GARDEN NOTES.

Shannon News, 6 December 1929, Page 4

GARDEN NOTES.

Some Noteworthy Roses of To-day. While roses are. with us, in all their glorious colourings, it is a good pla» to make notes of those varieties which best suit our tastes if contemplating planting during the coming autumn and winter months. Although other yellow flowers are not altogether highly prized, yellow roses, on the other hand, are universal favourites. The variety named Bernice, raised by tho late Mr Pemberton, i s proving a variety' of sterling worth, a strong, free blooming rose, good to look at, and good to smell. A shade of yellow flushed with pink good for any garden. Another recent addition to the yellows is Julicn Potin, which threatens to eclipse all other yellows. Compared with others of this colour, it is much more vigorous than Mabel Morse, or Florence Izzard, larger and more erect than Christine, does not die back like Golden Emblem, and is a better sihape than all of them and as sweet-scented as golden Gleam. If it has any fault it is that its colour is not always as deep as Mabel Morse. As the weather becomes hotter, the colours deepen in all the apricot, verm ill ion, orange and Indian red shades, which are always great favourites. There is the deep shading of Mrs. Barraclough, and the weakness of shape and form of Cuba, Zingari, Elvira Aramayo and Guyneth Jones are forgiven owing to their wonderful colourings. Chas. P. Kith am, although not quite so bright, is a better, shape. Despite all that is said in favour of scent, the majority of people still select roses for their colour in preference to scent, as we find many fragrant roses quite overlooked. Duchess of Athol, Comtesso do Oastellega, and Mrs G. A. Van Possum are all of the orange flame and vermillion shades so well found in the smaller but equally deliciously scented Angele Pernet. Lady Forte viot also belongs to this class and may surpass them all for exhibition. For those who like the very full type of flower, Jules Gaujard, a new French variety, may be mentioned; its colour is brilliant carmine red, shading to reddish carmine, quite distinct to any other. On the other hand those that think that Madame Butterfly and Ophelia are the nearest to the ideal in pink roses,, will find Lady Sylvia and J.'C. Mousing, which are deeper pink sports of these varieties have proved superior in sonic ways, as the sun docs not have tho effect of making them washy. If a poll could be taken of every type of rose grown, from amateur to professional cut-flower growers, Lady Sylvia would head the list as the most ideal rose. Lady Mary Elizabeth is still somewhat of a new ro-se, and under trial lias come out well in the cerise roses. Its combination of size, colour, shape, its habit of growing, and free blooming capacity arc all good. In Single roses the beautiful and unusual colouring, of Dainty Bess cannot fail to win general admiration, while the lovely pink of Isabel is hard to beat. A man’s choice among roses often falls on the very dark varieties. Among the wonderful crimsons are Souveneir-dc-Alex, B’crnaiv, Lord Cliarlemont, Bedford'Crimson, Chateau de Clog Vougeout, and Hadley. Among older roses

Mrs. Henry Morse and Rose Marie are very consistent and are considered two very good bright pinks. It is likely that many may be forming a rose garden this autumn, and those who have not nia.de notes, may rely on those mentioned as being among the very best, in its colour.

No well planned garden will omit its climbing roses, and these form such a large class that they must bn ueait with on another occasion.-.

. Fliysalises. The bright pods of physalises are Ideal for all winter decorations. The colourings of the capo gooseberryshaped fruits are so rich that they arcalways much admired. . Where root? ir seedlings are obtainable they may be planted now, and those who value- som.--'hin.g re-ally bright and attractive, wit contrive to find space -for some in the garden. Any light soil suits them, and .hey de-light, best when they can be planted on a sunny border. As the plants roam about a border it is best to plant them in a bod to themselves, as, like mint, they are apt to become entangled with other plants in a border. It is a good plan to brick or concrete round a space whe-re they can be kept to themselves, where they will come up every year and will not interfere with other things. P. Alkekengi (orange) and P. Franchctti (scarlet) are two of the best. The plants are quite hardy and no winter affects them. Where plants are raised from seed they will not often bloom until the following sea-s-on, and where only a few plants arc required it is better to purchase roots. The Old Fashioned Garden. Very rarely do w r e find the old fashioned garden, where stand strange little figures of clipped box, very well mannered, holding themselves stiffly above the rioting crowd. Here, there are carpets o-f heart’s ease and forget-me-nots in spring, under fountains of honey suckle and jasmine. There is a tangle of happy “common’’ flowers, for they are not s-o very tidy, those gardens .vhere the forgotten flowers are grown, barkspur and lilies tumble against t-he hedges with ladies’ love and lavender, where nothing is labelled and every-

