THE GARDEN

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 56, 28 May 1927, Page 24 (Supplement)

THE GARDEN

/JHj—y BY LEONARD A. GRIFFITHS, «—F.R.H.S., F.N.Z. Irffet. Flowers are the rarest things God ever made and forgot to put a soul into. —H. W. BEECHER. INQUIRIES FROM PUZZLED GARDENERS.

Any inquiries by our readers on the subject of gardening will be answered in our “Puzzled Gardeners’ Column” in the following Saturday’s issue. All letters must be addressed to the Garden Editor and forwarded to THE SUN Office on or before every Wednesday. Any specimen to be named must be packed securely in a strong box to prevent crushing in transit.

A WHEELBARROW

HOW TO MAKE IT A garden wheelbarrow is usually considered a difficult thing for an amateur to make, but the sketches shown below have been simplified to such an extent that anybody possessing a limited knowledge of tools should have no difficulty in putting it together. Begin by making the strines, which consist of two lengths of ash, or durable timber, 4ft. Gin. in length by 3ft. in depth and 12in. in width. Next produce two pieces of wood, one llin. long and the other 22in. long, using any kind of material for the purpose, and nail them temporarily into position at the extremities of the strines, which will give the shape of the frame. Then measure from the narrow end of the strines, mark off 14in. and from the other end 20in., as seen on the sketch. These will give the position and lengths of the cross pieces, which are 3in. wide by l|in. thick. They are slotted into the strines in the manner shown, and form the support for the bottom of the barrow, which consists of tongue and groove boarding.

The sides next receive attention. They are made of lin. timber and are 19in. wide at the bottom, sloping outward at an angle of about 40 degrees. Details of the legs are shown in ihe sketch, the slope of the sides being about 4iin. in Bin. They are secured tc the strines by means of a long bolt, which should run right through the frame and be secured at the other side by means of a washer and nut. The front is made of lin. timber and should be now fixed in position. The distance from this to the end of the strine gives the size and shape of the front bracket, which is cut from llin. timber. The wheel must, of course, be purchased, an iron one about 18in. by 2in. is the best size. No matter what colour the barrow is painted, the inside should first receive two good coats of red lea'd. ARTICHOKES The tubers can be planted now in rows about 30in. apart. Seven pounds of tubers will be sufficient to plant a row 50ft. long. This vegetable is very easily grown and is often used to dll up unsightly corners in the garden, the plant growing from 6 to Bft. high in good soil and having an attractive yellow flower similar to the sunflower. They are very heavy croppers, and the tubers are very useful for domestic purposes and are also used for feeding pigs and fowls. Winter Rhubarb Topp‘s Winter or Wegner’s Giant are the most suitable varieties. Rhubarb is of a vegetable habit, though used mainly as a fruit. The cultivation of rhubarb is very simple and once the crowns are planted the bod gives very little trouble. Any old crowns that have been in the ground two or three seasons may be lifted and broken in to single crowns ard planted out. Moist, rich ground produces the best stalks. The more manure that can be added to thes.il increases the length of the stalks and makes a fine, fleshy appearance which is characteristie of rhubarb. A good watering every two or three weeks during the very dry weather is helpful. Although no difference may be seen in the tops it increases the crowns. Superphosphate, sulphate of potash and well-rotted stable manure are the best manures for rhubarb. The Cultivation and Origin of Peach T rees June and July are the best months for planting peach trees. The origin of the garden peaches is now generally admitted to be Chinese. It is a form of Prunus (Amygdalus) peisca, having a downy skin. They have been cultivated from a remote period. According to De Candolle the peach

spreads easily in the countries in which it is cultivated, so that it is hard to say whether a given , tree is of natural origin. But it certainly was first cultivated in China; it was recorded there 2,000 years before its introduction into the Greco-Roman world. The peach flowers at a comparatively cool period. The blossoms maybe destroyed by too much heat but not by cold (unless actually frozen, of course), so our New Zealand climate should be ideal for the cultivation of the peach family. Manuring Peaches When the fruit is well set and about the size of a shilling, the trees should have a top-dressing of manure. Wellrotted stable manure niulched round the trees and watered in is very ueneficia.l. Artificial manures may be used and scattered round the tree and forked in; a mixture of bone-dust, super, and blood and bone is often used, but if much farmyard or nitrogen manures are used, potash should be applied or else a strong leaf-growth takes place and will be to the disadvantage of the fruit. Diseases and Spraying Gumming is sometimes troublesome and is difficult to cure. If the tree is affected to any extent the sooner it is replaced the better. If the gumming is only slight the bark should be washed several times with brush and water. The disease is apt to occur when trees are planted in too rich a soil. Bruises or cuts on peach trees are also apt to start the gumming.

Leaf Curl or blister is due to tlie work of the fungus Exoascus deformous, which lives in the young wood. The leaves at first become curled, distorted and pale yellowgreen, but later on take a purplish-red hue. Shoots bearing diseased leaves should be cut back and burnt. Spray with Bordeaux powder just as the buds begin to swell, and again every two weeks.

