GARDEN NOTES.

Shannon News, 17 September 1929, Page 4

GARDEN NOTES.

liaibtagers of Spring.

Despite cio4cl. weather conditions, spring flowers are in nowise daunted, and, naturalised in grass, the early trumpets and the inten.se yellow of clumps of the dear old-fashioned double daffodil which blooms so profusely each season , brighten up the landscape. Their absence of any pronounced scent enables the bright blooms tojae gathered as °-2nerously as one wants to gather them, to Ml bowls and vases in, the effort to capture that "sunshiny look" which has been all too often absenr from our rooms during numerous, sunloss, rainy days. The polyanthus nar- ' oissi is showing signs of blooming profusely,, but their heavy perfume, always welcome in the borders, tends tc a cutting sparingly, when needed for house decoration. Flowering prunus trees are making a beautiful display. There are now so many deeper toned pink varieties that are extremely decorative. The flowering apricot with its blossoms of almost a cerise tint, is a joy to behold and the sweet fragrance of its blooms is a revelation and comes as a groat surprise, as few flowering shrubs of these types have a great deal of stent. The plump, swelling buds of all decidious shrubs give promise, of fresh - green leaves soon to appear, and over all the garden there, appears .to be the "hush" significant of "waiting time" for warmer air and more sunshine. Work in the Flower Garden. Yew, laurel, ho'lly, privet, and most other hedges should be pruned and put in order. To avoid cutting the large loaves of laurel in half, which so mars the appearance 'of this hedge, use either a knife or secateurs. This can be done in such a way that little evidence of pruning can be seen. Where dahlias have been left in the ground, it is a good plan now to lift tho roots and lay them within the shelter of a hodge or wall, where they.will sprout and may be divided later for

replanting. Chrysanthemums are now shooting up from the base, and the simplest way for propagating them is to break them , up into small pieces and put them into pots, boxes or nursery beds. Early preparation of chrysanthemums and- dahlia beds is to be recommended where it is intended to grow good blooms. Plant gladioli at any time as soil'coaditiona permit. It ia good) for them to make roots while the weather is cool ■ For this reason, the later they are planted the deeper you should go. A depth of nine inches is not too, much if they are planted during hot weather. , At this season, from four to six inches will suit them. Late flowering perennial phlox that are overgrown should be lifted and re- ' planted. These do not develop fine trusses if left crowded. Select the young and vigorous pieces from the outside. Much work will have to be done in transplanting as soon as soil - conditions permit. Raise all seedlings in boxes. The ground is too cold to risk any outdoor sowings. The Vegetable Garden. The best carrots to sow for early scuppiy are the early horn, manteo, or stump rooted. Very dwarf growing peas have their recommendation for earliness but they are not the best croppers, or the most economical where space is limited. Where there is only space for a row or two, sow a tall variety, even if it does mean finding sticks to support them. t Potatoes may be planted at any time. Sprouted seeds give much better results than.when planted straight from the bag. Sow broad beans, and plant out any seasonable plants whenever possible. Make further sowings of cabbage, cauliflower and salad plants. Make further plantings of esehaUot and potato onions. Plant rhubarb and 1 asparagus. Sow tomato seed in gentle heat, such as is provided by a sunny window, or a box half filled with sitable manure, with a few inches of good fine soil on top will help considerably in germinating the seed quickly. Repotting Maidenhair Ferns. It is time to repot maidenhair and other ferns. Maidenhair ferns often require to be broken up into smaller pieces and young plants require larger pots. Many old plants are, however, greatly improved by reducing the* ball of earth and roots in order to get them into the same sized pot with a quantity of fresh soil. A good compost for ferns is made up by using loam, leaf mould and sand. A better mixture still is loam,.peat, sand, and a little sphagnum moss, chopped up an 4 mixed with the soil.

Carnations. Everyone loves carnations, and although the amateur gardener usually commences a garden by growing those things that are very hardy, there soon comes a time whon tho desire, to soar higher and achieve distinction*by cultivating some of the choicer plants or flowers seizes the fancy. To such, earnations, including picotees, are a fine class of flower to take in hand. The principal thing about these flowers is ,- to, have the knaek of making up the . soil to suit. When choosing a site for n bed of carnations, always remember th.afc.tady are lovers of plenty of sunlight. They also do ""not like .strong,