thing grows in a lavish abandon, smel- - ling so sweet. There, out of the soil, wherever the home may be, will grow' the flowers that soil prefers, the"oldfashioned way is the way of peace, the way of health, whore growth is abundant and procreative Nature follows comfortably her own unhasting Way. In a sandy garden there will be Rosemary and lavender, hyssop, thrift and thyme, the kingly plantagenct-brooms, heaths, geraniums, fuchsias, chamomile, cotton and jessamine. Hard stemmed, aromatic herbs make a sharp and pungent sweetness that blows across it. The old fashioned garden on chalk or lime is a garden of colour. There wall be love-in-a-mist and pasque flowers, clematis in festoons of purple and rose, the borages, catmint, irises, delphiniums, rosemary, and lavender w r ill be blue there than anywhere else, and the poppies more brilliant, while fragrant pinks are everywhere. Those who have to make a garden on heavy clay soil, the most exacting and generous of all, will know the way that roses love it, and plant the old fashioned, delicious cabbage rose (rosamundi), the York and Lancaster, damask, yellow banksian and sweet moss roses, so hard to find these days. To find the old forgotten flowers means a good deal of trouble, for many of them can only be collected from cottage gardens where they have lingered and been loved through all the modern changes of fashion. But it remains true in gardening as in other walks of life that the thing which gives us the most trouble to.get is the thing we prize the most. The intimate and unassuming charm of old-world- flowers does not lend itself to colour schemes, massing, and bold effects, but more to sentiment and grace of growth. Thyme, underfoot and balm against the knees, honeysuckle overhead, quince and crab-apple making curtsies to the daffodils, honesty holding hands with forget-me-nots; hawthorn dipping to the pond, thickets of lilac and rose,’ spleenworts in the stumps of old trees, hart’s tongues in damp walls and banks mingled with native ferns. There through the years, a tangle of sweet growth comes up about the doors of home, youngsters

under mothering boughs, safe from critical upheavals of bedding-out, and the coercive shears of “tidy” gardeners, allowed to grow in Nature’s way. True, they are not so very tidy, those gardens where old-fashioned flowers grow. But as gardens they will never be wholly forgotten, and remain a fragrant memory. Preserving Beech Leaves.

The ornamental sprays of beech leaves have often been successfully treated with a mixture of glycerine and water, which treatment preserves the leaves or sprays in a supple condition, akin to fresh cut, but remaining supple without remaining in water. One method is t,o take one part glycerine to seven of water and soak the leaves for a fortnight or until they have absorbed the liquid. Another is to boil the leaves in the solution, bring, the water to nearly boiling point and 'let the leaves remain in for two or three hours. Then quickly rinse in cold water to remove surface stickiness and dry off in the air.

The Japanese Iris. Iris yaevigate, better known iD gardens as Iris kae-mpheri, is a remarkable species from Siberia and Japan, and is at the present time just commencing to open its large, flat, clema-tis-like blooms.. Although this iris will grow in any well worked garden soil, iit at the same time loves moisture and will'grow in several inches of water. A position round the outer edge of a pond suits them well; here, too, their foliage and blooms show to great advantage. When transplanted this moisture loving iris does not bloom well until the second season. They should be planted in full sunshine .away from the shade of trees and shrubs. Every year, many beautiful new varieties are added to the 'genus, many blooms measuring from nine to ten inches across. Division of. the roots may lie made in autumn or spring, also they are easily raised from set*i which should...bo sown as soon as it has ripened. The Use of Fruit Trees. The employment of fruit trees is by no means confined to their ulitilitarian

value. The planting of fruit trees in avemics as a means of beautifying the landscape is yet in its infancy. We have all heard of the beautiful effect of the “cherry blossoms” of Japan, but plums share, per Imps, equally with the cherry in the fame of the above.

By a judicious planting of pears, cherries, plums aud apples the garden architest can obtain a flowering lasting tiirough t wo months of the year and with material which is excelled by no other for beauty. Again, in the autumn, the fruits are both useful and ornamental, with, in many cases, attractively tinted autumn foliage. Much scope for the planting of narcissi, too, is gained, where the drifts of these lovely spring flowers are needed, while many spots will be available for groupings of the bearded flag irises, which wil bencht largely .bv the dressings of lime necessary in the cultivation of most fruit trees.

In Victorian days there were frequently planted, avenues of trees of the least' lovely and almost useless kinds, but horticulture has since advanced and not only flowering trees which produce no fruit, but fruit trees for the value of their blossoms are now freely used with fine effect.