RETINOSPERA PLUMOSA These beautiful trees resembling tl Cypress family make most atracti’ awn specimens. They are very hart ivergreens, and are always neat ai

trim in appearance. Other varieties of this family that are equally effective and R. Plumosus Aurea, R. Ericoides, and R. Leptoclada.

HOLLYHOCKS Hollyhocks may also be planted now. Their principal charm lies in their ability to endow the garden with an air of sedate restfulness and peace; and it seems a thousand pities that these stately old-world subjects are not nowadays grown as extensively as in former years. Either plant them around the background of the garden, or make circular groups of five or six every ten feet or so along the flowering beds. Hollyhocks certainly are gross feeders, but as they make remarkably small surface-rooting (they derive most of their sustenance from the lower stratum, by. means of their long tap-root) they do not deprive the smaller-growing annuals planted in their vicinity of their rightful share of nutriment. Well-grown hollyhockswill attain a height of lift., and may be induced to an even greater height by regular applications of liquid manure. It is. in fact, hardly possible to overfeed these graceful subjects, which remain in flower over a remarkably long period. CARNATIONS FROM CUTTINGS Under good conditions, cuttings of carnations can be struck in the open ground. Young tips 3in. long make the best cuttings. They should be cut off cleanly and squarely just below a joint and two or three of the bottom pairs of leaves removed. Cuttings may be struck in a Sin. pot of soil, the pot being large enough to take four or five shoots. Whether the cuttings are

struck in pots or outside, the soil must be of a very sandy nature. Even sand alone is a good medium for rooting cuttings, but when it is used they must be potted off immediately after they are rooted, as there is no sustaining power in the sand. They must be shaded from bright sunlight while striking, and when ready can be transplanted into their permanent positions. These cuttings are best rooted in pots, but may be planted in a sheltered bed. LIME FOR CARNATIONS Sprinkle carnation plants and the ground they are in with lime every now and then, especially when they are being nipped back. But when shut for flowering feed them with very weak liquid manure instead. Lime must never be used with manure—it neutralises the effects of the manure by releasing the ammonia. Crushed eggshells and crushed oyster shells dug into the ground before planting are also excellent for carnations. ESPALIER WORK HOW TO TRAIN FRUIT TREES To train a one-year-old tree as a horizontal espalier, the prunning should be along the following lines: The first year, cut the single stem back to within 12in. or 14in. of the ground, trying to cut to a bud just above a pair of buds as nearly opposite one another as possible. This done, it means that the following year the top bud grows into a shoot that makes the central upright stem and the two lower buds form the first tier of branches, these being trained out horizontally, one on either side.

At the second pruning cut the main central shoot back to 15in., above the point to which it was shortened in the first instance. If the side shoots have not made more than ISin. in growth they do not need shortening at all. Any laterals made by them may be cut down to two buds. Each year the operation is repeated, cutting the centre stem down to luin. above the point of cutting in the previous year and training the two side shoots to make the second tier.

FLOWER LEGEND

WHERE THE FLOWERS COME FROM One bright sunny morning, when Maysie was walking with her mother 1 in the woods, the beautiful wildflowers looked so pretty nodding their little heads in the breeze, that she suddenly asked: “Mummy, where do the flowers come from, and why don’t they grow everywhere?” And this is what mother told her: “In the far end of the wood, underneath an old oak tree, there lives a little brown man.. Every moonlight night he comes forth from his quaint little house and sits upon a mushroom, which always seems to grow conveniently near. His clothes are the colour of shrivelled leaves, so of course you would not see him unless you searched most diligently, and even then if he guessed that you are seeking him he silently disappears. “From one pocket he produces a curious little pipe, which is made from an acorn cup, but as the bright silv r, -y rays of the moon slant through \ branches of the trees it looks for < 1.11 the world as though it might be made of silver. Then, from another pocket, he takes a funny little bag, from which he seems to get all sorts of beautiful colours.

“Sitting upon his mushroom he pops the colours into his silver pipe, and slowly commences to puff. And so he puffs and puffs away for a time until the most delightful little bubbly balls appeal. He still continues to blow and to puff until the bubbles grow larger, and larger, and the pretty rainbow colours can be seen shining in them. Presently, when they are large enough, they leave the pipe and float away in the air.

“Off they go, blown by the gentle breeze, until at last they find a spot where they wish to settle. Then they float downwards, and as soon as they touch the earth they burst.

“In the morning when the sun awakes and slowly commences to travel across the sky, and the fresh morning dew has watered the ground, you may find a tiny green shoot sprouting. Each day it grows larger and larger, then little leaves appear, and finally a bud. In a day or two the buds burst and out pops a tiny fairy and there are revealed the pretty flowers you see. “When the night comes the fairies appear again, and dance round and round all the flowers growing: then holding hands they troop off to chat with the little brown man who lives at the bottom of the old oak tree.”