Part 45 (1/2)
==Tulips== may be planted in the open ground at any time during the month.
We shall say nothing as to the arrangement of colours, nor as to the form of the beds, for both points admit of endless diversity. The mixed border may be enlivened with groups of many varieties, and if they are judiciously selected, there will be a succession of flowers for several weeks in the spring.
==Wallflower==.--After the summer bedding plants are cleared, Wallflowers may be usefully employed to fill beds with green foliage all the winter.
They will flower freely in spring, when their colour and fragrance will be especially welcome, and they can be removed in time to make way for a different display for the summer.
==Winter Aconite== is not dismayed by frost or snow, but will put forth its golden blossoms in the dreariest days of February, and after the flowers have pa.s.sed away the foliage will remain as an ornament. To put in single roots is useless; it is far better to plant a few large patches than to fritter away the flower in a number of small and inconspicuous groups.
==NOVEMBER==
==Cyclamen.==--Where there is a large demand for this flower, another sowing may be made this month, unless it was done in October. With so important a subject it is not wise to depend on a single venture. The seedlings will afford a valuable succession to those started in August.
==Gladiolus.==--The soil which answers best for the autumn-flowering section is a medium friable loam, with a cool rich subsoil. A light loam can be made suitable by trenching, and putting a thick layer of cow-manure at the bottom of each trench. And a heavy soil may be reduced to the proper condition by the free admixture of light loam or sand.
Autumn is the proper time for doing this work, and the ground should be left rough, so that it may benefit by winter frosts. Wireworms are deadly enemies to the Gladiolus corms, and an effort should be made to clear them out. Happily, they will flock to traps such as Potatoes and Rape cake, and their destruction is a mere question of daily attention.
Planting must, of course, be deferred until spring.
==Hyacinthus candicans== is generally grown in the company of other flowers which attain to something like its own imposing proportions. In good soil the spikes grow three feet high. It may be planted from this time until March.
==Lilies== are an ornament to the cottage garden, and they grace the grandest conservatory. Many of the most superb varieties, including the king of all the race, =L. auratum=, can be magnificently flowered in the open border; and we have seen fine specimens of the =Lancifolium= varieties grown in pots without the aid of pit or frame. It is therefore obvious that there are no difficulties in the culture of Lilies. In borders the best soil for them is a deep, rich, moist loam. Peat and leaf-mould also answer; but a stiff clay will not do unless it has been cultivated and mixed with lighter stuff. Plant the roots at least six inches deep, at any time they are in a dormant state, or can be obtained in pots. Their position in the border should be clearly marked, or the roots may sustain injury when the soil is forked over.
The n.o.ble appearance of =L. auratum= will always command for it a prominent place in the conservatory or greenhouse. It will grow in sandy peat, or in a mixture of loam, leaf-mould, and sand. The bulb should be put into a small pot at first. When this is full of roots, transfer to a larger size, and s.h.i.+ft occasionally until the flower-buds appear, when re-potting must cease. A cool house will bring the plant to perfection, although it will bear a high temperature if wanted early. During growth water must be given freely and be gradually reduced when the flowering season is over.
The =Lancifolium= varieties require the same treatment, but it is usual to put several in one large pot. After the flowering is ended, instead of allowing the bulbs to become quite dry, keep them moist enough to prevent the fibrous roots from peris.h.i.+ng, and they will start with all the greater vigour when the time arrives for repotting next season.
==Lily of the Valley.==--The forcing of this favourite flower generally begins in November, and it is important to secure roots which are thoroughly matured for the purpose. They must be finished in a high temperature, and if managed with judgment there will be plenty of foliage to set off the long spikes of charming white bells. When planted in the open ground a shaded spot should be chosen, which must be freely enriched with leaf-mould, and the plants will not need to be lifted for four or five years.
==Ranunculus==.--On a light dry soil, where there is no danger of the roots sustaining injury during winter, this is a suitable time for planting all the varieties. To do them justice the land must be liberally dressed with decayed manure, and the longer the bed can be made ready before planting, the better will it answer. Put the roots in drills drawn six inches apart and two inches deep and cover with fine soil. For retentive land it is advisable to defer planting until February.
==Tritonia==.--Perhaps the best way of treating this flower is to pot the bulbs now or in December, and keep them in frames until April, when they may be transferred to the open ground. A dry soil and a sunny spot should be found for them.
==Tulip.==--There is no better time for planting Tulips in beds than the first half of this month. The bulbs should be covered with four or five inches of soil according to size, and it is important that each kind should be put in at a uniform depth to insure a simultaneous display. On a heavy soil draw deep drills, and partially fill them with light compost, on which the roots should be planted. The late single varieties are the Tulips which were formerly so highly prized by florists. For these bulbs it was the custom to prepare the soil with extraordinary care when the Tulip craze was at its height. After the amazing folly of paying 300l. for a single bulb, the minor folly of extravagance in preparing the soil may be readily pardoned. Happily that phase of the business has pa.s.sed away, and handsome Tulips are now grown without such a prodigal expenditure of money and labour. The site for this flower should be sunny, the soil fairly rich, and the drainage good. With these conditions insured, and roots which are sound and dense, it is easy to obtain a magnificent show of Tulips.
==Zephyranthes Candida== can be grown in any soil, and if possible the bulbs should be planted in some spot where they may remain unmolested through several seasons. The flowers appear about the end of July, resembling a White Crocus in form, and the blooming continues until cold weather sets in. Planting may be done between November and March.
==DECEMBER==
Only the idle or the half-hearted gardener will complain that he has no work to do in the short dark days of this month. Although there may be little or nothing to plant or sow, and few flowers need repotting, yet there are soils to obtain and store for future use; former heaps to turn over and remake; dead leaves to remove from plants in pits and houses; stakes and neat sticks to prepare for subjects which will need support by-and-by; beds and borders to enrich, and many other duties to perform.
In the evenings, too, there are new combinations and fresh harmonies in colour to be designed for beds and groups in borders; the requirements for the coming season to consider while experience gained during the closing year is still fresh in the memory; the position of plants in pits and frames and houses to forecast, so that the plan of the summer campaign may be clearly understood, and all the resources of the garden be under intelligent control. The fluctuations of the thermometer have also to be watched, and means adopted to save plants from injury by a sudden fall of temperature. Altogether, there are abundant sources of profitable employment for those who have a mind to work.
==Bulbs==, such as Hyacinths, Tulips, Crocuses, &c., which have not been planted, will have commenced growing, notwithstanding the precautions taken to prevent it, thus showing that they ought to be in the ground.
The growth has been made at the expense of the bulb itself, for there are no fibrous roots from which to draw support. Therefore it can scarcely be expected that the flowers from very late plantings will be quite so good as the same bulbs would have produced had they been put in at an earlier period. Still there are cases when the delay is unavoidable, and it is rea.s.suring to know that sound bulbs carefully set at the proper depth will produce flowers only in a degree inferior to those from earlier plantings.
==Bulbs in store==, such as Begonia, Dahlia, Gladiolus, and Gloxinia, should be pa.s.sed in review. Examination will almost certainly reveal some unsound specimens, and their removal may save valuable companions from their contaminating influence. This practice should be followed up about once a fortnight until all are eventually planted.
THE PESTS OF GARDEN PLANTS
The life-history of plant pests and ground vermin, with the best means of saving various crops from their ravages, are dealt with in a series of valuable leaflets issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. These leaflets embrace a very large number of subjects, several of which belong to the farm and the orchard and are beyond the scope of the present volume. Others are rarely met with, but concerning those which are common to the majority of gardens we offer information which will, we hope, enable readers to safeguard their crops from disaster.