GARDEN NOTES
[By "Kowhai."]
HE.MEROC A LLIS. The heinerocallises or day lilies are plants which every amateur gardener shoidd have in his mixed border. They will grow in any soil, and require no special attention. During January and February their beautiful flowers are a great pleasure to those who grow them, liach flower lasts but a day, but day after day fresh flowers take the place of those that have flowered on the preceding day. Hemerocallis Fulva of tho most common of the day lilies. Its colour is coppery yellow, and the flowers are large and double. Tlie long, straight stems rise well above a mass of soft green gladiolus-like foliage. AnothoT beautiful variety is hemerocallis aurantiaca major, withlargc vivid orangeyellow flowers. In our sunny climate the homerocallises sucoeed best -in a seurishaded position. Clumps of them look very fine when grown in amongst the lowgrowing shrubs on the edge of a shrubbeix They will grow well in any soil, but if a little sand can bo worked into the soil at the time of planting, the results are worth the extra trouble. Hemero'callisfs may be- increased by divisions. either in the autumn or at tlie end of the winter. A few good clumps o f heiuerocallises, lilium tigrinum, and, niontbretias provide a touch of vivid, colouring in a garden during the present time. They are all plants that every amateur gardener should find room for. AGAPANTHUS. The agapanthus is another bulbous plant that is making a great show at tho present time. One sees it used to great advantage in tho Wellington Botanical Gardens, where olurnps of the beautiful blue aud white flowers give a most pleasing effect. The agapaJithus is one of. our most stately plants, and for size of flowers and purity of colouring.it is almost unsurpassed. The plants may be grown in many positions. They look well when grown among shrubs on the edge of a shrubbery; they make a brilliant display when ' grown alone .in big clumps on a lawn, aud they are among the finest of plants for growing on the'edge of a stream or pond, The pure, rich coloiu' of tho blue agapanthus is especially delightful, and a good-sized clump in full flower is a very beautiful sight. Tho agapanthus is another plant that is not at all particular as to soil, but it likes a good root run. A light soil and a warm position are what the plants like best, but, provided tho ground has been well and deeply dug, they will grow successfully anywhere. A little very weak liquid manure is appreciated by "the plants during the flowering season.
SALVIAS. The beautiful scarlet salvias will soon be showing their brilliant flowers, and if the plants are given a few good'waterings with weak soot-water '-now, the colour of the flowers will be much intensified, 'l'ho soot-water should be withheld .aa soon as the floivers show colour. Salvias make such rich, "lowing touches of colour in our autumn gardens that every endeavour should be made to grow them well. The - improved strains bear very large and brilliant flower sprays, which are invaluable for cut flowers, as they last well in water. Keep the soil round the plants well stirred, and keep a sharp lookout for caterpillars among the leaves. FLOWERING SHRUBS. Those who wish to have, next spring, a, good display of flowers on such shrute as lilac, azaleas, rhododendrons, mock orange, deutzias, etc., should lose no tame in attending to the pruning. The ideal time, to prune is directly after flowering is over, when shoots that have flowered should be cut back to encourage tho growth of new shoots for flowering next season. Those who have not attended to this important work should do so without delay. Shrubs that are ripening seed pods are expending energy that should bo Ssv.oted to producing strong flowering shoots for next year. Thin out superfluous growth, and cut| back weak shoots, but on no account damage strong new growths. Early attention, to the pruning of these flowering shrubs is rewarded by a good display of flowers the following season. Annuals. At this time of the year there is necessarily much rooting out of plants that have finished flowering. Once annuals are past their best there is no use in keeping them in the garden unless seed is wanted. The plan - of allowing a plant here and there to go to seed is a very good one. The wind scatters the seed about nicely, and the seedlings that are the result of self-sown seed are always strong and healthy. We get, also, a 6upply ol seedlings nice and early, and without anj% of the bother of sowing in seed-pans. But with, regard to the empty spaces that .are now appearing in every garden, many of thorn are needed for