May, 1914 



THE OARnRN AND FIELD. 



Open Border Notes. 



Gardeners and Amateurs as a rule are 

 a busy set of men, and in no other class 

 of business or recreation are the results 

 more apparent than in gardening, where 

 one's attention is always occupied with 

 one thing and another^ — something re- 

 quiring attention, seeds to be sown, 

 plants to be set out, seedlings pricked 

 out in boxes, bulbs started, cuttings put 

 in; in fact, a hundred different things 

 that will need seeing to. 



With May we can consider a new 

 season fairly started, and with our ex- 

 tremely short winters we always advise 

 an early start. There are a few excep- 

 tions, but in most cases get the plants 

 that are required from the nurseryman 

 as soon as it can be conveniently done. 

 In doing this one has the pick of the 

 stock to select from, and in many novel- 

 ties or scarce plants this will be found 

 most advantageous. Order late in the 

 season, and the result will probably be, 

 sold out, or one has to be content with 

 the leavings of others. Though this is 

 more prudent, it does not follow, having 

 the plants in one's possession, that one 

 is compelled to plant at once. Most 

 amateurs are under the impression that 

 all decidous plants do not make root 

 growth during the winter, but this is a 

 great mistake. Nature is never idle. For 

 instance, put a few Rose cuttings in this 

 month, and look at them in, say, 

 July or August, and they will be found 

 to have formed a callous around the 

 base of each cutting, so we advise early 

 planting in most cases on the plains. 



Everlasting flowers are exceedingly 

 useful in the making up of bouquets, 

 wreaths, crosses, &c. The seeds of 

 most of them may be planted now. 

 Among the prettiest is Rhodanthe, 

 the West Australian wild flower. It 



is of easy culture, but the slugs are 

 especially fond of it, and care is need- 

 .(1 to protect it from their ravages. 

 I Those who wish to grow a collection 

 will find these about the best: Rho- 

 'danthe, Statice, Acroclinum, Goni- 

 phrena, Xeranthemum, Helichrysum, 

 and Waitzia. 



Cuttings of all kinds of soft-wood- 

 ed plants can be put in. They strike 

 best in a mixture of loam and sand. 

 Pelargoniums (Zonale, Show, and 

 Regal), Carnations, Penstemons, and 

 such-like plants should be propagated 

 in this way. The flowers on young 

 vigorous plants are always better 

 than on old wcrn-out ones. 



The old plants of Penstemons 

 should be cut severely back, dug up, 

 separated into several pieces, and re- 

 planted in different positions, the 

 soil having previously been well man- 

 ured with cow dung. The bushes of 

 Spirae, Perennial Caliopsis, Perennial 

 Asters, or Michaelmas Daisies, and 

 Antirrhinums, should be treated in 

 the same way. If allowed to remain 

 in the same position year in year out, 

 the plant wears itself out, and you 

 stand a chance of losing it altogether. 



Dig the beds as soon as possible to 

 bury all weeds that are now starting 

 into growth, and at the same time 

 turn in the plant food in the shape 

 of manure, either cow manure or 

 superphosphate, and sulphate of am- 

 monia. If the chemical manures are 

 used, the proportions should be four 

 parts of superphosphate to one of am- 

 monia, sowing it evenly and thinly 

 at the rate of ten pounds of the mix- 

 ture to the forty square yards. There 

 is one advantage in manuring with 

 chemical manure. If cow manure be 

 used, there is always a great crop of 

 weeds to contend against, and con- 

 stant weeding and hoeing is needed 

 to keep them in check, but there 

 are no weed seeds sown with the 

 chemical mixture. 



Keep the hoe bright with constant 

 work. The advantages are many. The 



weeds are kept under; the soil is kept 

 loose, so that the sun and air can 

 penetrate the surface, and the roots 

 can go down or spread out, as their 

 nature is, and the plants are thus 

 stronger and more vigorous, and 

 come to maturity quicker, giving bet- 

 ter flowers. 



Keep a sharp look out on your 

 Roses that were worked a month or 

 two back to see that the briar stock 

 throws up no suckers from the root, 

 or shoots from the stock itself. 



The young shoots are likely to be 

 attacked by Aphis. An occasional 

 dose of Gishurst's compound, or a 

 mixture of tobacco and soft soap. 

 Take a pound of cheap black stick 

 tobacco, or tobacco waste, untwist it, 

 and tie it in a calico bag and boil it 

 for fifteen or twenty minutes with a 

 pound of soft soap, and a gallon of 

 water. Allow it to cool, and then add 

 five or six gallons of water. Syringe 

 the affected parts of the plants with 

 this mixture, and then, about half-an- 

 hour later give the Rose a wateriivg 

 over its foliage with a hose or can. 

 Two or three applications through 

 the season will effectually clear your 

 bushes of the pest. 



Mildew is another disease to which 

 Roses are subject. 'It should be at- 

 tended to as soon as it appears. 



Flower Seedlings! 



for present Planting. 



Asters, Balsam, Zinnia, Cosmos, 

 Correopsis, Sunflower, Centaurin, 

 Phlox, Petunia, etc., at 2/- per 

 100 ; posted, 2/6. 



Plants for Bazaars, etc., at whole- 

 sale rate — Coleus, Ferns, Begonias, 

 Palms, Fuchsias. 



E. A. LASSCOCK, 



LOCKLEYS. 



'Phone, Henley 34. 



