GARDEN NOTES

Dominion, Volume 21, Issue 114, 11 February 1928, Page 28

GARDEN NOTES

(By

"Kowhai.")

SERING-FLOWERING BULBS. No tiino should bo lost now in jdanling curly spring bulbs. Paper white, polyanthus narcissi, crocuses, snowdrops, snowflakes, scillas (wood hyacinths),’ cli ionodoxa, i'ruesias, niuseari (grape hyacinths), and Jiliuui caudidum are among the first to be got into place. Bulbs that are planted early have plenty of time to make a good supply of roots before they push up their leaves and ilowet: buds, and the more, and the stronger their roots, the finer the flowers.

Narcissi like plenty of moisture when they are growing vigorously, but they like surplus moisture to drain away and not to stay stagnant in the soil. To secure this condition it is necessary to dig thoroughly, not only the top soil but also the subsoil. Narcissi like plenty of gritty material, such as sharp sand or road grit, in the soil, and they like wood ashes. The sand and the wood ashes should be thoroughly mixed with the soil. As a general rule the depth of soil above the neqk of the bulb should be one and a half times the depth of the 'bulb itself. The bulbs should bo planted on a firm base, and, if possible, on a layer of sand. The soil should be pressed firmly round them, and the surface soil should afterwards be kept loose. Bonedust is a safe manure to use with narcissi provided it is not used too freely. It may either bo mixed with 1:110 soil at planting time or used as a top-dressing (four ounces to the square yard). Io bo lightly pricked in directly utter planting. Expensive varieties are best planted in boils by themselves, and ns the beds look very untidy when the foliage is ripening it is best to relegate them to a part of the garden where they will not Go too noticeable.

For making a show in the garden, hold clumps of commoner kinds such as Emperor, Empress, Lucifer, Sir Watkin. Starlight. Southern Star, Golden 8011. Diana, Flambeau, ide... mar be planted in mixed borders where their untidiness at: th'o ripening stage may bo concealed by other plants growing about them. Bulbs that have been undisturbed for two or three years, and that seem overcrowded. may now bo lifted and sorted out. Those that have already started making roots should bo replanted nt once. Those that are still dormant and dry may be exposed to full sunshine to bo warmed through before being replanted, for a thorough ripening of the bulbs is necessnrj’ for successful Power production. The bulbs that are being Min-baked should he covered at night nn.ll then replanted next. day. In the meantime the ground that they are to occupy should be forked over and a sni>lily of thoroughly decayed garden rubbish should he mixed with it.

Always avoid mixing fresh nnimal manure with the soil in which bulbs are to be planted. GRAPE HYACINTHS (MUCSARI).

The foliage of grape hyacinths is already pushing through the soil, and once a good shower saturates tho ground, tho bulbs will produce rapid growth. The slender spikes of closel.v--t-el. blue hells’ arc charming in the spring garden, and are very dainty for the house when cut. Grape hyacinths arc beautiful when they are mussed in bold groups or drifts, especially when they are associated with pale blue forget-me-not. They are the hardiest of bulbs, and will grow in any out-of-the-way corner provided tho soil has been well prepared, for them. Tho bulbs increase so quickly that clumps should bo lifted every three or four years. CHIONODOXA (“Glory of tho Snow”). Very early in the spring Iho lovely blue flowers of Glory of the Snow make wonderfully attractive pictures whether they are clustered among rocks in tho rock garden or massed along tho edge of a. garden bed. Tho bulbs do equally well in a light or in a heavy soil, but: thev like to bo planted fairly deon. six inches not being too deep, in n light soil. The bulbs increase very slowly by offsets, but seeds are freely produced and easily germinated,. CYCLAMEN. Cyclamen are among our most useful flowers for winter and early spring. During winter they are charming for cool gi’cenhoi’ces and verandas; during early spring llf*z are delightful in the garden. In the garden the corms should be buried just below tho surface of the soil. Before planting prepare the ground thoroughly, and mix with it some leaf soil, river sand, and a little lime. Corms that have been resting in pots all tho summer should ho started into growth. To do this, stand them up on tho greenhouse bench, or in a frame, and water them. As soon ns growth is started, shake out the old soil, and not up tho corms in a mixture of <rood loam, well-rotted manure (rubbed through a sieve), leaf mould, sand, nnd wood ashes. Add also a little bone.dnst to tho mixture. The corms should ho resting, when polled, on tho surface of Hie soil. They will need careful watering till (he pots arc full of roots. It is of the utmost importance that tho loaves should be kept, clean and free from aphis. Seedling cyclamen, from seed sown in tho spring, should now bo making good progress. To secure good flowering in the winter thev must be kept growing vigorously nil (ho summer nnd autumn. They should not bo potted into largo pots until they linvo a rrood simply of cools, for tho soil would become sour from watering before the plants had ’liken nosscssion of if. It is belter to leave. them in small nnts until ti'O roots arc circling frcolv round the sides, and then to move them into five-inch or sixinch pots. When netting press the soil firmly round and over tho roofs, and have the lops of Hie corms well above the surface of th • soil. Waler gently through a fine, rose, nnd stand the pots if possible in a frame. VEGETABLES. Seeds that may be sown where necessary a re:— French Beans.—Sow in drills two feet apart, in well-dug ground containing plenty of humus, and thoroughly saturate the ground some hours before sowing. Frick in a little superphosphate, as soon as the seedlings show their true leaf. Radish.—Sow broadcast in rich, firm ground, and shade the seed patch until the seedlings are up. Lettuce.—Sow thinly in drills 15 inches apart. Silver Beet,—Sow in deeply-dug, fairly rich soil in drills eighteen inches apart. Sprinkle a . little bopedust in tl]e drills when sowing tho seed, and as soon as tho seedlings arc a few inches high begin feeding with nitrate of soda (loz, in one gallon of water).