Glorious summer good for gardens

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 11, Issue 526, 8 March 1994, Page 8

Glorious summer good for gardens

BY BEA BARNES What a glorious summer this is. The little drop of rain at night is a very welcome bonus for our gardens. The growth has been really exceptional this year but I notice that some of the smaller plants have suffered from the toodry conditions. A lot of the bedding plants have not performed as well as usual, growing into rather spindly plants and not clumping up together as they usually do. Mildew too has been a problem. I have had to remove two clumps of dwarf cornflowers and some of the pansies which have been quite badly affected. The taller perennials with root systems which can reach deeper into the ground for moisture have fared better and responded to the long hours of sunshine with bigger and better flowers. Dahlias have produced some wonderful blooms as were seen at the dahlia show and what a profusion of lovely blooms on the roses. I notice black spot is showing up at this time of the year and a regular spraying programme will be necessary to keep this at a controllable level. Any of the bedding plants which are past their best should be removed now and the ground prepared to plant out those which will flower next spring. Stocks, wallflower, pansy and viola, poppy, calendula, and sweet william will all be coming along now with polyanthus and primula for those shady places. Space for spring Don't forget to leave some space for the spring flowering bulbs and corms which are now beginning to make their appearance. These need a well-enriched soil with plenty of humus. Liliums will be available about April and there are some quite striking colours in the new seasons' lists. Some of them are ideally suited to pot culture - ideal for patios and sunny decks or to make that definite statement in the garden. The Asiatic varieties do very well up here and some of these do extremely well in pots. Cote d'Azur is one such variety growing to 20-30cm with intense rose cerise blooms. Sunray, a clear butter yellow, grows to 3040cm and Compass, a lovely pure orange, is about the same height. Among the taller varieties perhaps better suited to garden plantings are Corina, a bright crimson red, Grand Cru, a huge gold with bronze maroon flush and a new variety, Sans Cerre, pure white with a green nectary. Among the Auratum Orientals there are a couple of new varieties which sound rather nice Conamore which is the softest lavender pink and Acapulco a brilliant strawberry rose. Cassablanca is a giant pure icy white. Auratums generally appreciate a little more shelter at this altitude but one ideally suited to pot culture is Miss Rio.