Calendar of Garden Work for April
WHATEVER work is due to be done in April, seed sowing must go on, because a late start can spoil a display in the flower garden or cause vegetables to be woody and poor. DECORATIVE GARDEN Finish off...
View ArticleCalendar of Garden Work for May
MAY is the first really rewarding month of the year when early salad crops, asparagus, early peas and flowers for the house can be expected. The general routine work of April — hoeing, sowing, thinning...
View ArticleCalendar of Garden Work for June
ONCE June is in, the fear of frost is over, even in the colder parts of the country, and everything should be growing well. The object of good cultivation is to keep both decorative plants and...
View ArticleCalendar of Garden Work for July
A rewarding month for those who made an early start in spring. Continue to pick soft fruit and preserve it and make regular harvests of vegetables so as to use them in a young condition. DECORATIVE...
View ArticleCalendar of Garden Work for August
THIS is the month for horticultural shows or the preparation for them. Guard against birds and wasps, which are the chief enemies in August. DECORATIVE GARDEN Make a note now of any improvements that...
View ArticleCalendar of Garden Work for September
SEPTEMBER is the month for garnering (gathering and storing) and preparing for the winter. It is also the time for looking ahead to spring requirements. DECORATIVE GARDEN Sever rooted layers of border...
View ArticleCalendar of Garden Work for October
THIS is the month for autumn colour, when the last of the flowers are picked from the border and only a few chrysanthemums and dahlias remain where the frost does not strike. Start to tidy up all...
View ArticleCalendar of Garden Work for November
This is the month for bonfires and for collecting leaf mould. Beech, oak and lime leaves make the most valuable leaf mould and it is worth a trip to the woods to collect a few sackfuls. DECORATIVE...
View ArticleCalendar of Garden Work for December
DECEMBER is the month for stocktaking and replanning. New beds and paths can be made and carpentry and constructional work can be done. If the weather and conditions are suitable, digging and trenching...
View ArticleOrchid Composts and Containers
Compost for growing orchids was formerly made from the root fibres of osmunda ferns, with sphagnum moss and leaf-mould. However, the formulations today are quite different, often organic and...
View ArticleGarden shrubs: Capsicum and Caragana
The Ornamental Peppers make excellent indoor pot plants, growing short and bushy and bearing their pointed fruits which change from yellow to crimson during winter. Sow the large seeds individually in...
View ArticleVeronica
To the herbaceous veronicas mentioned in the previous section can now be added a few dwarf shrubs from New Zealand. All are perfectly easy in light soil and full sun, but it is worth remembering that...
View ArticleSalix
The willow is the only deciduous tree which has dwarf forms, but as these form little spreading bushes rather than trees, they may be appropriately included in the present section. Like their larger...
View ArticleGrowing Rhododendrons
Although there are a number of rhododendrons scarcely exceeding half a foot in height, even the smallest of them will eventually attain twice as much in diameter or even more. Therefore, however small...
View ArticleGarden Diseases and Disorders
Mildew The first symptom of this disease is that the young growths take on a reddish tinge and start to curl; then as the disease develops they become covered with a whitish powder. Fortunately this...
View ArticleDwarf Perennials for the Miniature Garden
UNLESS otherwise stated, the plants in the following list will flourish satisfactorily in ordinary alpine compost and in a sunny aspect. The plants marked * require keeping in check by the removal of...
View ArticleSHRUBS FOR THE MINIATURE GARDEN
As I have suggested in an earlier section, the shrubs admitted to our miniature gardens may be rather taller than the herbaceous perennials without destroying the effect of scale. Even so, the choice...
View ArticleGreenhouse Heating Methods
The question of which type of heating to use can be as perplexing to the novice as the question of whether there shall be any heating or none. Of course, the heated house can be of far more value than...
View ArticleGreenhouse Equipment
Suitable Staging Stagings upon which plants are to stand can be made of slatted timber or can be covered with slates or corrugated-iron sheeting, and these covered entirely with small shingle, small...
View ArticleGreenhouse Cultural Routine
ONCE the house is in readiness for the plants and all (or, at least, the essential) tools are at hand, a start can be made. No doubt the gardener has already decided what is to be grown, and this very...
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