THE GARDEN

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1046, 9 August 1930, Page 30

THE GARDEN

By

LEONARD A. GRIFFITHS, F.R.H.S.

“A garden is the purest of human pleasures. It is the greatest refreshment to the spirit of man.” — Bacon.

NEW DESIGNS FOR THE FLOWER BED

Flower-bed Designs. Flower-beds having a simple outline are more effective than intricate patterns. Circles, ovals, and crescents are easy to design and very little labour is required to keep the edges neat and tidy. To form a circle, two stout pegs and a few yards of strong cord are required. Find the centre of the bed, drive in one of the stakes to which one end of the cord must be attached with a loop loosely arranged so that it will easily slip around the stake. Having decided on the size of the bed. shorten the cord to a little over half the diameter and secure the other end to the second stake. By keeping the line taut, a perfect circle is easily scratched on the lawn. Ovals are marked out in a similar

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manner. Two stakes are driven into the ground in line with the longest axis, about one foot from the edge of the oval. The line is made into a large loop and then firmly attached to the marking peg. By placing the loop around the two pegs and keeping it taut an oval is easily marked on the lawn. The size of the oval can be varied by widening the distance between the pegs and lengthening the cord. Making Beds of Various Shapes.—

Design for oval bed of antirrhinum: 11) Crimson; (2) Pink; (3) Orange scarlet.

Small crescents and other goemetrio ally-shaped beds are easily traced on the lawn with a large pair of wooden compasses. These can be easily constructed with two pieces of wood pointed at one end, bolted together at

Diamond pattern bed or border of antirrhinum: (1) Fire King; (2) Empress, crimson; (3) Canary, yellow.

the tops, and provided with an arm which can be easily adjusted to describe any arc or circle. After marking out the design, re-

move the turf and use it for patching bare places iu the lawn, or stack it in a heap to rot down for potting. Next take out the top spit and examine the subsoil. If it is composed of stiff

Circular and moon-shaped beds for antirrhinum: (1) Fire King; (2) Yellow; (3) Pink; (4) Crimson; (5) Fire King.

clay, sand or gravel, remove it to the depth of another spit or work in liberal quantities of humus. If you decide to remove it, put the top spit in its place and then fill up the bed with good soil from the kitchen garden, or you may utilise old potting soil for the purpose. If it is desired to plant the bed immediately, make the soil firm by treading it, otherwise it may be allowed a few days to settle down before the plants are put in. Never plant when the soil is very wet as it is impossible to firm the soil around the roots, and if it is very dry it is impossible to consolidate. Dry soil must be well watered and the plants inserted on the following day.

KEEPING CUT FLOWERS

All flowers in vases should be provided with fresh water daily. Where the stalks are of a woody nature, pare away a few inches of the outer skin; this induces free absorption of moisture. Soft stalks may be split upwards to bring about the same effect. Cut flowers should be kept out of sunny windows, as the hot rays are apt to fade the blossoms quickly. By adding carbonate of soda to the water in which the flowers are placed, in the proportion of a teaspoonful to a pint, it is possible to lengthen the life of cut flowers. This chemical tends to increase the powers of absorption of the stalk. A weak solution of camphor and water has a similar effect. To keep the water sweet and clean, a small lump of charcoal maybe added to each vase. Sometimes flowers are received in a faded condition, but these should not be thrown away without some attempt at reviving them. First cut a little off the ends of the stalks and pour about an inch of scalding water into a bowl. Place the flowers in this, transfer the whole to a dark cupboard, and examine in an hour. The flowers will have revived wonderfully, and after cutting away the part of the stalk which has been made pulpy by the hot water, the blossoms are ready to arrange in vases. If it is thought that the flowers are rather old, the addition of salt or camphor to the hot water will have a wonderfully stimulating effect.