GARDEN NOTES.

Shannon News, 25 September 1925, Page 4

GARDEN NOTES.

Roses, shrubs, panuncutus. and lillums may still be planted. Where there has been losses in the spring flowering plants put out last autumn, an early opportunity should be taken to fill up the blanks. Lobelia may be divided and the small pieces plantedwhich are always smothered with tiny rootlets. Seeds of annuals and sweet peas for summer flowering may be sown. Vegetable - Garuen. In well drained and fairly light soil most seeds may be sown, but it on the cold wet side, operations are best delayed, as sowing under the latter conditions only means waste of seedPotatoes may be planted if the tubers are left on top of the ground with some soil hoed over the top. When ground is dry enough onions may be planted out. Shrubs for Every Garden, It is impossible in a short article to mention even by name one-half of the flowering shrubs worth growing, but mention will be made of a few which should .be in every garden where space will allow. Most of those mentioned below are not rarities, and most of them may/be purchased for a very small outlay, but every one of them will repay the purchaser a hundred fold by its beauty year after year us it grows to maturity. First of all Cor early spring a place should be found for the beautiful almonds sweet and bitter (amygdalus dulcis and Acommunis. To see them at their best they should be planted in bold ■• groups and this remark also applies to i the many charming double peaches and prunes. We next come to the hardly (Azaleas and Rhododendrons which thrive well in good loamy soil providing the garden is not on a limestone sub-soil. Their gorgeous colourings repay any extra trouble in their cultivation. The many varieties of Berberis are well worth growing some with beautiful berries, while others are noted chiefly for delightful autumn tints. They are all fine subjects for massing in borders or on banks. All the Ceanothus are charming, but Ceanothus Gloire do Versailles, growing eight to ten feet high is perhaps the best, its rich blue flowers providing a lovely bit of colour. Tamarix with its feathery sprays of pink is lovely, while the 'Japanese Flowering Cherries (Cerasus Japonica) which grow about thirty feet high, are amongst the best of the spring flowering shrubs. H. Veitch is usually recommended as the best with its rosy pink flower. The variety catalogued under the name of Hesikura is even better .with its flowers of a richer pink and freely produced. The young- foliage of this tort is an additional attraction, being a delightful tint of soft brown, the • variety Japonica Watererii is a lighter pink than either of the preceding, and very lovely, with others, equally charming Among sweet-scented shrubs the Mexican Orange (Choiya ternata) growing six feet in height, with its fragrant white flowers stands pre-em-inent. In cold climates this lovely evergreen should be grown against a warm wall as it is not perfectly hardy. An evergreen shrub as hardy as the ikurel and with showy white flowers is the Rock Rose (Cistus laurifolius). This and the beautiful Gum Citrus (Cistus ladaniferus) are most desirable, and grow four to six feet high. ' The dark reddish brown blotches on the pure white, petals of the latter shrub make it conspicuous anywhere. The Cornelian Cherry provides an abundance of yellow flowers and thrives in any soil. The Hawthorns (Crataegus) soon grow into trees and seem to thrive in any position, the double forms in pink, scarlet, and white are known to everyone, but also

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deserving of cultivation are the varieties C. Carrierii and the Cocks-spur Thorn, both of which grow fifteen to twenty feet, high, bearing the summer [ bunches of large white flowers followed in the autumn by striking fruit and prettily coloured foliage. Scarlet and red flowers are always welcome, particularly in the spring. The Japanese Quinces which grow five to six feet, brilliantly supply the needed colour, these may also be grown as wall plants. The Brooms (Cytisus) give us masses of colour which few following shrubs can equal. The white, chocolate and gold, pale rose, and mauve, and creamy yellow varieties are all worthy of as much space, as you can give them. Most aecom- ! modating shrubs are the Ductyias in pink and white colourings, thriving in any soil, and all growing about six feet high. Some varieties of the hardy Heaths (Ericas) may be had in flower the whole year round, providing the soil is suitable for "their requirements. In early spring Forsythia is attractive laden with golden bell shaped flowers, this shrub is sometimes called flowering willow. The hardy Fuchsias giv e a delightful display in the autumn months. Much greater use might be made of the shrubby Magnolias, as they are amongst the hardiest of our shrubs. All they need is shelter from the roughest winds to protect their waxlike petals. The old Mock Orange and the flowering Crabs are all beautiful. Among the Crabs, more than passing mention should be made of P. Malus floribunda purpurea, a flowering tree twenty to thirty feet high. The flowers are a rich crimson, the young wood and foliage a pleasing reddish-purple shade of colour, and the tree itself is of exceptionally graceful growth. Flowering currants are fine for spring display and mass .well with the Forsythias. Who does not love the Lilacs (syringa) which delight in deeply dug and well manured soil? There are vaieties of this shrub to please everyone, both and double, ranging in colour from deepest purple to pure white. No list of flowering Nshrubs would be complete without the Veronicas which bloom so continuously. The many varieties of Viburnam, some attractive for there beautiful autumn tinted foliage, others for their brilliant berries while V. Carlesei is notable for its fragance. They might well be described as aristocrats of the garden, while for lower growing subjects, the Daphnes and Boronias are prime favourites? in most gardens. SOOT:.Its Value for Pot Plants. Soot is recognised by many gardeners as invaluable where Onions, Peas, and other vegetables are grown, but Us usefulness and virtue for plants in pots is not always realised. It is especially useful for plants that have been neglected in the matter of potting, and which indicates by' th 0 yellowing of the leaves that the soil in which they are growing is worn out At this stage soot which has stood'for a few months tn the open, can be placed in a coarse bag and dropped into whatever receptacle is used for liquid manure. A few waterine-' | with this mixture generally effect a ] decided improvement unless the plants be pot-bound, a condition necessitating their removal to a larger sized pot. Besides acting as a pick-me-up for plants showing a downward tendency in health, soot adds brilliance to the foliage of most plants, also chrysanthemums.