GARDEN NOTES

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2711, 4 March 1916, Page 15

GARDEN NOTES

[By "Kowhai."3

' A TRIBUTE TO THE HOE. A correspondent writes;—". . . I only wish I had liud the privilege of' reading your trained instructions when I was younger. . Only this' summer have I known the benefit of keeping the- boo going." SWEET ,'PEAS. late crops of sweet peas should be kept well supplied with water and weak liquid manure. The vines should be well syringed with water frequently, and all side-shoots should bo kept rubbed out. The haulm of sweet peas that flowered during November and December will now bo quite withered, and should bo cleared away. Store some of it in a dry place, for it is vory useful for spreading over seed-beds and pans. The rest should bo gathered in a heap and burned. Pull up the stakes and store them neatly away under a sheltering tree till they are needed for the next crop of sweet peas. WINTER-FLOWERING .SWEET PEAS. Winter-flowering sweet peas should be sown now without delay. Anyone who has a sheltered corner that gets plonty of ivmter sunshine should sow a lew seeds i of this most useful section of ithe sweet' poa family. Tlio flowers aro intensely sweet-scented, but their great charm lies in their early flowering. J. have grown them for several years now, and havo had a few in floiver from tho first week in July. By August and September they ore out in numbers. In preparing the ground for the winter-flowering variety, it is necessary to sec that it is well-drained, as, if the vines aro allowed to havo cold, stagnant water lying about their roots during winter, they become too chilled to flower satisfactorily. Hark out the space to be occupied by the peas, and then remove the top-soil, laying it aside in a barrow. Break up the sub-soil with a fork or pick if necessary, and work into it plenty of grit in the form of cinders or coarse road grit, and well-decayed liorse'" manure. I'eplaco tile top-soil, and thoroughly break it up, working in during the process somo ground lima. As soon as the ground is prepared, water it thoroughly, and next day sow the seeds. Cover the ground with dead pea haulm' until the seedlings pierce through, when it should be removed. Threads of black cotton should at once ba stretched across tho seedlings to protect them from spar- • rows, aud old soot or lime should bo sprinkled on the ground to protect them from slugs. There are several varieties of the win-ter-flowering section, but one that calls for special attention is Mrs. A. Wallace, a beautiful pure lavender sweet pea. The flowers are fairly large, and aro borus usually in threes on long straight stems. In training tho vines, it is as well to supply them with plenty of manuka brush for them to nestle into, as' they seem to derive great njarmth and protection frbm it. BULBS. Push on with the planting of earlyflowering bulbs, such as crocuses, scillai grape hyacinths, Roman hyacinths, snowdrops, snowfiakes, and glory of the snow (ehjono-doxa). Attend to tho requirements, also, of those that have been in the ground for some time. Prepare the ground for the reception of new varieties of bulbs., Where bulbs havo increased to such, an extent .that'it is difficult to find room for them, the' surplus ones may be planted in the grass, round tho roots of 6hrubs, or <>vea under hedges. These, surplus bulbs planted about provide a nice supply of flowers " for the house, and so allow us to leave undisturbed the ones that are brightoning tho somewhat bare gardens. ASTERS. - Asters are 'delightful flowers. Ther* are the lovely, loose shaggy ones, the tight, prim ones, and tho,graceful single ones. What beautiful shades of colour they .possess, too! Among them are' td I bo found rich':piirple, lavender, delicate,: pinfc rosy magenta, pure white, and all the intermediate shades. The plants are well worth- a little attention at this, time. The ground about' them should of course be kept wpll stirred v at ali times, but just now a few* thorough waterings, followed by a little weak liquid manuro, will be ot great benefit -to _ them. By watering, feeding, and picking, off the dead flowers, the plants may 'bo kept flowering for some woeks yet. Tall-grow-ing varieties should be staked, as they are easily blown over and spoilt by strong gusts of'win<s, FLOWERS IN BLOOM. This Is generally considered one of the dull times for flowers, but in well-thought-out gardens ihere is never. really ■ a. dull time. At present there are many. beautiful flowers in bloom. Amongst them are:—Dahlias, speoiosa lilies, belladonna lilies, nerines,- antirrhinums,' perennial sunflowers. coreopsis, gaillardias, geraniums, peutstemons, iceland poppies, early, michaelmas daisies: Those who are unfortunate enough to have bare gardens now should make "a note, of the above, list of flowers, and 6ee that they have at least some of them to brighten their gar. dons during next March. Belladonna lilies, nerines, and speciosa' lilies require waterifig at. the present' time. They are all such beautiful flowers, both for garden or for house decoration, that they should be grown in quantity. •. . . SEED-SOWING. Push on with the sowing of seeds of all perennials that will be required for next summer. Towards the end of tho month we shall be busy sowing seeds of annuals for lato spring, flowering. Seeds of ten-week stock and Beauty of Nice stock may be sown now, and tho plants will flower during spring. Wallflowers for spring flowering may also be sown now. Seeds of tho following perennials may be sown now:—Coreopsis, sweet scabious, anemone, 'antirrhinum, aquilegia, delphinium, pansy, • pentstemon, pinks, car. nation, primrose, and polyanthus primrose, pyrefhrums, and verbenas. In sowing seeds obey the following rules i— (1) If possiblo mix sand with the soil, (2) Make the soil fine and firm. (3 Water thoroughly'several hours pre. vious to sowing. (4) Just cover the seeds with a 6prinkling of very fine earth. 1 (5) Scatter the seeds well, mixing very fine seeds with a little sand to ensure thin sowing. (6) Shade the pans or seed bed from the hot sun till tho seedlings are up, VEGETABLES. Outdoor tomatoes are ripening fast now, and feeding must be steadily continned to encourage the fruit to 6well. During dry weather the bushes should be watered twice a week, the watering being followed by weak liquid manure made from cow manure and soot. Or Joz. of guano may be added tc every gallon of water used. In this case the manure is 60 weak that a previous watering 'is scarcely necessary. Hoe round the plants constantly. All side growths should be removed as soon as they appear, and a .strict watch must be kept for caterpillars. After a very hot,'dusty day tomato plants like to have their leaves syringed with clear water. Marrows and pumpkins also very much appreciato tiis little attention. .. Do not use cold water, as it often causes a check to the plants. Uso either tepid water or water that has been exposed to the sun all day. POTATu.u&\ Lift potatoes as soon as tho haulm dica down. Should they be left in the ground longer, a few showers of rain may cause disease. There is tho danger, too, of a shower causing supertuberation. Somo potatoes are more liablo to supertuberation than others, and as these extra tubers aro. generally bad, it will readily bo seen that they must be avoided by lifting tho potatoes in time. FRENCH BEANS. French beans must be kept picked or tho plants will quickly deteriorate: Tho plants will probably need an occasional thorough watering, and a great deal of hoeing to keep them going. French beans that \vero grown in ground where plenty of decayed vegetation was buried are standing tho test of the-dry weather better than those that wero sown in the or, dinary way. Tho last sowings of peas and French beans aro now well above the ground Keep hoeing between the rows lo en. courage rapid, growth. Garden notes next week will conhio seasonable notes about:—l'lutubago, tiaa. eies, and .vegetables,