GARDEN NOTES.

Shannon News, 15 October 1929, Page 4

GARDEN NOTES.

October ;is one oi tne Dmaes* * of the year in the gardenj the great i 4 preparing time ’ ’ for summer and aut* , K limn display. The>, .borders are beaufci* \'f ful throughout the year until frost - time. . 1„ ,< , • During the hottest months of the year. there- are various flowers which stand «v the heat hotter -than others. , Among these are the cannas, which make such ■!,, a glorious display of Colour, also celo- / sias. Then there are gaiUardias, petunias, phlox drummondi, calendulas, .i geraniums,'and where" tlm soil is light, y Mffldy Or gritty, the lovely little portu-' -' laca's bloom in profusion through the y most 'intense heat. Zinnias, asters, sal-. ' vias ,and French and African marigolds, -v are aft'■welcome. additions, to the, summer garden, while cosmeas, dahlias, 1‘ michaelmas daisies and chrysanthe- ■ muflis, must not be forgotten where tall *' growing things are needed. .'Raise a o batch of Iceland poppies in order to ' have a quantity l of -Strong, . sturdy, J , plants for winter blooming. They will, ;■ of course, bloom long before that but given- a punny,'’’sheltered spot, mil con- " tinue during the winter. They should not be allowed to suffer from drought during a hot spell, or; many of them -will die out. Annual 'shirley poppies 1 are easily grown, and make a good show A of colour. Seed may be : sown broad- } ' east among small shrubs or large areas, !‘„ ’and will give very little trouble. r ‘ Seeds of all half-tiardy annuals may be sown this month; ■ Plants of gypsophila may be set in among the oriental poppies. These will bloom later, and cover up the faded f< liage of the poppies. Or gladioli ’ may be used, but 1 these should be left - ’ out of the ground for as long as possible if used for the purpose of a screen. .’■* The paeony patch, too, needs something ’ of the sort planted at a late date, to help brighten the area. A few annuals ' are often useful for the purpose and ai long as manure is applied annually, the existing or permanent plants will not suffer. If is getting rather late now to plant shrubs, although much depends on the weather. Should a dry spell sot in * later, the trees will need a watchful eye, as they will certainly need watering occasionally. A mulch of partly decayed strawy manure, or cow manure, placed around them , will aid a good deal in conserving moisture. ’ ■ The Vegetable Garden.

Warmer days and nights have encouraged growths among all the earlier , planted vegetables, and if the soil is . .-kept hoed around them, rapid growth will, result. .

If any onion bulbs are showing signs ' of sprouting, prepare a trench, and

place them some six inches or more down covering them over. The shoots force their way through, and provide nice, long blanched stems for salads. Sow plentifully of radish, mustard, and cress. There is always a scarcity

of vegetables during October and November, and if pldntv of salad plants - arc available, they are a great help. Turnips may be sown thickly, and cut ' ‘at an early date for dishes of greens. Lettuce should be forced along as quickly as possible, by keeping the plot well hoed, and applying a light dressing of nitrate, of soda, well away from / the foliage. * Save all available wood ashes, and ashes from rubbish fires for the onion, potato and tomato crops. " Raise plants of any of the melon ' family; * and’;/prepare beds in readiness for- them. ‘‘Vegetable marrows fruit

•' early If a warm sheltered . corner is , ■ available.:' In a selfsame spo-t a row of , French beans may be sown. It is well .worth a'tif effort to. get these early, ‘ -■ V Make* 1 -another sowing of peas, and where the'garden plot is small, sow a ■' > elimbing' Variety as these will provide ' the ; moat dishes and will be found well 'worth the.labour of staking.. Prepare a.trench for the runner beans , and keep the existing treneh of sear- '• let, runner? dpstod with lime.Nd time should bo lost in planting " .new asparagus beds. Give the strawberry bed ns much at:ti jit.or as possible.

Tomatoes: Cultural Notes. With tomatoes, success depends on the cultivation of the soil. Slipshod work ip this matter meets with the reward .iff merits. In poorly "prepared roils, tomatoes will often look very well during, the earlier stage# of growth, but when tthe rooting'medium has not i oceived careful preparation, tlie effect of this neglect shows itself in a more or less marked manner when the fruit begins to swell and colour, for if the roots are not perfectly healthy and worHng actively, they cannot assimilate the additional nutriment given them.

