GARDEN NOTES.

Shannon News, 3 September 1929, Page 4

GARDEN NOTES.

Seasonable Eoutine Work. Although the first month of spring is once again with us, activities in, the .garden are limited. Continuous rains have left the soil in a very damp and cold condition and ouitijoor sowings ,and plantings can only be gone on with where high ground and .good drainage can be had. Seeds of hardy annuals, ■however, can be raised in boxes, in anticipation of warmer clays. When pruning the roses, those of the An .1 .an briar type are best left unpruned. Push on with all draining operations on heavy -soils; this is the keynote to success. ! 4 Heel in any trees or shrubs which come to hand while the soil is too wet for planting. Sweep up the last of the loaves and make - them into vegetable mould. Prepare labels for spring planting. Make plans for this season's work. Continue planting roses, hedge and sueltor trees, 'snrubs, and climbers whenever the weather is open. Trench all vacant ground, manuring at the same time. Hardy fruit Garden. Postpone planting of fruit trees when the soil is wet or sticky. . Keep the heads of standard apple trees thorough open in the ' eentre ■ when pruning. Plant damsons and cherry plums on the outside of orchards to break the wind. Mulch all newly planted fruit trees with light manure. Fork , over strawberry beds, burying or picking off the weeds. Plant black currants in a moist and partially shaded border. Proceed with spraying after pruning orchard trees. Use lime when , planting all stone fruits. . Protect the steins of fruit trees in exposed situations from rabbits. The Vegetable Garden. Plant rhubarb. Complete the lif t- . ing of all root crops. Firm around plants of cabbage, cauliflower, etc.,- that have become loosened from the effects of frost. ■ Avoid a stuffy atmosphere • for storing vegetables, which induces early decay. Sow onion seed as soon as tire soil is fit, also make small sowings of early white turnip, short-horn carrot, and all salad plants. Sow mustard and cress in deep seed pans for cutting for early'use. Place , in a sunshiny corner. * Paper Mulchings.

From various gardening data, it would seem that the use of-black paper mulch for various crops is becoming am established practice in America, follow-; ing on the results obtained from its use in Hawaii, where it was first used for the sugar crops. The pineapple growers then took it op and last year 90 per cent, of the Hawaiian pineapples were produced under paper mulch. The l 1 United States .Department of Agriculture has interested .itself to the extent of making experiments and issuing a bulletin on the subject. It is said to smother weeds, provide a heat trap, showing an average increase of ten to twelve degrees over ordinary soil, and prevents the soil drying by evaporation. ' One writer in the United States recommends the practice for young rhododendrons, azaleas, and other choice shrubs, as it stimulates them and eliminates the labour of keeping the grass back. For a succession of crops it is also recommended, as, for instance, cabbages following peas, etc. All that is necessary is to pull up pea vines or cabbage stumps or whatever they may be, and replant between the one inch open Spaces left between the strips of pa per. It is claimed that the same paper can be kept down for three ■ years, . with plantings occupying the ground all the season, after only slight prelimin- : ary soil preparations and yet the yield is higher than with no paper and the customary soil cultivation a,nd preparation. The method of use appears simple, either by planting between strips of mulch paper, as in the examples given, or by cutting slits in the paper and putting the plants through them, or by putting collars of paper round the plants.. Eock Gardens. There is a very sound reason fo'r the increasing interest and popularity of rock gardens. As ideas on gardening ■ yearly develop, it would seem that the whole interest and purpose of a garden f is to give to its possessor a sense of mcnttal rest by observation and inter-, est in subjects which, apart from ,or perhaps because of, their natural beauty, afford complete mental change and relaxation from the stress of household, social, or business concerns. And what could bo more valuable to a nation generally than the study and care of such a health-giving occupation f Every, modern house possesses its •garden,, large, or, small, according to the leisure and general cost of upkeep available,, and of its owner. The garden in miniature—a complete rock garden, mountain and forest, i|tream and plain, can be accomplished in little, in the most limited space imaginable and a thousand plant subjects are available, among which the mind of the possessor may revel and And repose, equally with the owner of broad acres.

