GARDENING NOTES.

Shannon News, 29 October 1924, Page 1

GARDENING NOTES.

WOliK FOR THE WEEK. If intending to grow chrysanthemums for exhibition purposes, commence preparing your bed now. If the very best results are looked for, the soil must, be dug out, until the clay is reached, then take out about a foot of the clayey substance as well, and remove. Fill in with alternate layers of soil and a little well-rotted farmyard manure, adding some well-rotted straw' from an old stack bottom. If this is not obtainable, basic slag may be used with advantage,, in conjunction with some well rotted turf or soil from the compost heap well mixed with the 'soil. Avoid too much manure, as this would tend to force the plants to grow too tall. When the plants form buds will be time enough to apply plenty of manure. Dig'or' fork your bed over weekly if possible, in order to well" mix ingredients. This is easier done • before the plants are set out. j Help the sweet peas along, if good exhibition blooms are wanted. At this period they should be showing signs of buds. Length of stem and good blooms can only be acquired by good feeding, which also assists in the depth of colour, in individual blooms. Use liquid manure freely, either made j with soot, animal or guano. Also it is important to keep the soil in the trenches well loosened. Sulphate of potash is said to assist the formation ’ of flowers, used at the .rate of one teaspoonful to a gallon water. There are many special sweet pea ' manures on the market which are very to the plants, if applied about every ten days. They are usually highly concentrated, and care must be exercised to keep the manure from touching the bines. It is best to prepare a slight trench on one side.of the row, and pour the mixture i'nto this. These preparations are very useful, where animal manure cannot be obtained. Wallflowers. The old-fashioned wallflower is having a revival. Although always a fav- , ourite on account of its exquisite perfume, the new colourings showing i'n I our recent hybrids, have tended to bring them more to the front. Most delightful are the new salmon shadings, dark and blood reds and crimsons with violet, bright yellows and all shades of bronze. Never has there been such a wide range of colours. Then there are beautiful double varieties, which are useful for exhibition purposes, as they have immense trusses of bloom, resembling stocks. Preference, however, is usually give’sto the single varieties, which are so useful for blending purposes in all floral work. Their culture is remarkably easy, and seed should be sown now. By so doing the plants will have attained a good size by the late autumn, and will commence blooming in the late winter and early spring months, when floweih are generally , scarce. No garden can afford to do without these, exquisitely perfumed biennials, j which flower so freely a’ud give so little trouble. A walk through a garden where wallflowers abound on a fresh dewy morning, or when the dew is falling in the evening, is something to. be remembered, and a kee'n pleasure is to be derived, as the delicious scent penetrates and thrills. The seed germinates quickly, an i easily, and the plants grow into large clumps which require very little attention. - / Bedding Schemes. ! Now is the time for planning all ' sorts of delightful colour schemes for the borders. If your plants are not qtiite large enough for transplanting, utilise the time in between in making the best preparations you possibly can in readiness for your plants. Work the surface of the ground as finely as possible to dig, in some well rotted manure. Failing this use a tablespoon of blood and bone fertiliser for each plant, when setting them out. This will enable them to staz-t well, and grow into strong healthy plants, which goes a long way towards helping them make good, through the summer mouths. Experienced gardeners are quite able to pla'n out their own colour schemes, but beginners often find a difficulty in deciding what to plant, hence these few suggestions may prove useful. For those having some roots of the beautiful dark leaved cannas, a splendid lasting effect may be obtained by planting the cannas at suitable distances apart, and filling in with a variety of the yellow tom thumb 'nasturtium or, if preferred, the dark leaved tom thumb with bright-red I flowers. A long shaped bed on this plan with the cannas well grouped towards the centre of the bed, and the nasturtiums intermingling will provide a satisfying a'ad glorious mass of colour until fi’osts appear. Another distinct and altogether charming effect may be obtained with an equally good lasting effect by using the darkleaved cannas, i'n conjunction with the pink-flowered bedding begonia. This combination never fails to charm. A bed with a very distinct charm and somewhat unusual is made by mixing the plants of 1 the blue salvia, with yellow calceolarias, using some blue violas for the edging. A very bright bed may be obtained by the free use of the crimson and scarlet varieties of phlox di;ummondi interspersed with plants of our dark-

est leaved garden beet, edging ths bed ■■ with the dwarf crimson flowered* bedding begonia. Such a! bed will present a bright spot of colour through our hottest summer months, continuing to ' bloom through the late autumn. Spare no pains in getting your bed- ' ' ding schemes as perfect as possible. ) They will repay by giving you endless ' , pleasure a’ad satisfaction. Do not set your plants too far apart, and ion the ! other hand, don't overcrowd. A little • thought is needed in estimating the . . amount of room required for each ’• - plant. No bare patches are wanted to - ■ ofEe'ad the eye in bedding schemes. By ■ i covering the ground well, a further 3 advantage is gained in choking out weeds. Look after .your plants well in i tiie earlier stages of growth. Afterr wards they may safely be left to'take , care of themselves. It is only in these ; earlier stages that the beds represent labour a’ad that is reduced to a mini* 4 l mum if the beds have been well pre- „ 1 pared. The remembrance of the work v 1 is forgotten:'as the harvest of flowers . appears.