In the first place, the rooting medium must be sweet, and for this reason, toimatoos Bhbuld be planted in soil that has been deeply dug and trenched early in the winter, the hard frosts do much to sweeten arid aerate soil. The use of

large quantities of farmyard manure is not necessary, and only helps to create . a lot of sappy growth, with clusters of fruit sot widely apartj. A little may be used with advantage at planting time, if it has not been dug in during the winter. Whop fruits are sotting and swelling there are plenty of good artificial ' manures which may be used to help the 'plants along. Tomatoes like .. potash*, and any available w;ood ashes, burnt and, charred soil,,mhy.be added. Qiven a liberal quan-

tity t o-f these, plenty of air and sunshine between each plant, and well dug and sweetened soil, the tomato crop will not fail to give satisfaction. Last, but not least, use the hoe freely while the plants are growing. The effects of using compost in a more or less exude condition, such as digging the ground only in time to set the plants—-and then only lightly digging it, axe easily seen when the plant begins to fruit. Tomatoes are natural- ■ ly free growing, and will go away and look very well under, ordinary conditions. It is when there are several trusses swelling with the consequent 'greater demand on their strength, that ;the lack of full vigour is apparent. The i fruit ceases to swell freely and does not colour as it should do, and to the disappointment of the grower the yield is | much wanting in quality.

Blue Flowering Plants. ! There is a fascination about blue ■flowers not common to all colours. ! The true blue rose, carnation and dahlia have yet to appear, but there is -quite a long list of good blue plants which enable us to have bold patches of blue in various settings from early spring till late autumn. In the semi-wild garden, the first blue effects of the year are obtained from such small bulbous plants as ehiono* dozas, scillas, grape, and muscari hyacinths. Anemone apennina and anemone hepatica, brighten the rock garden, ■while forget-ome-nots and blue primroses adorn the shady spots and fringe our shrubberies. In spring bedding .schemes, blue violas and the bluetoned aubretia are used with charming effects.

' Turning to'the larger herbaceous borders,’blue predominates during the month of November, when blue irises, lupins in various shades of blue to purple, are to be seen. In the blue gard'en proper, the stately delphinium holds pride of place, accompanied by the intense .blue of the anchusas, forming aij effective background for the many shades of blue to purple noticeable amo-ng the iris family. Liniuni perenne, too, spreads its dainty blooms at this time. Later, the blue of the seabiosa and many of the campanulas fill the borders with the same hue and the stately monkshood is one of the joys of autumn, together with the newer .Indian poppies (meconopais). Where larger subjects are grown the blue or the. African lily (agapanthus) and the hydrangeas are a welcome sight.

Annuals are useful for filling in banspaces, and among therii are some wonderfully good blue flowering plan!--. There are quaint, love-in-a-mist, with its rich blue, flowers emerging from a network of fine green foliage, the dainty blue lace flowers, dwarf blue convu!vus, and nemophila insignis, a plant of straggly, untidy habit, but bearing attractive, pure blue, cup-shaped flowers, Among climbing plants, blue and tones that blond with blue, is a predominant colour of the larger clematises and the beautiful cup-like flowers of ipomea cerulia might be mentioned; for earlier blooming the Argentine pea is always an attractive sight in spring. Nemesias as Pot Plants. The - experiment of one flower lover with nemesias, may be of interest to others who like to brighten verandahs and vvindows with pot plants. The plants were taken up in late autumn from the borders, where the warm autumn showers had germinated seed dropped from summer flowering plants. The experiment proved a splendid success, the plants attaining a height of eighteen inches, and some twelve inches through. Started in quite small pots, they were repotted as needed, being eventually flowered in seven-inch pots, the plants being a mass of bloom, with flowers of larger size than those of their outdoor parents. The bright colours of these lovely annuals were most welcome during the late winter and a

wealth of bloom still exists with the lengthening days. The plants need to be kept near the glass, when,grown in- ' doors, or they will become leggy. Celosias. The celosias are interesting annuals, producing very conspicuous flowers, and a bed devoted to them is a great asset to the / gardon, as they keep it, gay until frost time. Apart frcjii their glorious colouring in the border, the spikes last well in water, and unknown to many gardeners they are excellent subjects for winter decoration if they are cut with long stem? and dried quickly in the sun. when treated in this way, they rival the best of the everlastings. They also make very effective pot plants for windows, conservatory, or verandah. Seed should be sown this month in light soil,'arid care must be taken, right from the time the seed germinates that the soil does not become dry. A bed of sandy loam, enriched with old, welldecayed manure, with a dash of sharp sand, suits them well. Extra fine specimens oan be procured in pots, if liquid manure is given twice weekly. There are several very useful species among the celosias. The old cagscombe producer showy plants, with flower hondof unusual shape but it is not every on wh.o likes their heavy appearance. The chrysanthemum-flowered eelo-sia is somewhat similar, but grows much taller mid has flowers resembling large chrysanthemum®. The plumed celosias are entirely different in form. The plants are neat and compact, growing from two to three feet high; on the end of each stalk is produced a long pointed head of bloom, which broadens out as it develops, until it finally appears as a loose, fluffy plume of intense colour. The spike flowered celosias do not embrace such a wide range of colours but the light lilac pink of the type is very pleasing to the eye and the graceful elongated heads of bloom are carried on ’orig, stiff stems, which make them admirably adapted for cutting.

The Chinese wool flowers are the latest and most unique addition to this class of plant. They arc happily named, for when fully developed they resemble nothing so much as n large loose ball of wool. -