of damp wood laid on the garden or damp bricks placed about will also trap the woodlice. A little powdered ■ borax sprinkled lightly round, but not on the plants, late in the afternoon, will afford protection to the plants. All traps should be visited first thing in the morning, and tho "catch" treated to boiling water. VEGETABLES. CABBAGE PLANTS. When planting out cabbage and cauli> flower plants from the seed-paa, do not immediately destroy those that aro left over till yon are sure that all the seedlings have taken Toot in their new quarters. Should some fail to root, their places should at once be filled up with others from the 6eed-pan, until the cabbage patch is complete and all the plants are growing. Then ithe surplus ones may be added to the rubbish heap. LIME. Sprinkle lime between the row 6 of grow* ing crops, and then hoe it in. Lime is a direct plant food, and is used in considerable quantities by some plants. It sweetens sour soil, and causes a richer and healthier growth in plants. Turnips, beans, and peas, are specially benefited by the addition of lime to the soil. Lime should not be used at the same time as manure. If manure is used in the autumn, lime should be used as a topdressing in tho spring. But ground that is growing vegetables at the present time ■will not be manured till tho spring; so lime may be used now with advantage as .a. top-dressing, to be worked in with the hoo. . GREEN PEAS. A sowing of green peas for spring use may be made now. The ground should be well dug, and have decayed garden refuse, or well-rotted farmyard manure buried in thu second spit. Sprinkle a little bonedust in tho drills at tho time of sowing the seed. It is as well to use a dwarf growing varioty of pea for autumn sowing. As soon as the peas appear above itho ground give tho bed a top-dressing of wood ash or soot, and hoo it in. Ifceing on warm sunny mornings during the winter will help the peas to make strong, healthy growth, and to produce fine well-filled pods early in the season. Staking will be necessary even for a dwarf-growing variety. The peaa wil grow all (tho better if thev receive support from their earliest stages. BEANS. Broad beans that were sown a few weeks ago are already two or three inches high, and should be staked as soon as possible, eo that they may grow np straight from the start. Keep tho ground round tho plants well hoed to ensure strong and continuous growth. Another sowing may now bo mado to provide a succession. ONIONS. A small sowingof keeping onions may be mado now. Very often one runs out of keeping onions by the end of the spring, and a small sowing made now will provide a supply of onions that will como in by the summer, and last till the next mail! crop is ready for uso. James' Keeping or Brown Spanish are both excellent kinds. It is better not to sow seed for the main crop till August. Should seedlings or plants need watering during the winter months, watering .should be done during the moruiug, and tepid water u?ed. Garden Kotos next week will contain soascnabli? notes about planting shrubs, novel!nialti, chrysanthemums, and versÜbioA.