GARDENING NOTES.

Shannon News, 1 October 1926, Page 4

GARDENING NOTES.

(By “LORNA”)

Each passing day is adding new notes of colour in the garden.- The shrubbery is aglow with tho beautiful flowering peaches, the double ’ pale pink is a mass of bloom while I the intense colouring of the double j red (Persioa) renders it one of the < most striking shrubs in cultivation. J The double white (Persica Alba) j acts as a' good foil to tho above two : colours; all are most desirable achli- j tions to any garden. Tho early j flowering rhododendrons are a, blaze * of colour, together with the bright and gay colours of the camellias: The pretty yellow shrub (Forsythia) flowering willow is clothed with masses of its small golden, pendantshaped flowers. Trees of Primus Pissardi -are daily growing more attractive with their brightly tinted foliage. All deciduous shrubs and ,t.rees are opening out fresh green leaves, and the charming early flowering magnolias are loaded with their beautiful cup-shaped blooms, tho variety called Magnolia Purpurea, with its lovely purple flowers, being particularly attractive. The charming native shrubs aro lighting up the landscape, being laden with their lovely. pendant yellow flowers, which present a wonderfully graceful and effective appearance. The flower borders aro gay with brightly coloured anemones, while the scent of tho favourite wallflowers fill tho air with fragrance, the many new colourings lending them an additional charm. Tho sweetly fragrant primroses are at their best, and edgings of violas and forget-me-nots aro rapidly being smothered with bloom. In sheltered nooks the Iceland poppies arc blooming freely, together with the gay flowers oi. the ranunculus in many wonderful and attractive colourings. Tho narcissi family are on the wane, but with a few bright sunshiny days, their places will bo rapidly filled with '.early blooming plants. The spr. taxis and ' laehenalias are among the brightest objects in the garden. Of late years somo new shades have been ’added to the latter family, which aro sometimes called Cape Cowslips, proving/ a, welcome addition to the delights of the spring borders. The Week’s Work. The growth of plants and seedlings has so far proved disappointing, but with a few milder sunshiny days we may look forward to a more j rapid growth. During the next few j weeks there is much work to be j done. Sow all hardy and halfhardy annuals, with tho exception of zinnias and asters, which require more w r armth for satisfactory growth than is yet available. Slugs and birds are still too troublesome toudmit of much broadcast sowing in the open. Loosen all, soil which has acquired a set and hard appearance; this will help the plants to get a good start. A little beneficial manure may be with advantage forked in among tho tulips, which aro rapidly throwing out their flower spikes, in preparation for their wonderful display of bloom a few weeks hence. The division of all perennial subjects should be attended to without delay, as in all varieties their spring growth has already commenced. Tho autumn sown sweet peas aro making good growth and. need a-little attention in tho way of loosenipg the soil around them, and tying ' in the tendrils securely. Dahlia tubers may bo started any growth for early blooms, but for other .purposes thero is no need to hurry their growth, as they do much better through the late summer months. Stir the soil among the roses, hoeing in a little basic slag. Plant a few gladioli for early blooming. If specially good trusses are wanted take extra pains in the planting of them. If your soil is heavy dig out two feet of it, mixing the host, of it with some good loam, rotetd turf, or the remains of an old stack bottom; some good, ■well-rotted manure and a little sharp sand 'where available. Where the soil is light and the moisture evaporates quickly, mix in some welldecayed cow manure and plant the bulbs from five to six inches deep. Select a position free from - cutting winds and shaded from the midday sun. Give special attention to the planning of tho borders for annuals, choosing those which give a wealth of bloom during the summer and autumn months. The Vegetable Garden. Here, as in the fiowov garden, growth has not been very noticeable among the plants, and recent storms have left the surface- of tho .ground in a - somewhat caked condition, which needs lightly hoeing. Sow' seeds of all varieties required for tablo use, with rotation sowings of lettuce and other , things required for salads at fortnightly intervals, also peas. A few French beans may be sown if the garden is endowed with a well-drained sunshiny corner. Plant out a few tomato plants in a warm spot for" early use; seed may be sown now to produce plants for a later crop of this favourite vegc- , tabic. Prepare tho ground in readi--1 ness for the main crop of potatoes, field peas, and 'mangolds. ; Finish planting any shallots, potato onions, etc., that may be on hand. Topdress old strawberry beds with artificial manure and lightly fork in. Plant early varieties of cabbage and cauliflower. Tlialictrum (Meadow Rue). These are both attractive foliage plants and noblo flowering subjects for the hardy herbaceous border. They arc perennials and exceedingly useful for margins of shrub borders, for the wild garden in sun or light j shade, and one, notbaly Tlialictrum ’ Alpimim, is useful in tho rock gar-

den. T’he tall varieties are splendid for tho back rows of borders, and the fern-like foliage of most of them makes the plants useful for additions to bouquets ■ and other cut flower work where ferns and other

foliage is not available. On , more than one occasion peoplo have been heard to exclaim, who are unacquainted with it: “'What a pity to rob maiden-hair fern in that way!” when seeing it interspersed in vases of flowers. All the members of this family are very hardy, and succeed in ordinary light, rich, cool, sandy strong sunlight the foliage losC3 its garden soil, doing best when rhis is enriched with vegetable matter instead of farmyard manure, and are not hard to propagate by division of the roots in tlie autumn or spring. Thalictrum Adiantipolium is a favourite, aud does best if it be given a position partly shaded, as then tho fronds last much longer. l If in beautiful green colour soon. Varieties like T. Adiantifolium, which is only about three feet in height, associate, well with a bed of ferns and funkias, and in early summer are very pretty. T. Aquilegifolium, and its vai'icty Atropurpureum, bear pale and dark purple flowmrs respectively, and havo foliage much like that of the Aquilegia, tho flowers, of - the latter being particularly sought after j for mixing with other flowers of ■ similar colouring, always producing l a dainty combination. Many of the thalictrnms have small yellow flowers, and some greenish yellow, and apart from, their foliage 'and the small berries which adorn the spikes after flowering would not bo at all attractive. There is also a, white tuberous rooted sort which only grows one aud a-half feet in height, while some of the varieties' wdll grow I as high as six feet where grown in good silty soil. Newly-planted Raspberries.

Many, when planting raspberries, lbave the canes their full length, which is a mistake, as instead of breaking below and forming others as they ought t'o do, they only start at the top and make a rather miserable effort at fruiting, and the result is they are not only poor then, but having termed no new canes they are in as bad a plight the following year. The best way to form fresh plantations of raspberries is to select the stoutest and best canes with the most roots, and cut them down to within six or nine inches of the ground, when they should be planted in rows four feet apart. As raspberries liko a little shade they will be found to do remarkably well between the rows of tall apple trees or other similar position. A moderately light soil suits them best, but to cnablo them to bear the dry weather well the ground for them should bo trenched in order that fhej/ may drive their main roots down and find moisturu when the supply from the surface feeders fails. Amateurs often injure raspberries by digging amongst them, whereas the ground should never be touched beyond freeing it from w ecd.s. top-dress heavily every autumn after the old canes are cut away, and leave the half rotten manure as a surfacing all through the summer. For supporting the canes nothing answers better than galvanised wire strained along the rows, to which they can bo securely

tied, and with the first outlay the expense is over. Mulch newlyplanted canes, as the great point irgetting them established quickly, is to afford the roots shade.