GARDENING NOTES

Shannon News, 21 June 1929, Page 4

GARDENING NOTES

■ The Winter Garden . Heavy vain has hastened the falling of the, last of the glorious hued leaves of autumn, but the gardener is already looking forward to the joys o± sweet Spring flowers. . Favourable days have hastened the growth of anemones,. and ranunculi, and various members ot the narcissi family are already showing buds; outdoor freosias, too, are making rapid headway. A scattering of violet blooms lllis the air with perfume, while the first blooms of our evcr-popular wallflowers arc with us. Spikes 0... white. and pink kelleborus (Christmas roses) are to be seen with a few ot their beautiful drooping blosoms unfolded. Here and there a stray anemone bloom has braved the elements, and numerous buds turned earthwards give promise of many more to follow.. Primula malacoidos, one of spring’s daintiest and most charming of plants, is throwing up its greyish flowering stonewith here and there a pinkish-mauve bloom showing. The dainty lavendci and blue winter irises are giving freclv of their graceful blooms, while violas are beginning to lift their pansy faces towards sunrise. A little warmth is added to the garden where the yellow winter flowering tritoma is planted, together with clumps of orange and yellow calendulas and graceful stemmed Iceland poppies. In the shrubbery the first early, of the buddlea family is commencing to cover itself with its highly perfumed spikes of mauve, its .pretty grey buds are also very effective. The fast-swelling buds of the early blooming rhododendrons give promise of joys to conic, and the roses, we are loth to cut back owing to the presence of a few precious blooms, while bordering them, the much prized aubretias are commencing to colour their tufts of grey foliage. Routine Work in the Flower Garden. Remove faded flowers from hydrangeas, and prune back to two or three buds. Continue to plant roses, shrubs, hedge plaits and herbaceous subjects when w.eatheT and soil conditions permit.

Pay special attention to the destroying of all garden pests; slugs arc troublesome in most gardens, and woodlice have a habit of preying on young seedlings. Nightly visits with - the lantern and lime bag work havic among the slugs, while traps of partly scooped out potatoes, beetroot, etc., will entice a. good many of the latter to harbour under. A mixture of pollard and paris green is also helpful, placed in handfuls over badly affected parts. Layer shrubs, and plant rose cuttings. Make plans for new bedding schemes or planting schemes in garden, the long evenings are ideal for this important work, and gives the gardener an opportunity of ordering the necessary seeds and plants. Lay in a stock of turf, leaf mould, and manure for future work, and especially for top'-dressing the rock garden.

Loosen the surface soil among bulbs to give them a chance of rapid growth. Plant hardy bulbs left over; the sooner the -better.

Weed the surface of lawns if it has become bad; this work may/be got on with when the soil is rather too moist for other work. The Vegetable Garden.

In sheltered, well drained plots, plant a few early potatoes, and sow a few peas'and broad beans, using plenty of lime for the two latter.

Pay special attention to all salad plants. Top-dress the rhuibarb bed with strawy manure; this will help keep the surface warmer, with consequent earlier rhubarb.

Lift root crops in order to prepare the soil for planting and sowing. Get 'frames ready for hot-beds, cleaning every nook and cranny with insectide wash.

Plant esc ballots and potato onions. Sow cabbage, cauliflower and lettuce.

Pentsteman Barbartus (The BeardedTongue Fentstemon).

Few plants can claim such, longevity ;n blooming for general border effect as the above named plants, or produce such a wealth of brilliant carmine or scarlet flowers. The tall and well-branched spikes are produced for fuly six months of the year. Nearing the front of the borders their deep green masses of foliage is seen to perfection. Somewhat low growing in habit, the spikes are all the more effective, and remind one of the well-liked hcucheras, only P. barbata is of stouter texture, with larger flowers and taller flower spikes. With a colour range of brilliant carmine, red, to paler salmon tints, the spikes are valuable for all decorative work. They like a sunny situation, with well drained, sandy loam. Planning and Planting.

There is perhaps no pursuit or occupation which requires so much forethought or foresight as does gardening in all its branches, but most of all to its floral displays. The beautiful arrangements and pictures in gardens and grounds which delight us in their seasons ,are the result of months of careful pfenning in the drab days of the winter. It behoves everyone who particularly admires and longs to possess some striking beauty of plant or flower !o find out something of its nature and habit long before it Could meet his or her eye in their own territory. Every lover of trees realises the "wrench" which accompanies the destruction of come favourite, which has been planted where the full extent of its ultimate development was not realised. Again, many shrubs and various flowering plants bloom and grow luxuriantly in gardens where they are well sheltered, but, plant the samp thing in your own garden which is unsheltered and the results are bound to prove disappointing, and instead of sheets. of colour, tier® are but a few miserable, sickly-

looking specimens. There are a great many very hardy plants and a great many which will not look flourishing unless grown in favoured spots, and the wise gardener will endeavour to choose those trees and plants best suited to his or her particular need. For after all, sheets of colour are always pleasing and delight the eye, irrespective of whether the plants be rare, or something known to one and all.

