GARDEN NOTES

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2635, 4 December 1915, Page 15

GARDEN NOTES

■ :—+ (Br "Kowkai.")

ANSWERS TO COItKESJPONDENTS. "G. 5.," Shannon, writes:—"Enclosed you will find tho stem of a'lily with a Wight or disease. A lew atoms have been like this for two years, but they aie all gone except two this season'. It is a beautiful.lily, and inuuit admired here, as no oiio olso lias it. What is tho proper mime? .Your Garden .Notes are very useful. We may not oo able to put them all'into practice, tat ciiero uro some which can be used by all. By giving 1110 a recipe to improve the liiies you will oblige, etc." I am sorry I cannot help you to cure the lilies. They are suffering from an iucurable fungoid disease, and the only t-Kifig to do is to dig' up and burn both stems and bulbs to prevent the disease spreading to other bulbs. Do not plant any lilies in the same place again for some years. When planting lily bulbs it is always as well to dust flowers of sulphur freely in among the scales, and to mix flowers of sulphur with the soil round the bulbs. Care should be taken not to damage lily bulbs in the garden when forking the glound.-near them. Your lily looks like the liliujn auratum, but I cannot say positively, from merely seeing the portion of diseased stem. NASTURTIUMS. What should we do witliou? these mo.it useful Howard? For the lazy gardener who yet lilies to have a tew towers About tho place, they are simply ideil. They will grow and give a brilliant display of j flowers in the poorest soil, ard in the most neglected garden, ".'hey will yuickly grow and cocti- all unsightly spot and turn it into absolute beauty. But even tho most careful gardener has a u«e for nasturtiums. _ In nearly '.very garden there is a. dry, sun-baked spot whore 1.0tliiug will grow satisfactorily—nothing but nasturtiums. Such a dry, sun-baked spot is an ideal home for thorn. They will creep over it lovingly, and in a short time there will be a oiaze of colour. Scarlet, orange, cream, palo yellow, and dark red flowers appear like .magic rising above a cool-looking carpet of pretty green leaves. The.hatter and drier the soil the more the plants flower. It looks os if . absolute neglect is what they most appreciate. liut there Me really three things that nasturtiums must have if they tiro to flower well, and lo continue flowering well. These are sunshine, dryness, ariu room. The first' (wo arc generally accorded them. But not so the third very important requisite.. Unfortunately for tho plants, nasturtium seeds aro cheap, and uro noiiscijuuitly s'wn generously. But to. get really good results tho plants must be giveii plenty . of room. ' Tho seed should be .sown very thinly, and the plants afterwards thinned out to at least a foot apart each way. The plants' will soon spread over tho intervening spaces, and will be all tho stronger for the hotter rooting space. For covering a wall or a fence quickly tall nasturtiums are splendid. They soon turn a baro ugly foncc into a well-cloth- , cd, pretty Where space is limited dwarf nasturtiums are the best to grow'. Tho double nasturtium is very beautiful. It is rather susceptible to frost, but, as cuttings root so easily, a batch of new plants can be raised each winter in a 6unny window or on a sheltered. verandah, and these can bo planted out when all danger of frost is over. Of. the value of nasturtiums for. decorative work too mucli cannot be said. They are excellent for table decoration,. the colours blend so well with one another. carnations:. Seedling carnations and rooted .'cuttings should have the tops nipped off them to make_ them branch out from the base. If this: is neglected the tiny plants, will often run up into a long thin flowering stem, and will so exhaiist themselves in the-effort that they will be a long time recovering, if. they ever do. : Old soot that has been well exposed to the '■■ air should bo dusted over all carnation plants, and soot water should bo given to those that are already flowering, or are going to flower. They should' lie watered - also, occasionally, with very weak salt water. Carnations are well knowji to like salt and soot. Their liking for salt makes them ideal plants for ceaside gardens. They positivoly revel in the shit sea breezes, and seem to keep so healthy when they have them blowing all through them. ' Well-grown plants that are about to dower' need a.little special attention just !now. In the first! place they should be ■well staked, otherwise the flowering stalks will lie about on the ground. One stake Is not sufficient. Three or fonr neat stakes should be inserted round each plant. If hoops of wire are twisted round the stakes at short intervals above one another, the flowers will be confined within these, and- will have a better chance to display their exquisite beauty than if tied in a tight bunch to one unhappy stake. The ground Tqund the plants should bo kept in a 6tate of fine "powder to protect the roots from drought. Soot water should be given at regular intervals. A little, judicious disbudding should bo .practised, as . all the buds cannot .'possibly flower. By removing superfluous buds the flowers that develop will be much finer. Carnations are most successful plants to', grow from seed. The seed seems to germinate very freely, and the seedlings come along very quickly. From a packet of ' gocd seed purchased from a reliable seed merchant one stand?' a chance of secirinic many beautiful double flowering varieties. As good plants are somewlrt expensive to buy, raising plants from seed is the poor man's best nla.". Two or three plants in flower will fill tho garden with perfume on a, warm, sunny day. besides making a very attractive display. Carnations are among the most useful of flowers for bringing into the house. They keep fresh for such a long time in vvater, and the colours ntid povfuine are .all that could bo desired. •" , SEEDS. Seeds of Canterbury Bells, Sweet Williams,- l'entsteiuou9, etc., may still be sown for flowering next year. ' Now that tile rush of work in connection with the sowing and planting out of annuals is for the present over, we have time t r think of\the biennials we shall need for next summer, -also of all the pei'eniiials. wo should like to add to our stock. Canterbury Dells make a brilliant display in the garden. All ivo beautiful, single, double, and cup alid saucer, but the lastmentioned are perhaps the mhst beautiful. The flowers may be had now in very delicate shades of pink, blue,., and mauve. The plants need to be 'well grown to gat their full brfiuty, but for the pre-

sent all that is necessary is to sew seed in a sheltered part "f the garden, and to keep the soil uniformly moist by a light covering till the seedlings arc up. Ono important point is to. sow thinly, and so get strong young seedlings. It seems rather a trial to luivo to wait a year for the plants to (lower, but the result repays us for tho wait, aud in the meantime there are many other beautiful plants to occupy our attention. VEGETABLES. Savoys may be plnnt'.-d oil grouud from which early potatoes have iiten taken. The ground should .vmply be raked level, and then be well trampled over. Savoys need a firm bed. When growing savoys there is a tendency io neglect them during tlio summer and early autumn, but tins is when they really need a great deal of attention. To grow savoys successfully they should -lot be allowed lo suffer from drought' at any time. When only a low are lieing giMvn it .is a'-good plan to give the ground a good watering, and then spread a mulch round the plants. But whore this is , not. done, water should be supplied and tho lino kept going constantly. . ROUTINE WORK, The fvequent showers arc causing the weeds to grow very quickly. They should be pulled out from among growing crops before the roots get too good a hold. Hoeing is necessary as soo.i as tho ground is dry enough after the rein. The sun and the wind soon cake the toil, ard then all the moisture supplied by the rain is evaporated and lest to the crops. It is'only by keeping an inch or two of loose,fine soil on the surface that we can keep the moistnro down where tho roots need it. ' Cabbages, etc., need -wtliing up as they grow. They soon become top heavy, and the wind blows them about, and loosens the soil from about their roots. Earthing up the stems helps to protect them from being blown about. After a heavy wind the soil should be made firm again round the stems of the plants. Garden Notes next week will contain seasonable notes about- Chrysanthemums, Swoet Williams, aud Vegetables.