TRTSH GARDENING 



95 



The Month's Work. 



The Flower Garden. 



By J. IT. 



Cumming, Royal Dublin Society 

 Ballsbridge. 



General Remarks. — The first half of May being 

 wet and cold, planting was much hindered, there- 

 fore no time should be lost during the earlier days 

 of June to finish up. Everything that is intended 

 for outside planting may safely be done now. If 

 cold winds follow the putting out of tender sub- 

 jects, for a few days a protection of spruce 

 branches stuck in the ground on the windy side 

 will be a comforting shelter. An air of tidiness 

 should now be maintained. See that the lawns 

 are kept mown and grass edges trimmed. Creepers 

 on walls and trellis work need attention with the 

 growth now in full vigour. An odd tie here and 

 there will save injury to tender growth. Store 

 away empty boxes and pots. Pelargoniums, 

 Fuchsias, Heliotropes, and such like, growing in 

 tubs which are Idled with their roots, should be 

 supplied liberally with water and an occasional 

 application of diluted liquid manure. 



Pyrethrums will be getting over their first 

 crop of bloom. Gut them back again to within 

 six inches of the ground, when a late autumn dis- 

 play will come forth. They may also be divided 

 at this period, taking care to water the plants if 

 the soil is at all dry. Cut blooms of Pyrethrums 

 last long for decoration, and possessing a wealth 

 of colour, are always popular. 



Staking. — Herbaceous borders may conta'n 

 the best possible subjects, and planting done with 

 faultless taste for colour effect, and all rendered 

 useless by neglecting to stake, or doing it in a 

 wrong manner. It is generally done with one 

 stake and a cord encircling the plant. Try. in- 

 stead, getting at it without further delay and 

 using any branchy stuff. Old pea stakes will 

 even do. These placed in through the plants 

 will support them without the aid of string, and 

 the subsequent growth will completely hide the 

 stakes. Carnations are best supported by spiral 

 wires, which can be bought cheaply, and last for 

 years. 



Weeding. — In last month's notes I sought to 

 urge the diligent use of the hoe for keeping down 

 weeds. It serves the purpose, too, of preventing 

 evaporation when used to stir the surface soil, 

 especially after it has been caked with rain. 

 Even in some well regulated gardens, weeds get 

 beyond the hoe being of any use. and hand pul- 

 ling must be done. In a flower border I have 

 seen the weeds being pulled out and flung on the 

 walk, thereafter to be raked up. This is a 

 slovenly practice, and means sowing the pro- 

 verbial seven years' weeding on the walk that 

 could have been avoided. Have a basket or 

 bucket always at hand, and take every care to 

 prevent the seeds of weeds getting scattered 

 about. The present is a good time to make war 

 on the weeds which spring up on gravel walks 

 and paths. The chemist has come to the assis- 

 tance of the gardener in providing good weed- 

 killers, and it is now possible to do in a few hours 

 what formerly took days by the old plan. They 

 must, of course, be used with care. Box and 

 grass edges should have boards placed alongside 

 to protect them during the time the weed-killer 

 is being applied, the gravel having previously 

 been drawn in a foot from the edging. 



Annuals in Pots. — Apart from their beauty 

 when in the open ground, hardy annuals also 



provide a delightful feature in the greenhouse 

 when grown in pots. For filling gaps in the beds 

 or making a temporary display in some desired 

 position, the easy means by which this can be 

 done will commend itself to those who pot up a 

 good quantity of plants now. The pots need 

 not exceed five inches in diameter, and after pot- 

 ting plunge outside in ashes or any light material 

 till the plants are fully grown. Beds that may 

 fail in the late summer can be quickly made pre- 

 sentable again if a good supply of some annual 

 can be turned into it from pots- 



Window Gardening is, unfortunately, not 

 very well done in this country. During the 

 spring and summer months it is refreshing to 

 walk through even the poor quarters of our towns 

 and notice the window boxes filled with flowering 

 plants. Pity our town authorities could not be 

 persuaded to encourage the working classes to 

 take a keener interest in this phase of gardening. 

 Window boxes are generally made of wood, the 

 front being made rustic by the use of cork bark. 

 The soil most suitable is a good turfy, sandy 

 loam, with some rotten manure well mixed with 

 it . The plants chosen should be those of bright est 

 colours, and particularly those which hang over 

 the front. Zonal and Ivy-leaved Pelargoniums, 

 Fuchsias, Trailing Lobelia, Virginian Stock, 

 Mignonette, and the Dwarf Nasturtium are all 

 very suitable. Watering must not be neglected. 

 Keep the plants clean by occasionally watering 

 overhead, as they become dusty. Given con- 

 stant attention, window boxes will be a delight 

 to the owner and an adornment to the neigh- 

 bourhood in which he lives. 



Flowering Shrubs are flowering freely this 

 month, so it is a favourable time for note-taking 

 for future planting. Escallonia langleyensis is 

 a charming sort. It flowers on the terminal 

 and branch shoots. Hybrid briars are also 

 coming into flower, and young growths from the 

 base should be encouraged. The Philadelphus 

 may be thinned out after flowering, and pruning 

 done in the spring. Some Olearias, too, require 

 very little pruning, but if it must be done, then 

 the best time is immediately after flowering. 

 When selecting flowering shrubs it is desirable 

 also to learn what pruning and treatment is 

 suited to give the best results, as much depends 

 on this knowledge for the annual crop of flowers. 



The Fruit Garden. 



By D. M'Intosh, Gardener to Alderman Bewley, 

 Danum, Rathgar. 



Mid-Season Vines. — As soon as it is observed 

 that the berries have stopped swelling, owing to 

 the commencement of the stoning process, a 

 slightly cooler atmosphere should be maintained. 

 If the usual conditions of ventilation were to be 

 continued, the vines would only make a lot of 

 useless growth, which afterwards would require 

 to be cut back whenever the berries again begin 

 to swell. Lime, at the rate of one gallon to eight- 

 teen gallons of water, if applied to the borders at 

 this stage, will prove most beneficial to the vines. 

 Allow all laterals to grow until the second swel- 

 ling of the berries commences. Afterwards gradu- 

 ally cut back all surplus growth and increase the 

 temperature another 5° day and night, closing up 

 the house early in the afternoons. Give the 

 borders a dressing of some good artificial vine 

 manure, and w T ash it well in with clear rainwater. 

 A fortnight later mulch the borders with three 

 inches of good, sweet stable manure. 