Roses.—Preparing the Ground and Planting.

The preparation of the ground for rew rose-beds needs attention. V* e cannot alt select an old pasture field, not that roses can be grown under many varying conditions and widely different soils is evident fiom the 'splendid result sob’Vincd all o/or ’ht .country v.here dll' care has been given :hc preparation of the soil. J’t-ere art :-w -:>•*.? where rr.:• •* m.. grow if drainage and general preparation is attended to. If one can choose rather high ground, so much the better, for it does net matter how open this may be, provided the full force of strong winds cap be broken. Closed in and oversheltered gardens often lead to severe attacks of mildew and insect pests. Unless the soil is really bad there need not be much expense in its preparation. If gravelly and poor, some good meadow loam that approaches the stiff, side wild be a great help. What is really wanted in such a case is something that will help retain and food we may give to the roses. A light and very porous soil allows a great deal of the fertilising qualities to percolate away from the roots it was intended to help. On the other hand it is equally injurious to have a stiff soil without some drainage to carry away any superflous moisture. Bastard-trenching is usually all that is needed; this gives a splendid opportunity to improve the bottom soil and upon no account should this be ■mixed, for it cannot occur again without entire replanting. To bring the bottom soil to the top and more especially when poor, is not a good plan. It is better to take considerable trouble to make the bottom spit good, either by the addition of well-rotted farmyard manure or a mixture of soot ana crashed bones, according to the character of the subsoil, using the latter if the soil is at all inclined to be clayey. '£>ome dried cow manure is often a great help in the bottom tranch of sandy or gravelly soils. In any case the bottom should be dug over as deeply as possible, in short, the full depts of a now spado should be utilised in, the ease of the top spit ,and the deeper the bottom can be moved the better. Should one be so fortunate as to get fresh meadow ground, let a shallow' spit of the top be turned over upon the bottom before digging over the remainder of the top spit. Poor, gravelly soils may have a little clay added to them with advantage. To a clayey soil ,road sidings, free from , petrol, burnt garden refuse and ashes should be added. A soil that has been under high cultivation for some years, but has not recently grown roses, only needs careful bastard trenching and the bottom loosened. Adding a quantity of animal manure to such a soil only increases the amount of humus and one would do better to give a dressing of lime when digging it over. The roses can be fed from the surface later on, and the lime applied now will sweeten and improve the soil much , more than any additional manures. In fact the soil in these cases is often what gardeners term “sick” with manure. Holes for roses should be at least two feet in diameter, and moved down to quite that depth. Upon no account allow manure to come into contact with the roots. Never plant while the ground is wet, it is far better to lay the roses in by the roots until the soil is in a more suitable condition. Oftentimes the roots of rases are not spread cut sufficiently ,nor should the • whole of the soil be placed above the roots before making it firm. A little at a time, combined with fairly firm treading, is infinitely better than one heavy treading at the last. Always plant dwarfs three inches •to four inches deeper than the junction between rose and stock, whether they are budded or grafted. They will only be a couple of-inches deep w T hen the ground takes its final settling, and this is none too much.'' Deep planting encourages the basal and sucker-likc growths, which are the real life of most dwarf growm roses. Standard roses do not need to be any deeper than they were in the nursery. Secure all standards against any wind waving directly they arcpi anted. Liliums.

Among bulbous plants the lilies occupy an important position, and they should be-, strongly represented in the flower garden. Now that planting time is with us again the subject merit* some attention. The earliest to bloom is lilium croeeum, with upturned orange flowers, followed by the blooming of L. candidum (Christmas lily) and the long trumpet blooms of St. Joseph's lily. These are closely followed by the lovely perfumed blooms of L. regale. Others worthy of mention are, Hcnryii, a strong grower, with light orange blooms, then there are double and single tiger lilies, orange hued with dark spots. Many lovely lilies are included in the spcciosuiu family, whose blooms spread out in much the same way as those of the tiger lily family. L. hansoni and L. parryia are both beautiful yellow lilies, while L. auratum is loved by all, with its handsome perfumed blooms. The lilium family is a very large one and a great deal of pleasure may bo derived from a collection, and their individual blooming will extend over a long time, as very few varieties bloom as exactly the same time. , Liliums will thrive in ordinary good garden soil if it is dug deeply' and sand and leaf mould added where it is of a heavy nature. A little sand should always be placed around each bulb a,t planting time. 1 Lilies'always

show to advantage when growing amongst low-growing shrubs. -The stems rise well above, and the blooms gain an attractiveness by tlheir setting of green foliage. Rhododendrons and azaleas are particularly good, as they do not take a great deal of nourishment from the surface soil. Lilies that are slow to increase will often throw up little rootlets if a few of the scales are pulled from the outside edge of the large bulg ,planting them with a covering of sandv loam.