May 9, 1908. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
3 l 7 
The Flower Garden 
Watering. 
Many readers of The Gardening World 
may think that watering is quite unnecessary 
at this season. But 1 assure all such that 
watering has already become a very im¬ 
portant part of the daily work in the gar¬ 
den. 
We have had a fairly long spell of very 
dry weather, and during a great part of that 
time cold east winds have prevailed, with 
the result that many kinds of plants are now 
dry at the roots. 
New herbaceous borders have been made 
and filled with, plants, others have been re¬ 
novated, and this cannot be done without the 
moving and replanting of different kinds of 
subjects. The recently disturbed soil 
quickly dries up, and so water is necessary 
to assist the plants to become established in 
their new quarters. The other day I took 
up ana replanted some border plants, and 
out of the number two were not watered. 
The following morning these clumps were 
in sore need of water, they showed great 
iistress, and would very soon have been 
badly crippled through lack of moisture. 
Do not mar the work you have previously 
done by neglecting to give water at the pre¬ 
sent time to 'all plants recently removed. 
Also, water your bedding plants in pots 
and boxes. When the plants are put out¬ 
side the soil in the pots dries up rapidly, so 
that it will be necessary to examine them 
at least twice every day. 
Planting Hollyhocks. 
Twenty-five years ago these plants reared 
their stately flower-laden stems in nearly 
every amateur’s garden throughout the coun¬ 
try. But the disease came and swept away 
whole collections of bonny plants. Enthu¬ 
siasts did their utmost to combat the disease 
and rear healthy stock, but failed lament¬ 
ably in most instances. The old plants 
were kept from year to year. But during 
recent years plants have been raised from 
seed annually; and, also, strong, vigorous 
young plants have been kept only. Such 
specimens axe not often attacked by the 
disease, and so we, once more, have fine dis¬ 
plays of Hollyhocks in our gardens. Fig. 1 
shows how to put out the plants. A good 
position for them is the back part of a her¬ 
baceous border. Of course you may put out 
single plants, but I think groups of three 
have a better effect, but it is a mistake to 
plant them too close together; they should 
be at least two feet apart, as shown in the 
sketch, then air will not be excluded. The 
Fig- 1.—Planting out Hollyhocks. 
ground where the Hollyhocks are to be 
planted should be trenohed 30 inches to 
3 feet deep, and plenty of well-rotted ma¬ 
nure added. 
Liliums in Pots. 
Liliums now growing in pots, but in¬ 
tended for the flower garden, should receive 
a top-dressing of rich, loamy soil, rotted 
manure, and leaf soil. Stem roots will be 
just appearing, ’ and if the new compost be 
neatly put on, these stem roots will soon take 
possession of it, and the plants will be so 
much stronger for putting in the beds in 
J une. 
Planting Ivy. 
Where Ivy is to be planted the work 
should be done as soon as possible. Ivy 
forms a very effective bordering to paths 
under trees, as well as a beautiful covering 
for walls. Mix a small quantity of old 
mortar rubbish with the ordinary soil, and 
the roots will thrive in it. 
Fig. 2.—Aphides on a Cherry branch. 
The Fruit Garden. 
Syringing Trees on Walls. 
If you pay close attention to the welfare 
of the trees when new shoots commence to 
grow you will have less trouble with them 
later on. For instance, suppose you allow 
a host of aphides to infest the young shoots 
of Cherry, Apricot, Plum, or Peach trees 
now—the season when these pests are so 
numerous'—without killing or clearing them 
away, what would be the result, say, at mid¬ 
summer ? Why, an unsightly array of 
crippled young shoots, the leaves near the 
extreme ends withered and shrivelled. In 
fig. 2 the aphides A are shown clustered on 
the tender shoot, the youngest leaves of 
whioh, B and C, will have the life juice ex¬ 
tracted. Give aphides no quarter ; use the 
garden engine, or the hand springe, and 
cleaT off all insect pests, and so keep the 
trees healthy and vigorous. At 'this season 
you should syringe the trees early in the 
morning. 
Watering Trees. 
As a rule trees grown near to walls do 
not get as much benefit from the rainfall as 
others grown in the open quarters of the gar¬ 
den. Newlv-planted fruit trees should be 
watered if the soil is at all dry. To do 
the work properly, the mulching material 
should be removed and replaced after the 
trees are watered. 
The Kitchen Garden. 
Thinning Spinach. 
These plants produce large leaves when 
they have ample space to develop in. It is 
not the number of plants on a given space 
that fills the basket, but the number and size 
B 
Fig. j .—Thinning Spinach. A, row of 
-plants zinthinned; B, row of plants thinned. 
of leaves. At A in fig. 3 a row of un- 
thinned plants is shown. At B a row of 
thinned plants is shown. The difference in 
the appearance of the plants as shown in 
the sketch corresponds with the difference in 
the appearance of the growing plants. So 
it is advisable to pay attention to the thin¬ 
ning of the plants while they are quite 
small. 
A Good Variety for Dry Soils. 
The" New Zealand Spinach is of a more 
succulent nature than the ordinary round- 
seeded summer variety; and some persons 
may not like it, but for growing in natur¬ 
ally very dry soil, it is nearly always a 
great- success. The habit is trailing and the 
branches cover a considerable space. Half-a- 
dozen plants will be sufficient to provide two 
gatherings a week for a medium-sized 
family. 
Broad Beans. 
More seeds should be sown in order to 
keep up a succession. But black aphides are 
now becoming troublesome on haulm-bear¬ 
ing flowers, and must be got rid of. They 
mostly infest the ends of branches, and the 
latter may be pinched off and destroyed with 
the aphides ; the Bean pods will then swell 
more rapidly. 
Ridge Cucumbers. 
These are very useful for picking as well 
as for ordinary table use, and the ground 
should be prepared for the plants forthwith. 
If space be restricted, you may grow these 
Cucumbers between the rows of Gooseberry 
trees. Do not dig up the ordinary soil to 
interfere with the roots of the trees, but 
place some heaps of good, rich compost be¬ 
tween the rows, and, in due time, put out 
the Cucumber plants. Chopped turves, leaf- 
soil, and Totted manure should be used ; it 
may be spread over the ground when the Cu¬ 
cumbers are all gathered at the end of the 
summer. 
Seeds to Sow. 
Sow Radishes, Lettuces, Mustard and 
Cress, Dwarf Beans, Onions for pickling, 
and more Peas. 
Foxglove. 
The Amateur’s Greenhouse. 
“Cease Firing.” 
Most amateurs will doubtless feel greatly 
relieved that the time has arrived when the 
cool greenhouse may be kept sufficiently 
warm without artificial aid, and care must 
be taken to “ box up ” the heat gathered 
from the sun’s rays during the day by clos¬ 
ing down the ventilators early in the even¬ 
ing ere the cool air effects an entrance. It 
is well, however, to be prepared for emer¬ 
gencies, for we may yet have sharp frosts 
and cold, dull, rainy periods to contend 
