GARDEN NOTES.

Shannon News, 30 April 1929, Page 4

GARDEN NOTES.

The Autumn Garden. The autumn garden is beloved by all; beauty is present everywhere, in the glorious tints of the dahlias, the fast opening blooms of the chrysanthemums and in the rich and varied tints of the autuinn foliage. Only, however, the autumn days are too short, the evenings soon draw in, and outdoor gardening in the evenings is greatly curtailed. All too soon the glorious Colourings of the leaves will disappear, and with the falling of these we are faced with the fact that winter is fast approaching. 5 April should be devoted to tidying up. Nothing pictures lack of caro and pride in the garden as much as herbaceous borders, from which the dead remains of plants have not been removed. In the autumn season weeds go .to seed and the same unkempt and unce.rcd for appearance results if they are not rooted out of borders and paths. Planning Next Year's Garden. / Ere it is too late to notice them, the plants which are not in suitable positions in'the borders should be made a note of and new positions decided upon and pictured, if possible, in a plan. With our usually wet springs, as much work as possible should be done during the late autumn and winter months. Push on with the preparation of all ground needed for flowers, vegetables, iruit, shrubberies and hedges. No better time could be chosen for preparing the rose borders, planting them a few weeks later on.

Decayed leaves *are the natural food of the soil; gather all available. Heavy sojls should be manured during the autumn, light soils in spring. Continue planting anemones and ranunculi, also sparaxis. ixias and other small bulbous subjects. .

Plant edgings of aubretia; these are particularly suitable,for the rose borders. , Plant all available plants in the borders. '

. Remove self-sown seedlings from the borders into boxes. Where slugs are troublesome, the choicer kinds have a habit of disappearing before large enough to transplant. ■ Harvest all matured crops in the vegetable garden. Make use of all favourable weather for digging, manuring, planting, . seed sowing and giving a general tidying up. . See that drainage is good. The suc«essful winter and early spring garden depends largely on well drained plots. Planting Shrubs. ; Nearly all deciduous shrubsiare rendered more effective, especially those which bloom in advance of the leaves, such as the witch hazels, forsythias, azalea mollis, and those with rich aut-umn-tinted foliage, when provided with a background of evergreen trees and shrubs. This should be ever present in the mind of the planter at this season. Masses of mollis and other azaleas are remarkably effective when so grouped, both when in,bloom' and again in autumn, when developing their rich tints. . ;, Maples (acers) and members of the sbru family are among our most ornamented foliage trees. These also need the‘background of green, both for a sotting and for shelter. The tender i beautiful young leaves of the maples in spring are entirely ruined if exposed to bleak cold winds.

• Tamarisks. Tamarisks are not grown to the extent they should be, considering their grace and beauty. There are six species well worthy 1 of attention, some of which bloom during spring, some in autumn, and some twice yearly. Its feathery foliage and pretty sprays of pink bloom are always effective for cut flower work. Again, it is one of the easiest shrubs to grow, and will stand any amount of cutting back. If left without pruning the tamarix will grow , into rather a straggly-looking tree, but if kept pruned hard back, a nice compact bush, with beautiful, lengthy flower sprays will result.

Lime and its Usfes. Lime is a highly valued mineral, extensively used in modern cultivations, and while some soils of a calcareous nature need no further addition of lime, others, particularly the stiff clays and those containing a large amount of organic matter, are much improved by occasional dressings. Lime acts in several important ways. It supplies plant food in itself, it sets free other plant foods in the sail; it acts mechanically on the 'soil, and when these functions are fully understood it is easy to realise what an. important part this element/plays in plant, ■nutrition. Most pivits require a supply of lime in their food, leguminous crops taking up more than the general run of plants. As a direco food any form of lime is about equally suitable, but its quickness in action depends largely on. its fineness of division, and broadiy speaking, it n ay be said that the coarser the grab the longer after application will results accrue., Undoubtedly the quickest in action is burnt or quick lime, but unless this has been exposed , to the air for a considerable time, or slaked by adding a little boiling water to each bucketful, it must not.be applied to any but vacant land, as quicklime, unslaked, will destroy any tender rootlets .with which it comes into contact. The chemical composition of burnt lime which has been exposed to water and carbon dioxide is the same as that of ground chalk or limestone, but there is, nevertheless, a considerable difference in their action. The action of slaking reduces the lime to a very fine powder, and after ' being acted on by carbon dioxide it is usually in the fine amorphous state in . which chemical activity is greatly enhanced. v Ground chalk or limestone, on the other hand, may by crystalline, or the lime may be bound up with silica. or magnesia in the form of double

salts, and no amount of grinding will render it so chemically active.

