GARDEN NOTES

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3112, 16 June 1917, Page 13

GARDEN NOTES

(By "Kowhai.") ~ ANSWEHS TO OOItUESI'OXDENTS. ~ "Inquirer" iKhandallah).-"Jly uutmnnsowu sweet peas have grown very tail and rather weakly. Will you kindly ndvlao mo whether it would be an advantage) to cut them down, or would that provcnl their ""without seeing your plants it is ttiulcult lor me lo adTiso yen. Outtins them, back would certainly prevent their Uowcriag oarly. i should leave them as they are, keeping the noil about them I'reii from weeds and well liocil. Don't attempt to give them manure in any form till they arc well in bud. "Ainateur/'-lf you leave the beans till they arc in flower, you will liud them 1 awkward to turn ill. l'ou had better dip them in when they are about six inches high. Lime may bo dug in at the Bamo Note-Inquiries must be accompanied by name and address ol sender. SHRUBS WITH ORNAMENTAL DERBIES. Trees and shrubs aro no longer ablaze with brilliantly tinted autumn foliage; fallen loaves that formed a golden carpet for chrysanthemums, dahlias, and salvias aro brown and shrivelled, and are already stored in heaps and holes by thrifty gardeners. Now it is to trees and shrubs with bright coloured berries that we look for the cheerful colouring that is so welcome in every garden at this time of the your. Hollies aro cay witli brilliant scarlet berries, the brown stems of the hawthorns are still supporting their crimson load, strawberry trees (Benthamia Fragifora). arc covered with beautiful light red berries which are as large as a strawberry. Arbutus Uncdo (the Irish strawberry tree) has yellowshred berries, shrubs of Viburnum Sieboldii have bunches of brilliant coral red berries, while shrubs of solanum hybnda ieop up a constant supply of bright scarlet berries as largo as a wild cherry. These are only a few of tho many beautiful shrubs and trees that brighten oui gardens during the dullest time of tne Hoilies, Arbntns Uncdo, Benthamia Fra--ifera, Euonwmus Europeans (epindle tree), and tho Mountain Ash arc all tallgrowing trees suitable for the back of a shrubbery or for growing ae specimen trees on a lawn. " . The Siberian crab (Pyrusbaecata) and tho common orab (Pyrus Malue) both bear attractive looking fruit. Tho crabs, are also very pretty in the efcring when the trees are covered with blossom. They may he grown in Quite a small garden. Berberis Thumbergii ia a, dwarf spreading Japanese shrub. The foliage is richly coloured during autumn, and throughout 'ths winter the bushes bear bright scarlet berries. The pepper tree (ScWnus Molle) gives us yet another delightful colour among berries, for tho trees aro covered during winter with long racemes of coral pink berries.

