GARDENS IN TAUPO

Taupo Times, Volume II, Issue 98, 4 December 1953, Page 4

GARDENS IN TAUPO

WORK FOR DECEMBER

(By

Flora).

Having devoted the last few months to preparing ground and planting seeds, we now turn to the perhaps more humdrum side of gradening, maintenance work. Weeding should be attended to, for flower heads will soon appear and then it is no time before our foes are scattering seeds in all directions. And it is surprising how many plants will grow where only one stood before. Not only must our endeavours be in the flower beds. All odd corners must be attacked, weeds pulled and grass cut, for the latter can be a real menace if allowed to seed. We all know how diflicult grasses are to pull when growing in the wrong place. Paths should also be cleared. A reliable weed killer sprayed on the gravel saves hours of labour, but care should be taken to prevent the spray touching any of your precious shrubs growing along the edge. Hedge Clipping The time is now here when we should devote a few hours to hedge clipping. It is better to clip twice a year than to allow long arms of growth to appear, making for really hard work. In the soft stage provided clippings are clean, they are a useful addition to the compost heap. Shrubs which have just finished flowering, such as flowering currant, Forsythia, broom and prostanthera, should be pruned removing shoots that have flowered, thus encouraging new growth which will produce flowers next year. Mulching Mulching is a very essential job in Taupo, where our soil is light and porous and summers hot and dry. Camellias, hydrangeas, azaleas and rhododendrons especially benefit. You may use compost, leafmould or sawdust to help conserve moisture and maintain a suitable soil condition for these plants. But be sure that the ground around plants is well saturated with moisture before applying the mulch. After heavy rain is best. If mulching material enough is available, it will benefit all plants if a layer is spread over the entire gardem Taupo soil in its natural condition appears to have a water-proof quality. Try applying water when it is really dry and it will not readily soak in, but runs on the surface like quick-silver. After application of composted mulch a change takes place. The moisture holding capacity of the ground improves a hundred-fold, every drop of water being absorbed and held for the fine root-hairs to utilize at wilL One word of warning. Should you be using sawdust as a mulch do not apply it straight from the sawbench, but if at all possible let it weather and partly decompose for about a year, especially if it is sawdust from our hardwoods. In some cases this material seems to repel water and even the heaviest rain fails to penetrate. If no animal manure is used in composting the sawdust be sure to use a dusting of blood and bone when spreading. Lifting Bulbs Bulbs which flowered in spring, such as daffodils, hyacinths and tulips may be lifted as soon as foliage has turned brown. Lift carefully so as not to damage the bulbs which are rather soft at this stage. Shake soil from them but leave any foliage that does not readily drop. Lay out in single layers in a cool shed. Do not store in heaps or they will sweat and later rot. As the bulb dries, deaa foliage may be removed. But do not at this stage pull apart the twin bulbs or injury*

"" 1 1 ' '• V •ii'Y'-1 r Y 1 THT tp the basal plate may allow entry of fungus. . Gladioli It is time that all gladioli corms were planted. Loosen the top inch of soil round those already up. If gladioli are! growing in an exposed position, and what position was not in the gale of November 20th, staking should be carried out as soon as the flower spike appears, if you desire straight stalks. Fruit should be appearing on your strawberry plants, and to keep them clean and away from beasties cover the ground near the plants with pine-needles, straw or sawdust. Greenfly are very prevalent this year and appear on many different plants. They are disease carriers, so do not let them flourish unmolested but spray with nicotine sulphate every ten days or so, as each new hatching appears. Even spraying with the lowly soap-suds is quite effective.