early spring bulbs, but wherever space allows, it is a good plan to make sowings of annuals now for flowering late in tho autumn. The ground is at present nico and warm, and the seeds soon germinate. Then come the early autumn rains, which make the seedlings grow apace, and before th 6 autumn is over there is a fair chance eff many of them flowering well. Such annuals as plilox drummondi and mignonette will, flower all the winter, wiille annual gypsophila, schizanthus, larkspur, and salpiglossis will flower early in spring. Suitable seeds to sow now for late autumn flowering are French and African marigolds, phlox drummondi, linaria, mignonette, and star of the veldt. Stir up tho soil well witli a hand fork after pulling out all weods, -work in a ir?io bouedust, and saturate the ground with water. About an hour afterwards loosen tho surface soil, and sow the seed, talcing care to scatter it well. Just cover
with a sprinkling ol' very line soil, and lightly lay over the ground some dead pea haulm, etc. llcuiove this covering as soon as the seedlings are up. Keep the ground round the seedlings nice and loose, and thin out where room is needed. Never allow annuals to be crowded, as the plants cannot give you of their best. To develop intu fine plants they must have room to expand. Owing to the dry summer many plants of chrysanthemums, dahlias, cosmos, etc'., are very backward. Encourage growth and good health by constantly stirring the soil round tiieni, and with overy rain the plants will leap ahead. Wherever it is possible give the plants a good watering, and then spread a mulch round the roots to Keep the moisture in. .Never water tlie plants during the hot sunshine. No good, but a great deal of harm, is done to them if you do. Chrysanthemums, dahlia 3, cosmos, etc., require staking as they grow. The brittle steins are soon snapped by a frolicsome winu, and tho labour of many weeks is thus lost. Caterpillars seem to be especially hungry. Certainly they are devouring the ' ends of chrysanthemum shoots on overy hand, and a daily inspection of the plants i 6 absolutely necessary. Early varieties of chrysantheniums are already in bud, and a little judicious disbudding should be practised as soon as the buds are big enough to nip off. Keep the hoo at work among the plants, and every drop of rain that falls will then have, a chance of soaking right down. Hde agJin as scran as tho ground is dry enough after the rain, and thus keep the moisture down where it is needed. VEGETABLES. Continue sowing small supplies of carrot, lettuce, radish, endive, peas, cabbage, and cauliflowers, where necessary. Never sow seed in very dry ground. First saturate it with water, and, after sowing, keep the ground damp by shading it with bracken, dead pea haulm, or some such material. Seedling savoy, cabbage, cauliHower,. and celery may still be planted out. First the ground thoroughly some Sours beforo planting. Protect the the hot sun for a few days. BirectTons for Ranting celery were given m Garden Notes on Saturday, November 27.
Garden Notes next week will contain seasonable Botes about:—Early flowering spring bulbs, gerbera, and vegetables. BULBS. Visitors to Messrs. H. C. Gibbons and Co.'s Lambtou Quay warehouse would note the preparations going on for the coming bulb season. Narcissi, hyacinths, crocus, and many rare bulbs, now arriving in warehouse, are being placed in various convenient bins, ready for the season now about to open. Some of the orders run into thousands, and great care is essential, especially in. handling the named rare varieties. A window: display is also being prepared, which should prove interesting. Illustrated catalogues are in printer's hands, and may ba secured on application by those desiring to attain the "garden beautiful."
Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/DOM19160205.2.115
Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka
Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2687, 5 February 1916, Page 15
Word count
Tapeke kupu
1,448GARDEN NOTES Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2687, 5 February 1916, Page 15
Using this item
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
Stuff Ltd is the copyright owner for the Dominion. You can reproduce in-copyright material from this newspaper for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International licence (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). This newspaper is not available for commercial use without the consent of Stuff Ltd. For advice on reproduction of out-of-copyright material from this newspaper, please refer to the Copyright guide.