One may accomplish oeeans of enjoyment in the contents of a mere stone sink,, while a few square yards of scien* tU&eaHy placed and planted rock work

will .afford enjoyment from one year's end to another. In addition to other forms of satisfaction, the possessors of rock gardens in the area of townships enjoy an almost complete immunity from-the depredations of cats. On many so-called rock gardens, the tendency is to plant anything that will trail or grow close to the surface soil, but as the choice Alpine plants become better known the rock garden will not be allowed to harbour those subjects which would do equally well in the borders. Coast Hydrangeas. The blue hydrangea is the show flower of the Atlantic coast from Virginia to New York. It- might also be called a shore flower, for the same intense blue cannot be obtained very far inland. Visitors, enchanted by its blue masses against foundations and forming hedges, endeavour to learn the, colour secreti “Old. horse-shoes planted at the roots," or “blueing water applied every Monday morning" cannot be said to hold there. There is still much to confound us in the interesting study of these plants. Along the coast the salt air is generally held responsible, but that theory cannot be relied.on, for the lovely flower is not always ‘' true blue. ’’ Some seasons its blooms are pink, nor can the colour be forecast. A more poetic theory is, that the blooms take on - the blue of the sea and sky.

However, there are pink hydrangeas also along the shore that are planted pink and pink remain. Both pink arui blue produce heads of bloo-m of mammoth size, which frequently measure a foot across. Not so unusual or showy is the “hen and chicken ’ ’ hydrangea, which is also naturalised .on these shores. It is so called because of its flat head of tiny blossoms, surrounded by an outer guard of large single blossoms. Why Zinnias Sometimes Fail. Zinnias are looked upon by many as half-hardy annuals that may be planteo out in early spring along with other bedding subjects. It would be more correct* to designate them, tender annuals, which need congenial conditions of temperature out of. doors before consigning them to beds and borders. For this reason, seed should never be sown until the soil is really warm from the heat of the sun’s rays. October and November are quite early enough to think about bedding out zinnias. Seeds sown too early invariably damp off during a co-id wet spell, which often occurs during the early months of spring. Zin nias look robust owing to the hardy appearance of their foliage, when actually they are not so and when bedding out takes place at an early date the plants make very little if any progress, until such time as soil conditions prove congenial."’ They revel in warmth and sunlight and . for this reason, ought to be given place on a border, where they can receive shelter from cold winds, which often play havoc among them. The zinnia is such a eharming annual, however, blooming for a long time and makes such a splendid show in a garden, that it is worth giving a little thought to in the way of cultivation. Sowing Small Seeds. *

Some flower seeds are very small and in a. general way they give the most trouble. The covering soil must be very thin; consequently the seeds are more exposed to atmospheric fluctuations than when a thicker covering can be used. The difficulty is to preserve the compose in a uniform state of moisture, without frequent waterings. In a general way seeds would germinate with certainty if the soil needed no moistening from the time of sowing Every time seeds are watered there is a slight cheek, more pronounced if watered with cold instead of warm, water. For ■ early sowing the boxes should be half filled with either fibrous turf, lawn grass mqwings, or fresh stable manure. The two latter will have the effect of keeping the soil warmer. Surface with nice sandy, light loam, firm the soil and thoroughly moisten it. Add another layer ot sandy compost and sow the seed, merely using a small board or the palm of the hand slightly to press them into the soil. Place paper over the box and then a pane of glass. When the young plants appear, re move the paper and give a little air. increasing this gradually until the seedlings are well up, when the glass can be. removed. Care must now be taken 'lest the soil becomes dry, and. the hot sun must be kept off for a time. Influenza and Onions. As winter passes on, and vegetation becomes more sparing, with colder earth conditions; the human body is gradually deplenished o-f its stores of vitamines and as a result of these changes, influenza, rheumatism and var rious other complaints make the last month of winter and the early spring, a time of universal illness. Nothing ean compare more favourably for winter health and healing than the often despised onion . Onions are cheap and available in every town and village. They provide the vitamines we need and must have; they give a sense of warmth and well-being to the chilliest person on the coldest day and they are rich in a delicate antiseptic which reduces the vitality of lower disease organisms. Everyone who fears chills and influenza should add sliced onions

to his or her daily salad, or else to eat an onion that has been sliced thinly into vinegar and kept standing in it for an hour. Those who are anaemic

or neurotic as the result of intestinal poisoning, should eat onions, and still more onions. Onion juice can be taken if preferred, and onion gruel or broth should invariably be taken in the early stages of a cold.