/Ob w rank manure, but anything that is old and well-rotted may be used in large quantities to work up with the soil. Another important point is that the carnation loves plenty of lime, and where papa rock is to be had, this broken into a powder and worked into the soil is of great benefit. Good drainage is another thing that must not be overlooked, and on heavy clay soils, it pays to dig out a couple of feet of the heavy clay, putting some broken bricks or other drainage material at the bottom, with turf on top. The bed should be made up as soon as possible, so that plants can get a good start before the summer commences. Roses. Rose growing is perhaps the most popular thing there is in gardening and there are many who understand their plants and know exactly what to do for them at any time. On the other hand, there are many who would like .0 grow fine blooms, but do not know how to go about the work. Only'good varieties should be planted, noted for their good shape and''a good depth of colours alwals admired. After planting firmly in a well prepared and well drained bed, the next and most important operation is pruning. Fine blooms .•annot be obtained except the bushes receive a good annual pruning. This work should be taken in hand now and the plants pruned hard back to within a couple of eyes from the ground . The plants will soon be starting,into growth if th'ey have not already done so and it is important that anyone wishing to get the best; from his plants should follow out the work step,by step. The first thing towards the desired end is. cultivation, and this must be attented to at all times. One of the best tools for the purpose is the Dutch hoe as it does not cultivate too deeply and is very quick to use. Deep cultivation during the growing ser.son shou!: be avoided as much as possible because there are masses of fine vou-ts just below the surface which feed t::e blooms and 'the plants, and if these arc destroyed, the roots that are deep dowr cannot be depended on for the same high colouring in the flowers. As the plants threw out s';cot3, go over the bushes carefully, and rub out any that are misplaced or where they are too crowded. Shoots growing inwards, especially when there are plenty with an outward tendency, should always be suppressed. In a few cases, ingrowing shoots cannot be avoided and have to be accepted as part of the plant, the shoots in these eases not being numerous enough to dispense with ! them. Having decided on the shoots, keep them growing, as strongly as possible, and to this end cultivation and a little artificial manure will be a groat help. When using artificial manure, a good plan to go on is ."little and often." Scatter it on the ground and work it in a little around the plants. About once a fortnight is not too much. Bone dust and superphosphate give strength and vigour to the plants. Soot is one of the best things to lay in store for later use in liquid manure form, when the buds have formed. Dahlias from Seed.

Few amateurs realise the ease with which dahlias may be 5 raised from seed. Seed sown at the present time under glass will germinate freely and very quickly, and the young. plants will be ready to put up into small pots when they are, about three inches high. The seed must not be sown too thickly, or the young plants will become drawn and spindly. When the. plants are about six inches high, give them a good hardening off before setting out in the open border. When planting out, it should be remembered that the seedlings require just as much room as plants that are grown from cuttings or tubers, as they attain their full size, and flower the first season. Even one head of seed picked from a plant will give a great many variations in colouring, and where masses of bloom are wanted at smallcosj;, dahlias from seed will meet the difficulty.

Violets. Violets are plants that nearly everyone wishes to grow and yet there arc few who succeed really well with them. The cause is not through soil, for al most any soil will grow them, but it is because they are not properly understood, and very often an inferior variety is planted where a good one should have been. There is a great difference between strains of violets. Some are good, and some are very poor doers; some flower and grow well, and others grow well but do not flower freely. Procure a good variety and divide the plants .up, throwing away all the old roots and keeping the runners. It does not matter whether these runners have roots or not as they root quite easily. Then dig the ground deeply, adding some well rotted manure to the lower spit. Give the surface a good liming and work it up with the soil. After about a fortnight, the bed should be ready for planting. The best time to plant is about the end of September, or early in October, so by beginning the work as soon as the weather takes up the plants will be in in good time, plant one foot apart. Success "with Delphiniums. Amongst tall plants that give us spikes of flowers whose predominating colour is blue, there are none to excel the delphiniums. Give them a fairly pure atmosphere and rich soil and one may have charming spikes of bloom in abundance. The ideal place for them

is at the back of a sunny border which i has a sheltered background. Although ' they do well in full sunshine, it must not be lost sight of that they bloom ! the longest when they are planted where they are able to get shade for part of the day. There, too, the spike* unfolding gradually, are often finer. The soil for delphiniums should consist of good loam and rotted manure, with mulchings several times during the season should it prove a dry one. They are best grown in clumps of moderate 'size. To permit them to grow year after year without curtailing them is j a mistake,, as when the clumps get [large, it naturally follows that the i ; growths in the middle become weak. To avoid this state' of things one Should divide the clumps every second or third year. Delphiniums, as a rule, have few enemies. Perhaps the worst is the slug, which eats off the young shoots in spring but dressings of soot on the surface will generally clear off these pests. ' Staking the plants early in the season is advised.

As with some other plants, it has been found that oae may grow delphiniums too long in one place, so that when the time comes to divide them, find a fresh place for them if possible. r Nie culture of the delphinium is simple, and the results out of all proportion to the slight amount of care necessary. They thrive In, almost any position. . The soil may be a rich, friable loam, which suits them-well but any soil, even hot and sandy, if well watered and manured, will give excellent results. Dig deeply (trenching is better,), add plenty of rotted manure, and plant two and a-half feet apart. Placed in groups -in the large bonders, the effect is always good and they are especially effective grown in large groups of separate colours. Also, they may be as seriated with shrubs with groat advantage. Flowering spikes should be cut off as they fade, to induce a longer blooming period. Copious watering in summer will be attended by increased size of spike and flower. Lettuce. A good crisp lettuce at any time of the year rarely fails to "meet with general acceptance and although in the most favourable seasons it must be allowed that quite good results often follow indifferent or lazy cultivation. But in hot, day weather, lettuces grown under these conditions will always be of poor quality, with a tendency to bolt to seed quickly. Perhaps nothing is more generally appreciated in early spring, when other greens arc scarce, than a good, crisp lettuce. Soils, seasons, and variety sown count for so much with this crop ■that, where lettuces are highly the importance of always ensuring the conditions under which the crop is to be grown to be as near ideal as possible, should be fully recognised. These ; three conditions may be summed up as follow: A deep and heavily manured ground, plenty of room for the proper development of every leaf the plant produces, and abundance of moisture at the root throughout all stages of growth. Where this is assured, there need be little fear of anything but satisfaction following a sowing made at any time.