GARDEN NOTES

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 122, 9 February 1918, Page 13

GARDEN NOTES

(By "Kowhai.") CARNATIONS. As the flowering season of earualio'iD nears its end our thoughts turn naturaiiy to our supply of plantß for next year. Some Eardenei'B, perhaps, intend to buy a few new plants of named varieties. If bo, they should have visited the nursery of a carnation grower during December and January, so that they could choose their varieties £*»m plants they had actually seen growing and in flower. Ordering now varieties with only the catalogue description to go by is not always, satisfactory. ■ ■ ■ There are those again who cannot aflord to buy plants, but even they:need not be without new varieties By Bowing a packet of good seed secured from a carnation specialist, one will often get ouito a collection of no:c sorts. As a rule, quite fifty per.cent, of the seedlings will have double flowers. Carnation seed may be sown now in the open border. Prepare the seed bed, if possible, where semi-shade is provided, tf no such place is possible, four strong stakes should be driven in. and scrim or sacking Bt-retohed' across to 'provide shade till the seedlings are well through. Work Hie soil in the seed-bed till it is very fine,, adding a. good supply of river or silver sand and some leaf manure.- Have tho soil quite firm and 'horoiighly moist before sowing, the Bccd. It is better to sow

tlio seed in drills made by running the finger alone. Place tho seed in tho drills one at a, time, and have them about an inch apart. Leave room between , the drills for the hoo to hi used later on. Cover the seeds with fine soil and Band mixed, and keep the lied moiet and shaded from the sun till the seedlings nre well through. After-treatment consists in hoeing between tho rows, and weeding till tfes Eecdlings are hi? enough to plantout. ~Tho plants do not flower as a rule until their second year.

Wo next turn our attention to !!'■ plants that arc already growing in our pardons, and from which we may get iieycral new plants of each variety by the nroceßS of layering. The pieces to be layered are the tuft a o? "ifnss." to bo found all round tlio base of the flowerln? stem The first thine: to he done is to cut out the flowering stem. We then snrcad out the tuftß of "grass" and deoide npon the ones most suitable for onr nurpose. The next step is to prepare, in the barrow, the soil to be uEed for layering. This should bo a mixture or loam, leaf soil, and coarse sand. Carnations like gritty material to root into, and should always ltavo a supply of it added to their rooting ground. The shoots to be layered need a little attention now. The leaves on the lower part of the shoot should be pulled off. Next make a. cut about half-way through Hie joint that will be resting on the ground, beginning just bolow ths joint, and then continuing up the stem for about half an inch. To keep the cut open, push a small.stone into it, and then ram In a. little bail of damp Bind. Make a little hole in the ground where each shoot is to be pegged down, and fill it in with some of tlio mixture in the barrow. Make this firm and moist, nnd then neg the shoot down into it, taking care that the nut- in the stom remains oiiwj Cover firmly wih some more of the mixture 1n the barrow. Do this to each shoot In turn. Tf. the soil is kept just nicoly moist, the layered pieces will take root in a few weeks, when they may be lifted, separated from the paront plants, and placed in their fiowerinff quarters. Having .Bent in our orders for new plants, sown seed for new varieties, and layered Bhoots from tho plants'already in our gardens'.' wo next turn our attention to the plants growing in the gardens ol oir relations and friends ' From these wo can obtain cuttings or pipings that, with a little care, will soon form new plants for our own gardens. On nearly every plant there are shoots which are not long enough, to peg down, and these the owner of the plants is only too happy, as a rule,. to give away to fellow-en-thusiasU.

Sever the shoot with a clean cut just below a' joint. Remove the lower leaves, and insert tl>» cutting ftrmlv .in sandy, gritty soil. Keep the soil fairly moist, lint not wet. till new growth commences. This is a, fair indication that roots are being formed below ground.

. layering. MONTKRETIAS. Theie beautiful flowers are now making many a garden gay -with their bright orango aud yellow blooms. They are very easily grown, and Rower profusaly if given just ordinary attention. Montr hretias like a- sunny position, but a cool root-run. These two requisites are difficult to obtain naturally, unless one possesses a; stream or "pond with a, sunny bank. But tho • sunny position can be obtained by everyone without any trouble, and the cool root-run can bo had by taking tho trouble' to dig tho ground deeply, and to bury a supply of green manure for the bulbs to root into.

The bulbs increase so rapidly that they should not be left in tho ground longer than two years without being lifted and divided. Tho growth of monthretias, as regards both flowers and foliage, is graceful in tho oxtrome. Tho plants look beautiful in the garden when grown in groups in a mixed border, or when planted on tho edge of native bush, or along the banks of a, stream or pond. If left too long in ono place the plants become overcrowd-. cd, and the struggle for existence causes them to ''.deteriorate, and tho growth to become stunted and the flowers small. Overcrowded plants not only ha.ve not room to expand beneath, the soil, but they must necessarily suffer, also, from semiBtarvation.

RASPBER-RIES AND STRAWBERRIES. Out away tho old caneß of raspberries as soon as tho fruit is over. .This gives tho young canes a chance to grow up strong and healthy. Don't allow strawborry plants -to hear runners unlesß sow- plantß are wanted. Remove all straw and doau leaves from the .plants, and keep the ground round thorn weU hoed. It is a great mistake to i neglect the strawberry bed now that the fruit is over. , TOMATOES. Kcop all lateral shoots well pinched out from tomato plants. Feeding should commence as soon as the fruit has Eet. If commenced then and continued steadily, one is amo to keep to weak doBCs of liquid manuje, and this is much better for the steady development of tho fruit than occasional strong doses. Guano and superphosphates aro both good manures for tomatoes, and both may be obtained from a seed merchant. Half an ounie of each in one gallon of water is the strength required. Use the guano and superphosphate on alternate weeks. FirHt wator the plants thoroughly As soon as tho surface soil is dry enough hoe it over. The liquid manure may then he given, and should bo poured gradually into a little gutter made round each plant with a stick. As soon as the liquid has soaked down to the root* cover the earth over the little gutters again. As tho ground' round the plants, will bo considerably trodden upon during the process, hoeing Ehould again take place. Hoe the crronnd round tomato plants every day if possible. It is most important that plants, should not' be allowed to suffer from dryness at the roots or they will shed their flowers. Sun-wavmed water should, if possible, be used.

Continue sowing ?mall supplies of carrot, lettuce, radish, endive, peas, cabbage, and' cauliflower, 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 hr.icW. dead pea haulin, or some sue-h material fJ-edling savoy "phbarrps. '3uliflo" r i»r. i «. and celery may still bo nlantcd out. First wnter the ground thonughly some hours before planting. Protect, the plants from tho hot 6un for a few daysGarden Not"", nert w«»k -™ill rootom seasonable n-iles about narcissi, auriculas, and vegetables.