WORK FOR CITY RESERVES

Southland Times, Issue 24836, 31 August 1942, Page 4

WORK FOR CITY RESERVES

Preparation Of Floral Display Months of preparation and planning lie behind the seasonal floral displays which can be seen in Invercargill parks, public gardens and street reserves. At the propagation department of the city reserves in Queen’s Park seeds are sown, seedlings boxed-out, and plants bedded out. All this work is done to produce a brief season of floral perfection. Plans for spring and summer are well advanced. The spring display at the war memorial will consist of 2500 pink tulips bedded in myosotis. Later 1500 red geraniums will displace the tulips. In front of the rose gardens a carpet of tagetes (a dwarf marigoldtype of plant with orange flowers) will set off to perfection black-leafed dahlias with cardinal red, flowers. Two thousand livingstone daisies will again edge the rose gardens and these should be a mass of colour. Begonias are now being planted for the Christmas display at the glasshouses. Around block two will be 2500 stocks interplanted with nemesia, and the main scheme in the blocks beside the Otepuni stream will be blue butterfly delphiniums. Featured in many reserves will be viscaria, the dwarf Tom Thumb being used for carpets, and borders. More than 1000 antirrhinums will be interplanted with nemesia. MANY SEEDLINGS For general bedding-out 10,000 seedlings have been boxed off during the last few days, and schizanthus for spring display have been potted. A special feature will be made next autumn and winter of chrysanthemums which are now being rooted. The work being done by this department seems endless. As seasons change, flowers wither and others must be grown for replacement. Yet time is found for a few experiments. Rubber seeds brought to New Zealand as souvenirs of Singapore by Leading Aircraftman A. F. Moncur are being grown under glass, the humid condition they require being provided artificially. From Cairo Gunner E. J. McLachlan sent seeds of the flamboyant tree, a tallgrowing tree with a spread like that of an oak. The bright terra-cotta red flowers have been admired by many New Zealand soldiers serving in the East and in the Pacific, an<J post-cards of the trees have been sent to Southland friends. Another experimental plant is the ginger which can be grown in Southland under glass or in sheltered position. It is the tuberous root which is preserved and crystallized for table use. This plant has a flower of the canna type. While in the Bay of Islands the Hon. T. F. O’Byrne admired the loquat, and brought the seed of the fruit to. Southland. It is a fruit about the size of a pluih. The seeds were grown successfully at the nursery and are now plants about 12 inches tall. In addition to the flowers, there are over 10,000 cuttings of small native plants, also hedge trees and pine trees. Amateur gardeners who visit this department are fired with enthusiasm, and come away determined to carry out similar projects in their own suburban gardens.