GARDENING NOTES.

Shannon News, 7 October 1924, Page 4

GARDENING NOTES.

Mass Your Colour. The weather is most favourable for setting out plants. If possible l always • add a little blood and bone fertiliser; to the holes, mixings with the soil; Then insert; the- plant firmly. This will give . your* plahts a- good- start, < . Plant* generously ho less than one dozen of- any -given- variety. One or ; two- plants of everything in a garden ends in such a‘ garden having nothing compelling in its colour' scheme. Onthe other hand clumps of colour dominate and attract the eye, providing pleasing pictures at every turn. Plants and seedlings are now makl’ag rapid growth also the weeds, and the gardener who, is planning to make the ■ home beautiful, during the summer and autumn months,, has no idle; . moments to spare. ■ I Plant/annuals: tamong. the narcissi* whose blooming period is about over.They /wilp grow, quickly, and cover up air the unsightly-fading leaves, which; must not be cut- off, or the-bulbs will 1 not bloom so freely next season: Apply* a little top dressing* of blood and bone to the rows of sweet peas. Keep all weeds down, and*'the soil ■ loosened on top, also / go over them once a week,- tying , any vines that may be needing attention. Plant largely of delphiniums, anterehinums, marigodls, dwarf nastur-\ tiums, small bedding petunias, phlox drummondi, clarkias, amaranthus, verbenas, salvias, nemesia,,. and the scarlet t small flowered . bedding begonia. All the; above varieties combine brightness with- a long -Blooming period. .. ' Plants of our beautiful native clematis may be transplanted from the bush,-while In' the' blooming stage, with universal success. They thrive excellently on walls,* pei golas, arches, or among trees, and are very attractive. War on (the Slugs. 1 kt the present time, the biggest trouble which looms on the gardener s ' horizon is-the armies of slugs and snails that seem to have come in ■ thousands. Slugs of slate grey colour- , ings; dark Irrey, black-,• black with orange colouring ■ underneath! Then , : there are the- huge dark* grey- ones, ' from six- to eight inches in length, > ornamented tvitlr numerous spots- on t their backs. - Their plumpness might serve to entice the * Frenchman’s palate and so provide a table delicacy, but, alas, they are of no commercial value in our country.

The only business transaction iheard bf, was in connection;,with the snail specie, when, some, years: ago, a market gardener,-who, by the way, should have known better, purchased keroseno buckets.*full ofsnails-*fromi-the neighbouring--. juveniles,- later* distributing the creeping pests among the vegetables. The theory was, that snails would eventually clear the garden of slugs. They may, or may not, have a taste for their slimy neighbours; but they most certainly appreciate choice flower and .vegetable plants and are also very partial to the young growth. ,of the chrysanthemums.

Ducks„are,often, advocated for keeping slugs i ;in- abeyance, but, unfortunately, when: slugs are the most, plentiful, and i the? gardener is in urgent need of their assistance; the -ducks tire and demand a chaflge of diet. An-, other advanced ■ theory is, that frogs subsist largely on-a slug diet 1 . The frogs, however, *' are very-numerous, and if slugs be their diet, 1 then appe-

tites must be extremely delicate, for they certainly make little impression on the enemy. - •

They have an uncanny way of flndinig out the choicest varieties . and seem to imagine that , they have been planted for their especial benefit, providing them a pleasing, varied diet. After years of experience, and i giving every new slug destroyer; that has appeared on the market a fair trial,, I found that lime > is of no use if applied in the day time, or early evening, a heavy dew being-quite*suffici-ent for sluggie to safely venture

across. The gardener must be pre pared to go forth later with a light

and sprinkle lightly over the beds. Persistent efforts in this direction will ■eventually thin- them out and enable your plants to make headway. A wholesale slaughter can be made in showery •weather. By rising , at an , early jhour you will, then, find, the, slugs very busy, the ; moist . .weather conditions, which they love tempting them to *;stay out longer than Is wise.. Lime is hot so easily • applied to the shellback specie, which are best- gathered by hand and destroyed. However,'if there is one virtue that the gardener learns to acquire, it is patience, enabling him to keep going with the grim determination that such insignificant things as slugs are not ■going to have all their own way. Keep on planting out. Even a slug tires of the same old thing day in and day out. Peonies and their Culture. Peonies are particularly, suited for Slumps in the herbaceous;border, and Should be more widely , known and grown. They are easy of culture ’revelling in a situation, where they only get the* sunshine* for half a day; Also they do nofc like to be disturbed, and if left to themselves, will grow, into immense clumps - and bloom' freely, succeeding well in any good; well-drained garden' soil. They grow superbly in a sea-dampened atmosphere. The spaces between peonies may be utilised by the planting of daffodil bulbs,, which also'do not like to be disturbed. The daffodils will do well, blooming in the early spring, before the peonies make much growth. Later the large peony plants entirely cover up the straggling daffodil leaves. Peonies are making, rapid growth at this time of the .year, the •young deaves' with: their, dark colourings ■ showing up ■ well in the- borders, kt a later stage, they turn green, but are still attractive; large and. glossy.

1 The peony was an old-time: favourite, being known in horticultural; history earlier than the fourteenth century, but it is only *in recent: years that a revival of interest I 'in this beau-

tiful plant took place. At the.present, time we have a-much, wider range of colours; There are the lovely fragrant double varieties, in colours of light rose, cherry red, gleaming whites, flesh pink, lavender, bright rose and many others. Then there are the charming attractive single varieties which, have a most, pleasing; decorative effect. The 1 flowers are large, the centres, in most varieties, showing numerous green-yellow stamens giving the blossoms a rich appearance. Rich pink tones, deep maroons, bright cerise and many shaded,and tinted varieties; leave nothing to he desired in the way of colourings. Most varieties bloom through November and December, individual blooms rivalling our exhibition chrysanthemum for size. There is also a most beautiful specie called . the > tree ( peony, with immense blooms of a glorious*pink shade. , It is semi-double with an exquisite raised centre. Given a warm, sheltered spot near a wall it grows to perfection, and is greatly admired by all who have the good fortune to see it in bloom. Unfortunately it does not throw out shoots from the base, and swould require budding in order* to obtai’a plants. The leaves are also beautiful,. adding much to the plants' general attractiveness.