GARDEN NOTES.

Shannon News, 11 June 1929, Page 4

GARDEN NOTES.

Seasonable Routine Work. Roses, although too early to prune, at this season it is advisable to reduce the growths of strong-growing kinds in order to prevent rocking by winds, which often loosen the firm setting at the base of the plants. The shortening back of the strong growths prevent this, ami where cuttings are desired they may be struck now with good results. Clematises. Cut away the large surface masses of growth on arches or walls as this will Jiave to be removed later in any case, and only forms a buffet to the wind and a strain upon the lower anti more important growths. This pruning back applies to all the large flowered varieties which produce their blooms on the young wood. Such varieties as montana, which bloom on the olu wood may be left to ramble at will. Plant lilium 'bulbs and if possible associate them with azaleas, rhododendrons er ericas where the roots will benefit from shade.

Continue the making of new borders, the dividing and transplanting of various subjects, and, in the case of the former, enriching the soil. The flower spikes of Christinas roses (HeJleborus) will be much taller if a lidless box is inserted over the plant for a period. As chrysanthemums go out of bloom if is wisest to lift the choicest varieties and place in a box of soil. Here, it is possible to keep the young shoots from being eaten by slugs, and usually it is the choicest plants which* suffer the most, severely. Quite a lot of space will bo available for early spring blooming subjects, if the. dahlia roots are now lifted and heeled into a plot in the vegetable garden. ,

Remove all gladioli conns from the borders. Fruit and Vegetables.If drainage is lacking in the kitchen garden, drain it now. It is important that all drains should be laid with a good fall, and a clear and easy outlet, and that they'are below the level of the future digging and trenching. Manuring the garden: Do this intelligently and not at haphazard. Plan where each kind of vegetable is to be sown or planted in the spring, and apply the manure according to the needs of each.

Roughly dig over all ground not need od until spring. Soil turned up roughly, with perchance a dressing of lirne or ashes, is a pleasuie to work during the spring. Haivest root crops. Swedes and other roots keep well if stored against a wall with their tops removed. Thatch with some clean straw, finally covering with, fresh turf. Vegetable roots in store: Take advantage of inclement weather to look through the stock of onions, potatoes, etc., removing any that showsthe least signs of decay. Spent crops: Have these cleared off as soon as possible, for not only docs this add considerably to the tidiness of the garden, but it allows manure to be wheeled on, and the ground to be dug as soon as in a fit state.

Apples and pears have mostly cast their leaves and pruning may be commenced. The present is an excellent time for the planting of all fruit trees, and providing the soil is in a suitable condition no time should be lost in bringing forward this important work. Soot and Wood Ashes: Save Them in the Winter. Bo:h soot and wood ashes are valuable adjuncts to a garden, and they are easily acquired by most people. At this time of the year when gardens are being cleared of crops and fires are made to dispose of the rubbish, the ashes resulting from such fires should be gathered and kept in reserve in a dry state until spring. Clippings of hedges and odds and ends of the garden arc best burnt and the ashes turned to good .account in spring when sowing and planting time comes round. Soot from kitchen fates, likewise, ought to be saved under cover from time to time as the necessity arises for cleaning. The grower of onions knows the value of soot and there are o.thcr crops iu a garden that benefit by incorporating it with tba soil, Easy Method of Propagating for Amateurs.

Cuttings- are very successfully raised under the following conditions. Procure some fine moss fibre or. coconut fibre,' adding a liberal - admixture of fairly coarse sand or grit, even -finely broken bricks or flower pots will do. All sorts of cuttings root; quickly in it. Procure a box ami coat it 'with creosoteto keep down. fungus, half fill it with the fibrous mixture and simply -push the cuttings in without any pressure. Some things ,such as fuchsias, and’ hydrangeas root in about three weeks'or so. Hard wood plants take longer, but there are few failures in the long run. This medium is. also useful for raising seeds, using a pane of glass to cover the top. Sweet Peas. Where these were sown in early autumn the plants are now large enough to place some twiggy pieces near them to keep the young growth; off the surface of the ground. The trench may also be given a dressing of superphosphate at the rate of four ounces to the square yard and lightly forked in if diy enough. Where the trenches have not been prepared ,and box sown seed is ready to plant out, It -will be best to plant- out on a plot that was trenched for onions or celery the previous year, as no good results are obtained from planting on loose ground, neither is it wise to leave the plants in the boxes too long. , If they are showing any signs of under nourishment tflangplant them, and keep dusted with so-ot or lime to keep slugs off. Slugs appear to prefer freshly-planted out plants in'spite of their partially wilted leaves. Plants should be encouraged to make basal .growths from

which the finest blooms are obtained. If plants are not showing the required growth of young shoots, nip the tips out of each one.

