GARDENING NOTES.

Shannon News, 17 July 1928, Page 4

GARDENING NOTES.

'. Spring and .Boses. , ; Swelling buda on early blooming shrubs iand trees are already bringing reminders of spring, and although a . few heavy frosts have been experiene- , .ed, bulbs- and other flowers are show- ' >. 'ing signs of blooming a little earlier

than usual this year. Even -the roses • have brought-forth a stray bloom here A and there- throughout the winter.

! ' ■ .Speaking of-roses reminds one that . July is -considered ‘the 'best ofi all months for pruning. With a pair of -* snips in- hand, the average amateur ' gardener-sallies‘forth to hover over • the rose buds in an agony ofi in-

.• decision. One branch projects this- way ■' and - seems to ask to be cut off, but .•just where to cut it is the cpiestion. ‘ Visions of future-blossoms which might ■. " appear of ten tend to influence one to ■ leave a .long length of stem, but then again one has to decide whether one wants a lot of blooms or only a few .to grace -the exhibition stand. •X - Bose assert that -wcak-grow- ■ ing roses, which-makevery little wood ' _■ during the season, should be cut hard -back to ! within a couple of eyes from * 'the ground. .. Incidentally, the ’cut ( -should always be made just above; an ■f eye that is going to branch outwards. ‘The more robust growers need not be ■- •• cut so-drastically. Unhappily, quite a few favourites such as Emmfi Wright, ■ -and‘Queen Alexandra, are among ’the, ‘ weak' growers, and it is as hard to ‘ ' -mutilate these as it is to punish a , ■ ./delicate child. However, the roses must 1 ' be pnined if they are to do well. , ' • Hints on Pruning. . Strong growers, such as Betty Up richard,' Hadley, Madame Butterfly, ,' Shot Silk, and others do very well if J .... cut s back to five.or six eyes: 'Others, such as Cheerful, Irish: Ele- ’ gance, Bed Letter pay and Hallmarkv* Crimson require very little pruning and ' need be merely cut back fc a otrougbud, cutting out all weak growths. ■ ■* ■' Most of the classes that are known as ~ -[pillar roses and "which have a climbing; "habit, need to have all the old floweri ing wood cut away and the new , growths stied in. AH the cluster ramblers, such as American Pillar, Dorothy ,V Perkins, ete.> should be pruned after --■I flowering, cutting away all wood that . ‘has flowered. < ; All newly planted -roses should be cut close, to within two eyes of the ■; ground; and'among all. classes of roses, " • al weak wood should* be removed* as t . V: well as dead -pieces of stumps. , -Irish -Elegance is a splendid rose for -. the shiubbery*where it may be left to grow to a large size, : and where' it V ‘will 'always furnish large- quantities of - beautiful- blooms. * General Routine VWork. , Take advantage* of all July's ’line 7days to push on with planting opem.tions. ‘ Take cuttings of flowering plums (prunus); the earliest varieties of this v - v handsome family of trees are already showing colour in the bud. ■ 1 ■' Plant herbaceous perennials, and hardy annuals. Push on with all hedge planting, j In the vegetable , garden there is, rhucK to be done if early vegetables , , .. are to be produced. *>, , Choose the sunniest and driest plots - , in-the garden for early peas, potatoes, f ’ and salad plants. ■> All-ground should be dug over :as ' - .early as possible. , Look well ahead -and "be prepar- - • ed. ” If trenchbs and beds, are prepar--1 • ed 'before hand, the gardener is able ■ to-take full advantage of every fine --.-'ivday, and the beds and garden plots are • -,p.ble to be quickly- planted. -.Supplies of manure are apt to be . - . ■ used up at this time of .the year, and « ' > a- further supply should be gradually f hoarded up for the and chrysanthemum beds. Seed-growing should not be attempted unless the boxes have a sunny aspect. The bottom of the boxes j-should be first of all partly filled with '•>> something - that will provide a little . '■ heat such as grass clippings or fresh -stable manure. Brightening- Backgrounds. : Though much has been written on tjhe . -laying out of gardens, and the beautifying of frontages ' little is’ said abojut . the background. 7 While a pleasing ■ ' frontage is «a great asset In the setting - off of a home, as well as a source jof /• • pleasure- to passers by, the importance of brightening up the background ■ • should not be dost sight of. I ,Menial tasks lose much of their .drudgery when performed among, pleas--1 ,ant surroundings.. The background, 4 s ' i- ; pecialiy that of the town dweller, (is \ mostly on the small side, and its sfjtI - ‘-.ting irresistibly appeals for the fdrr i; mal garden. Creepers and climbers are out of place for covering walls etc, -.but if .these same walls are made pi rough pieces of rock, bricks, or any - thing that rock plants will , among and-grow, the effect is always . -■> beautiful. Where a wooden wall hi \ f -ready exists, a very pretty effect may -- be had by running a raised border along it. Fronting the border to hold J , 1 ’the soil in position, build a wall .about (-{.eighteen inches in height of any rough • -stones —broken up concrete answers ;the purpose well—tend in- this small wall many creeping plants will find -ra 1 1 home. • Aubretias do especially well in -.such {.places. ' , 1 The border itself is ideal for the growing of tulips in pink, yellow, and / v. isearlet-(shades, - with a groundwork of *' royal blue forget-me-nots the bed being -.--brightened -up with a -few annuals ■, , when tho tulips and forget-me-nots ' .f,. have * lost ' their beauty. : The backyard .is usually paved or concreted, and by allowing for bordera, less concrete is needed for the n yard itsolf, while ‘ there Is often a r A .uk ß p aee where shelter from winds is urg- ; ently needed. Here is the place for a V Jgmall rock-garden built with a bold * ‘aspect; towering to a height of from fe ; ’• ' : ' \' •

