The Garden Magazine, June, 1922 



269 



IRIS IN A NEW ZEALAND GARDEN 



Happy the gardener who finds himself in New Zealand where nature needs little coaxing and gardening conditions are very like those in Cali- 

 fornia. An ideal situation for the moisture loving Iris is along a stream's edge as here in the garden of Mrs. David Fernie at Chesterhope 



are thoroughly watered. They grow lit tie, if any, for two weeks 

 or more, but during this period they become firmly established and 

 then commence vigorous growth — and practically every plant lives. 

 This method gives us flowers earlier than would otherwise be pos- 

 sible in this latitude where frost lingers in Mother Earth until mid- 

 April or later, and another advantage is that each plant occupies 

 an allotted amount of space without crowding so that it can develop 

 to its fullest possibilities. Last year our first Sweet-peas were picked 

 on July 13th, and from then on until the end of September the vines 

 bore magnificent long-stemmed flowers in the greatest profusion. At 

 the end of the season the vines were ten feet high and it was necessary 

 to use a stepladder to pick the top flowers. 



The two boxes above described give us an ample supply of plants for 

 a double row 45 feet in length, and there is usually a generous supply 

 of "overs" for improvident neighbors who at the last minute decide to 

 "plant a few Sweet-peas." — W. C. Blanchard, Skagway, Alaska. 

 — Transplanting Sweet-peas from pots is the successful method of 

 growing for exhibition b'ooms, as has been told frequently in these 

 pages. — Ed. 



Neighborly New Zealand 



To the Editors of The Garden Magazine: 



jC ACH month, as my copy comes to hand, I admire and also get oc- 

 -*-' casional inspiration from the beautiful garden pictures it con- 

 tains. I thought perhaps you might like to see a New Zealand garden 

 and so enclose a napshot of mine (see above). 1 was particularly in- 

 terested in your California edition as conditions there and here are 

 very similar. — D. Fernie, Chesterhope, Napier, New Zealand. 



Pursuing the Iris Borer 



To the Editors of The Garden Magazine: 



'"PHIS is the time of year when the Iris enthusiast, gazing at the grow- 

 * ing luxuriance of the garden, has visions of the glory that is to come. 

 Until the past few years the Iris was remarkably free from disease, but 

 stealthily in the night, as it were, the scourge of the borer is upon us. 

 Many people do not realize its existence, hence have not fought the 

 enemy, with the result that many beautiful Irises have been lost. 

 It is now understood that the egg is laid by a night-flying moth which 



punctures the leaves in several places that in a few days look like iron- 

 rust spots. When the egg hatches into a little white worm, this worm 

 eats the edge of the centre leaves, keeping within the folded part, then 

 down into the rhizome which it hollows out entirely, and about August 

 1 5th changes into a mahogany pupa and goes down deep in the ground. 

 Here it apparently remains until the following spring. This moth 

 attacks the Iris during the blooming season. 



Some authorities recommend digging up the plants and removing the 

 borers, probably the only thing to do when once they have entered the 

 rhizome. But precaution seems the better course; watch the leaves and 

 cut just below the small perforations, or wherever an eaten edge ap- 

 pears. If you open a leaf that has been eaten you will find the worm, 

 and can crush it. These worms grow very rapidly and by August are 

 more than an inch long, looking something like the giant peach borer, 

 with a pale pink stripe down the back. Last year we cut Iris leaves by 

 the bushel, thus destroying hordes of borers. 



If, as is likely, some borers elude you, there is nothing for it but to 

 dig up the plant, recover the borers, cut away all rotten parts, and re- 

 plant. 



It is to be hoped that before long some remedy less laborious than 

 the present will be found. — Rachel D. Davidson, Ambler, Pa. 



Summer Salad Days in Wisconsin 



To the Editors o/The Garden Magazine: 



MR. KRUHM'S admirable articles in The Garden Magazine 

 should be very useful to any vegetable grower, but they are per- 

 haps of greatest interest to the more experienced gardener who has ex- 

 perimented enough to appreciate the value of Mr. Kruhm's sound 

 conclusions. "Solving the Season's Salad Supply" in the April issue 

 is, I think, the best of its kind that I have ever seen. 



In our community practically every home has a garden, but probably 

 not one gardener in twenty-five raises Head Lettuce successfully. The 

 reasons for failure are just those emphasized by Mr. Kruhm, the use 

 of wrong varieties, and (more particularly) failure properly to thin 

 the small plants. It seems quite impossible to persuade the average 

 gardener to throw away the requisite number of plants. We begin 

 thinning Head Lettuce when the leaves are perhaps an inch in length, 

 and for the first spacing between plants that are to remain, I use a 

 tiny three-cornered hoe shaped by the local blacksmith. This saves 