Thus, as one effect of quicklime is to destroy organic tissue in the soil, it would not be wise to use it on soils of low organic content (light soils) but on stiff clays and peats it has its advantages, because it is chemically more active.

Lime acts as a base in many chemical reactions, which take place in the soil in the ' preparation of plant food, and when it is lacking, these reactions cannot take place, and elements present remain inert and cannot become available for the, plant. Further, all ihemieal changes which result in the soil being made available as plant food take place best in an alkaline medium, and lime being the commonest alkali available, it is in frequent demand as a corrector of acidity. Intensive cultivations, whereby large crops are produced by* heavy applications of concentrated fertilisers, have a tending to engender acidity, and it is of the highest importance to see' that the lime content of. the soil is kept at a proper balance. Besides, in the chemical action of bringing inert substances in the soil into a condition to be taken up by the plant, lime also exercises an important physical effect by opening up the pores of heavy soils, giving free passage of water and assisting penetration of air, thus rendering the soil more easy to work. Finally, lime is an excellent antidote to many diseases in the soil, through its powerful purifying quality. The widespread and destructive disease among the brassica and root crop families, often called “Club-root” is practically unknown on soils naturally containing a high percentage of lime, and it is the most effective preventive agent known. Aconitum (Monkshood). Throughout the autumn months, the lovely blue spikes of the monkshood light up the perennial borders, so-called because of the hooded appearance ol each flower. The’ monkshood is a do-i sirable, though intensely poisonous plant, and where there are many children w'ho are allowed to work or play in the garden, it should be- banned altogether, to ensure safety. The whole plant is poisonous, and both seeds and are in request by herbalists, as a powerful drug is obtained from them. The roots of some may easily be mistaken for those of chicory, and the tuberous roots of others of the family may be mistaken for those of the Jerusalem artichoke, hence the plants should be introduced with care. However, they are most attractive, both for use io the perennial borders and in the shrubbery, the intense blue of their flowers being always a welcome shade in the garden; the foliage is also good, a deep and intense green. The plants can be grown without difficulty by the b'eginner. They will succeed in stm or shade, though if spikes are required for cutting, those grown in the sun are superior. They are raised easily from seed or by division of the roots in autumn or spring. When dividing it is advisable to do the work in gloves, in case the poison from the roots should get into any cracks in the hands. Any soil suits them, and any, manure. In height they range from fcfur to seven feet, and year by year they are being improved. There are also white and Cherry-toned varieties, and a yellow flowered species, but the blue shades will always bh the most popular. Berried Shrubs.

Although blossoms may be few, there need be no shortage of bright colours in the garden, if space permits o'f growing some of our charming shrubs noted for their beautiful berries. For a display of splendid berries, some of the following should be grown: Berberis polyantha,. bearing clusters of coral pink berries like bunches of grapes. B- rubrostilla, with large oblong berries of salmon red colour, and B. pruniosa, with white fruits. Cotoneaster horizontalis should be grown on every wall, and will provide a splendid display. C. bullata carries the most 1 brilliant. red berries, while C. frigida, which attains the height of twenty fee-t, should be grown if space permits. Virburnum opulus and virburpum sie boldti are both lovely. Others noted for beautiful berries are pracantha Gibbsii, crataegus coccinea, euonymus ourapaeus, hippophae rhamnoides, billardiera longiflora, which is a climber bearing large, glossy purple fruits, and three rosa species, namely Rosa movcsii, R. Pomifera, and R. sweginzowi. These three members of this particular family of roses also provide a wealth of bloom during the blooming period, and have therefore, a double reason for their cultivation. This list will provide berries of various hues, scarlet,'White*, orange, crimson and purple, which will cover a period of some four months at a time when they will be greatly appreciated.