five .to six feet; and giving further opportunities for growing many lovely alpine gems. Stone ornaments add beauty and distinction to a formal garden, where they often look out of place among natural flower borders and lawns. Sundials, birdbaths, etc., are coming into favour, but personally I would place them in the formal garden where all surface- space is tiled or concreted. The backyard is one of the easiest of places to convert into a formal garden. A rough rock wall may conceal the vegetable plot. Such a wall, if built, securely, never needs repairing, and if planted with suitable subjects is a constant source of beauty and interest.

With $ little planning and forethought in paying out and furnishing, the backyard soon Changes its drab aspect fo one of much beauty. Little plants brought home from holiday trips, may bo placed in this garden. Moreover, the formal garden has one great asset to the busy worker in that it is easily cared for. There arc no grass verges to keep trimmed, the borders' are easily looked after and if care is taken in selecting soil for rock walling, making sure it does not contain roots of sorrel, couch grasß, or any other (troublesome weed, there is no difficulty in ■■keeping such places'in order. There is nothing to prevent anyone growing such things as primulus, cyclamens, carnations, calceolarias and asparagus ferns in and among the rocks, while - sweet .clove-scented pinks revel in rambling over rock work. There are tplants which thrive in shade, while others love full sunshine, and whatever the position there is always something attractive which will grow. /The Delicious Apple. , A tribute of praise was recently bestowed on the ’high quality of New Zealand’s Delicious Apple, by a London tradesman; who h therto had not been able to account for this variety being placed on a par with Cox’s Orange Pippin, and in America placed as first favourite. /Consign: ments before handled by him had rbeen grown in British Columbia and! had without exception proved disappointing, but the handling and sampling of a Now Zealand consignment forwarded in. mistake for an order of Cox/s Orange had proved a revelation. The fruit, moreover, was stated to have been perfectly packed and in the best of condition. Pink Hydrangeas. Pink hydrangeas will always remain pink if they are able to obtain plenty of humus from the soil and are liberally Supplied with lime to prevent any acidity. In many gardens the pink hydrangeas remain pink, until the roots penetrate a certain depth, then they will change to an uncertain blue. It follows, then,. that the deeper and richer the upper soil the longer will the flowers remain pink. Pink varieties should be given, a run of some three feet of good rich soil composed of well rotted garden weeds,-farmyard manure and good loafti. Blue varieties should be given plenty of iron in some form or other, in order to keep them a good colour. Lime should-not be given. The newer varieties now on the market are going to prove of great value for massing in beds and for filling in . the frontage of shrubberies. Many are low growing and compact, and with lovely colourings.

. Leaf Mould. Keeping the great value of leaf mould in mind, many a gardener is ; at this season desirous of converting fallen leaves into a useable condition as quickly as possible. Prevailing winds have swept up the leaves and left them in nooks and corners where they may be quickly gathered. If they are then put in a shallow pit, mixed with a little sand, or scrapings from the roadside to give a little more body, and sprinkled with salt as; the mass accumulates, decomposition will be ; hastened to a marked degree. E very two or three months the mass should be turned until it appears ready for use. Lime should, never be used to ! hasten decay as it destroys humus and renders the material useless for the many subjects which delight tin leaf mould and detest lime, and it ■is for these plants that leaf mould -is annually prepared, as well as for potting purposes. Spinach. Spinach is one of the gardoner’s good early greens and should be grown in every garden; and grown well. Too often it is poor and unsatisfactory, due to the fact that it is sown, but seldom thinned. Many gardeners spu' spinach as thickly as they sow mas tard and cress and thinning is nev’er thought of. The result is a poor leaf, with an inclination for the plants to bolt to seed as spring advances. Spinach grown in this way is like the an nuals which come up thickly in the borders and if left to fend for them selves will throw up flower spikes, with but one head of bloom. If spinach plants are thinned to one foot apart the leaves are fleshy and robust, and are much more appreciated than the poor, small, and flaccid leaves which are too often sent to the kitchen.