ROUTINE WORK. Sweet I l eae-.vuLa l au-bo..u =«ect pea seed has o? tms time ueveluuixl nuo strong mama, several incnes with. Sihkiuk miouiu now do seriously uitcnueu to. t)Uon twiggy stießß or aman pieces or uruan sliouiu be placed beeitto tue young plants to Help tueui Brow up towarus iuo perinaueut stases. in doing tlua cart i,nouiu ue taken, However, uuc to snut out irom them auy suusiuue. lor diuiug winter tne growing plants waui an tno sun they can get. \) ire-netting rnauca it good irainewomlor lieaa to ciiuib against, uat t'lie ideal support Iβ" a good, nrm inauuka brusli ioufco. 'J/ne brush keeps me plants sheltered from cold windß. auu me peas Have io climo up aniougst tuu twigiry braucnea. Whenever tbe ground Iβ ary euougu lioe round the roots ol sweet pens. Keep all weeds away, and give an occasional top-dressing of liuio dud soot alternately, nee tout the young plants arc trained to crow upright from tho start. Dahliaßj— ln most gardens daliliau have been cut by frost. Out down the plants, leaving" about six incbes of main stem, 'i'lio tubers may be auu up aud placed in kerosene tins or boxes, aud havo earth or ashes spread over their roots, or they may be moral iu a dry place uudor a link or. a tree and haTO earth spread over them. The earth will keep mo tubers from-shrivelling. Name cacii kind carefully as it is nut away. The tubers will begin to shoot in the spring. Many people leavo the tube™ in the ground all the winter, Biuij?ly covering tho plants, when cut down, with ashes. They then lift them iu the spring, break tip tho clumps of tubers, and plant back'a situgio tuber bearing a strong shoot. This plau is perhaps the eimplest for nmateurs who flitve only a lew plauta and are not anxious to grow show, blooine. Labels.—When tidying up the garden for winter sco -that the names of plants on labels are still quit* Jegiblc. ltcnow labels where necessary. Nurserymen stock an indelible lead pencil which is very good' for writing names on labels. Neat labels i may be bought also at » very email oost. It is a, pity to disfigure one's garden with large and untidy pieces of board -when small, tidy labels can be purchasod so oheaply. Labels, likp stakes, aro very necessary iu a. garden, but both must be" hidden as much as possible. GAB-DEN RUBBISH. Fallen leaves, grass clippings, weeds that have not gone to seed, faded flowers, flowers from vases, all go to form a most useful product •when they ore properly rotted down. They may bo stored in heaps in tho following w,ay:—Begin a heap on a clear pieco of ground, with weeds, grass clippings, etc. Add to it any wood ashes from the grate or ashes from a rubbish fire. Aβ soon as the first layer is a. few inches high sprinkle a layer of earth over it. Moisten continually -with any waste water, BUCh as washing water or household slops. Sprinkle lime over from time to time. Keep adding layers of vegetable nibbißli and earth until tho hea-p is high enough. Always keep the surface flat. If a little gutter is dug round the heaip it will catch any "quid that escapes, and this may be scooped up and thrown on the heap again. As soon aa the matter begins to rot the heap may be turned ovor on to a fresh site, watered, sprinkled with lime, arid covered with, a thin layer of earth. A frosh heap may then bo begun- on tho old site. After a time No. 1 heap will bo turned over again on to another new site, and watered, etc., as before. No. 2 heap will then be. turned on to tlio site No. 1 has vacated, and a third heap mar be begun on tho first site. Thoso who havo no secluded placo for theso rubbish heaps may dig out holca for storing their rubbish in. As Eoon as a heap or holo of rubbish is well rotted down it should be dug into the gardiju or used a« a mulch for iplants that need one. Mulching is more important than many people realise. 13y its means many plants that would otherwise Buccumb are brought successfully through a hot dry summer. Dahlias, chrysanthemums, cosmos, liliums, azaleas, rhododendrons, and many other plants lovo amulch of well-rotted vegetable α-übbish. VEGETABLES. ONIONS. Working time in the vegetable garden is necessarily short just now, but every opportunity should bo seized to trench and manure tho ground fov future crops. The onion bed should bo prepared as soon as possible. Onions like a firm bed, and some time should elapEo bovween the process of digging the ground and that of sowing tho Eeed. Tho. longer tho timo the firmer will bo the . bed. Onions need a deeply-worked bed. It is as well to trench, and to work plenty of well-rotted manure or decayed vegetable ■ rubbish into the subsoil, for root lnoisture they must have. The top soil may bo thrown back into place and left rough till the time for seed sowing. If you can blacken tho surfaco with soot about once a week so much the better for the future crop. KHTJBAItB. New roots of rhubarb may be planted during this month and tho next. The ground should first be well dug and richly manurod. The best rhubarb for owners of small gardens to grow is "Tope's Winter." This bears during tho whole winter at a time -when fruit for pies, etc., is scarce. It is nuito hardy, and the flavour is good. Plants that are coming on now will bo benefited by an application of tho following liquid manure:— Threo ounces of soot and six ounces of guano placed in a piece of coarse lagging or scrim, and then allowed to stand in ton gallons of water. Give each plant a good soaking. Cluauo is obtained from a seed merchant's. Itcmove decayed leaves from old plants, fork round them, and cover them with a mixture of decayed leaves and manure. If stable manure cannot be procured work into the soil round tho plants Eomo boncdust, and then cover with decayed Old stools of rhubarb may be li.ftod, an<\ replanted in new ground. See that each piece has a good strong crown. At the timo of writiiiE the soil is domp enough for anything, but one knows what tho weather may be a week hence. Should tho ground hnvc bccosio fairly dry at the ' time of planting, water should be supplied ■» to the roots-not icy cold water, but nice * tepid or sun-warmed water.