THE GARDb:N AND FIELD. 



September, 1913. 



Garden Notes. 



— Moving Trees. — 



It is siirprisinjj to some what 

 larj^-c specimens may be shifted 

 with safety, and how easily it is 

 done if the work be jrone about in 

 a practical manner. KVergreens, 

 to l)e moved, must have a jjood 

 ball of earth removed with them. 

 This can be done bv opeiiinsj out 

 a trench about a foot or more, ac- 

 cordin-j to the size of the ball re- 

 quired, from the stem of the plant. 

 I<ift the ball, which" must then 

 be wrapped around with canvas, 

 and this secnrelv tied to i^revent 

 k r.ickinEi'. All this bein^aj properly 

 (lone, the plant may be then con- 

 \ o\ ed to its destination. In re- 

 ])lantiTio^, use some fine soil for the 

 plant to start new roots into ; 

 any old roots that may have been 

 bruised in liftin'r should be cut 

 cleanly before replantin<j. A good 

 watering to settle the soil aroimd 

 the roots will be necessary before 

 the hole is quite filled in, and al- 

 lowed time to settle down. 



— Robbers. — 



Serious injury is frequently done 

 to shrubben,' borders by the prox- 

 imity of large pines, cypresses, and 

 other large growing trees. Pepper 

 trees are also great robbers. Many 

 people think that if the trees are, 

 a distance away that they do no 

 harm, but the roots travel readily 

 a very long way and rob all the 

 surrounding soil of moisture and 

 nutrition; in addition to the 

 amount of shade given, which is 

 oftentimes very injurious to the 

 small plants in the border. The 

 best way to give the smaller 

 things a chance is, if the robbers 

 are outside one's own boundary, 

 to dig a trench three or four feet 

 deep and as narrow as can be 

 managed, just inside the fence, cut- 

 ting all roots as thev are exposed. 

 The trench may be left imfilled, in 

 which case it should be covered or 

 the soil may be returned, in this 

 case the check will of course only 

 be temporary. Overhanging branch- 

 es may be cut at the fence line. 

 This question is always a difficult 

 one and it is much better to put 

 up with a little inconvenience in 

 this respect than to appear un- 

 neighboi'irly. Trees in adjacent 

 gardens are in a sense, common 

 property, and as one enjoys their 

 shade and beauty it is only rea- 

 sonable to be willing to contribute 

 a little room, food and water to- 

 wards their maintenance. 



— Salvia Patens. — 



Though this beautiful blue [low- 

 ered vSalvia is not con.sidered very 

 suitable for ordinary garden condi- 

 tions around .Vdolaidie, it can be 

 grown withcpit iruch diirunltv if 

 given a bed or border which is 

 shadwl from direct sun during the 

 greater part of the day and also 

 protected from the worst of the 

 hot winds. Fortunately we have 

 had so little of these during the 

 last few yeai^ that one is begin- 

 ning almost to forget what havoc 

 they can do in the garden. Seed 

 can be planter! now or diiring the 

 next few weeks and the plants 

 jirick'ed out as soon as they can be 

 easily handled. They sh.ould be 

 left in these nursery beds till 

 they are sturdy little plants, then 

 set in their flowering ciuarters with 

 l)lenty of room for they show to 

 l>etter advantage when not crowd- 

 ed. The bed shotild be well dug 

 but not heavily manured and the 

 surface needs to be kept ciuite free 

 and open. In the cooler districts 

 thev should be one of the first on 

 the li.st for this season's , sowing. 



— Mina Ivobata. — 



Have you a fence or out building 

 for which yoxi require ' a quick 

 growing but temporary covering ? 

 If so just buy\a packet of Mina 

 Lobata seed during this month. 

 There is nothing which for quick 

 growth, neatness and beauty will 

 give you as much satisfaction. 

 Plant one seed, which is fairly 

 large, in a three-inch pot and grow 

 on till the roots are showing 

 around the ball, then pnt them 

 o'lt where they are to grow. The 

 seed can, of course, be put direct- 

 ly in the open ground, two or three 

 where you want each platit, but 

 keep a watchful eye on them or 

 some fine morning you will be 

 minus lobata, if there are any slugs 

 about. If you have no fence or 

 other suitable support already in 

 existence , you will find it well 

 worth while to rig up some bam- 

 boo, brushwood, or wire supports 

 for this climber is in full flower for 

 many weeks and is cjuite a gorge- 

 ous sight. 



— Topping Gum Trees. — 

 Where gum trees are to be topped ■ 

 or " pollarded " the work should 

 not be delayed. In cutting a 

 horizontal branch, make the first 

 cut from underneath at or about 

 the place 3''Ou wish 'the branch 

 severed, then cut from above 

 otherwise the weight of the 

 falling branch will do a lot of 

 damage. Let the slope of any cut 

 be such that an}' rain is thrown 

 off. It is not necessary to tar 



147 



the cut surface, but it is better to 

 do so. (lums may be cut to the 

 ground line, they \Vill throw up 

 a number of sjjrctits, of which as 

 many as are wanted should be re- 

 tained atul the others suppressed. 



— Iceland Poppies. — 



The growth of the pojjpies c- 

 tiiinds us that si)ring has come 

 again. Soon the egg-shaped buds 

 borne on erect stems ai)i>ear above 

 the leaves, waiting for the first 

 real warm day to burst open. 

 From now on the Iceland poppy 

 bed is one of the most attractive 

 features of a garden. It will be 

 literally aglow with the brightest 

 tints of white, sul])hur yellow and 

 red-orange in wonderfully pure 

 solid shades. I^ight frosts sel- 

 dom prove seriously injurious to 

 flowers of Papaver nudicaule. The 

 next day usually .sees them again 

 swaying in the light breeze. Their 

 petals possess the samje silky 

 lustre as those of the larger flow- 

 ering annual Shirley poppies. 

 Stems are of good substance, long 

 and thin. Iceland poppies are very 

 useful for table decorations and for 

 filling vases. 



— Green-Fly on Roses. — 



If there is one thing more an- 

 noying than another to the Rose 

 grower it is the visitation of green- 

 fly or aphis, which .seem to come 

 from every quarter until the trees 

 are covered with them. How dis- 

 appointing it is after long hours of 

 labour in preparing the beds, 

 planting, pruning and hoeing to 

 find one's efforts checkmated by 

 these tiny little marauders ! 



Surely something may be done to 

 check the aphis nuisance, and it is 

 not too soon to think about it. 

 Go over the plants aboixt twice a 

 week and spray them well with 

 quassia solution. It should be 

 given warm, as it mixes better 

 with the water. Have a fine 

 spraying syringe, and direct the 

 liquid well on to the points of the 



CARNATIONS. 



LANE'S NOVELTIES— STR ON'. 

 PLANTS NOW READY. 

 INSPECTION INVITED. 



Cut Flow^ers of all kinds always on 

 hand and cut to Order. 



J.O.LANE, 



NURSERYMAN, WALKERVILLE 