Any seed sown now .should be germinated in pots or boxes, to loss by slugs when they are just com-! ing through the ground. Chimonanthus Fragrans. A delightful perfume fills the air at tins season, whore a plant of the above is blooming and one forgives it its insignificant, small, vellowish-green flowers, when its fragrance, as delicate as tliat of the stophanotis, is felt. Whoever was responsible for giving the winter sweet its specific name of “fragrans” did not err, as a few of its blooms left floating in a shallow bowl will perfume a large room. For two of the barest months of the year this shrub smothers its- leafless, twiggy growths with those gems. C. fragrans loves a ivann wall, and in cold districts would not do well without it. During the summer the shrub is attractive by reason of its clean, healthylookiug foliage. It does not usually bloom until well established. Hardy Cyclamens.

H&nly plants that give us freely of their beauty during the winter should be cherished. There are very few gardeners tliat do not possess some little, well-drained, partly shaded plot where these gems will thrive outdoors. Even whore exposed to frost, the fully opened blooms will be but just touched with brown, while the buds remain.uninjured. Isolated, plants dotted about in the rock garden are attractive, but iu order to fully realise the full beauty and decorative worth of the cyclamen, it should .be massed. They are happiest in a .mixture of loam and leaf-soil, with a little lime and give better results when undisturbed. Under these conditions the seeds will drop and germinate freely around the plants. Many plants are capable of producing a hundred blooms. Up-to-date Gaillardias. The all-round qualities of blanket flowers, as they are'often called, have, won for them a high place among the aristocrats of the herbaceous border. When properly placed, these plants furnish fine material for the formation of telling colour effects, and as the blooming period extends from November until well into the autumn, they may be regarded for this reason alone, as valuable garden plants. Then, again, the quantity of bloom yielded by plants which are growing in congenial situations is perhaps as lavish as that produced by any other herbaceous plant. When we come to consider the size and wealth of colour of the individual blooms of present day varieties, it is difficult to believe they are descended from the old, small-typed flowers remembered in grandmother’s garden. Present-day hybrids are known under the name of G. grandiflora, and the, colours of the flowers embrace every imaginable shade of crimson, orange* yellow and gold, sometimes appearing as self-colours, but, more often blended in marvellous schemes of harmony. The size of the blooms, too, is prodigious, and one may expect to find them measuring anything up to four or five inches in diameter. The value of the blooms far cutting should not bo overlooked when estimating the utility ,of gaillardias. They are borne on long, stiff stems, they last a considerable time in water, and are one of the most effective flowers for house decoration.

Although the culture of gaillardias needs no special skill, they have certain requirements which might be well catered for in order to'get them happily established. They are essentially sun-loving plants, and should be placed in positions whore they may be bathed in sunshine for the greater portion of the day. Soil's which are on the heavy side, and which become too retentive cf. moisture during the winter, will not suit these plants, and before their culture is attempted they should be mechanically improved and well drained. A nice light loam liberally treated with old stable manure or cow manure, forms an ideal soil for gaillardias. Although they arc good drought resistors, yet the quality, of the bloom is likely to deteriorate if the roots are kept over-dry during the flowering season. In spite of the hardiness of gaillardias, runny gardeners have a practice of covering the roots with some littery material during . severe weather, but this practice ,is hot really necessary. Like many perennials which are profuse bloomers, these plants arc apt to become exhausted %fter. a few years, and it is advisable to raise or procure a few-fresh plants each : season, to replace those which a,re worn out. Seedlings arc very easily raised, but are rather slow growing They bloom the first season, but some growers do not allow this, contending that the strain i u too much for the young plants. Old plants may be sub-divided, and' root cuttings are generally quite a success. Propagation by stem cuttings is not, as a rule, satisfactory with gaillardias, as the plants so produced are usually leggy and untidy.