GARDEN WORK IN JUNE 
By Ernest Hemming 
r I A HE planting season is about over and work 
consists principally of cleaning up and caring 
for the growing plants. 
Owing to the daily increasing heat of the sun and 
the liability to drouths planting that still remains to 
he done should receive a little extra care. In 
transplanting growing plants it is always well to 
select a cloudy day and move the plants with a little 
hall of earth attached to the roots if at all possible. 
The lawn should now he looking at its best. New 
O _ 
lawns will have more or less ob]ectionable weeds in 
them, such as dandelion, plantain, etc. There is 
really no royal road to eradicate these pests except 
taking them out by hand which is usually a long and 
tedious job. A little persistence in beginning how¬ 
ever will work wonders. A glazier’s putty knife is 
an excellent tool with which to take them out. 
Push the knife under the plant so as to cut the root 
below the collar or point where the leaves spring 
from, the plants will then come out without destroy¬ 
ing the turf and the grass will quickly cover the hare 
spaces and prevent other plants from establishing 
themselves. Grass is one of the fittest plants to 
survive, hence our beautiful lawns and pastures, so 
do not he disheartened, one hour or less a day will 
work wonders. 
House plants that have been in the dwelling all 
winter will be in a more or less weakened condition 
and should receive attention. Now is a good time 
to repot them. Knock them out of their pots and 
take off all loose soil that can he removed with the 
fingers without disturbing the roots. If the hall of 
earth is dry, soak it in a pail of water before attempt¬ 
ing to repot. Do not over pot; among amateurs 
this is a common error. A little observation among 
a professional’s plants wdl reveal a certain propor¬ 
tion between pot and plant. The majority of house 
plants after being in the dwelling all the winter will 
not need a larger pot; where the plant is vigorous 
and the pot full of roots a size larger may he given 
them. 
The best all-round soil for potting is old sod that 
has been left in a pile to rot for a few months, add to 
this some well rotted cow manure and a little coarse 
sand and you have a fine compost. It is full of 
fibre and may be packed firmly around the roots of 
a plant without danger of it becoming hard and will 
remain porous. The failure of many plants is 
caused by insufficient drainage. Use clean pots, and 
for sizes above six inches in diameter place fully two 
inches of broken crocks in the bottom, then sufficient 
soil to admit of the plant being the right depth in 
the pot, upright and in the centre. Work the soil 
down the sides of the pot with a blunt stick a little 
at a time so that it can be packed firmly and leave 
no interstices. Do not fill the pot too full, one inch 
or more for large pots and tubs should he left so as 
to admit of a good watering without running over 
the sides. \\ hen a palm, azalea, rubber or such 
like is properly potted it should be possible to pick 
it up by the stem of the plant without the pot falling 
off. 
After potting, plunge the pots up to the rim in 
ashes or sandy soil in some sheltered position where 
they will get sun at least a portion of the day and can 
be watered regularly during the summer months and 
you will have some nice plants to take into the house 
for the winter. The question is often asked; what 
must I do with my azalea that I got in flower for 
Easter ? If treated as above it will form buds again 
during the summer and flower the following spring. 
I his is the month of roses. Observe how the 
flowers are borne on stems that spring from last 
year’s wood. Keep this in mind and you will have 
mastered the law governing the pruning of a rose 
bush. Learn to know the roses by name and they 
will become like old friends and prevent disappoint¬ 
ment should you wish to add to your collection. 
On the new growth no doubt the green fly or 
aphis is in evidence, also the caterpillar. 1 here are 
many remedies for these pests, perhaps the simplest 
is tobacco water. Procure some common plug 
tobacco or tobacco stems and place in a vessel and 
pour water over it, let it stand until the water looks 
like coffee, then syringe the bushes with it. If this 
is done at intervals of a few days it will keep the 
bushes clean. 
For the flying beetles that get in the open flowers 
and spoil them there appears to be no remedy ex¬ 
cept band picking and watchfulness, which is a 
pleasure as the roses are in bloom. 
It is not yet too late to plant chrysanthemums to 
bloom the coming fall. If they are intended to 
flower in the open select only the earliest flowering 
varieties, and plant if possible where a temporary 
shelter can be given them against early frosts. It 
is always worth while to grow a few in pots for in¬ 
door decoration in the fall. 
Work in the kitchen garden consists chiefly of 
general attention to crops such as hoeing, thinning, 
watering and cultivating. 
Privet hedges will soon need their first clipping 
to keep them looking nice. 1 he privet grows all 
summer long and may be clipped almost at any 
time when it is convenient to do it. Evergreen 
hedges should not be clipped until after they have 
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