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Show irfi ii in jiTi mm tt i in ip fiiniiiiii ill irntrn"TfiTitr iiiiir ninmiwpicniiriirnr fcHiiiiwmuriin'nrir.Hitiir nwtif,tvimiBrfflMiMniTinffi(TUfciiYhiciT I ft Tulips and Daffodils lend the springtime their dazzling color, and may be started indoors brightening the indoors. Gah from the garden The beauty of bulbs by Genevieve H. Folsom Tribune Garden Editor THE BULB flowers add beauty and brightness to the garden from early spring, before the snow is off the ground, to frost in the fall. Soon we will enjoy the tiny crocus which herald the spring. These will be followed by the daffodils, the early tulips and the sweet scented hyacinths. The spring flowering bulbs, as you know, must be planted in the fall. So if you didnt plant them last fall, make a note to do so this year. or even kept there in window boxes like this one, There are many flowering bulbs that can be planted in the spring for summer and fall bloom. The stately lily is one that should be planted in the fall, but only if you can obtain good firm bulbs should you plant them in the spring. Many times you will find them planted in containers at your local nurseryman for planting at any time. The lily is a true bulb. It is (me of the most beautiful of the flowers. GIVE YOUR lilies good drainage. If you like, dig the planting hole a little larger than needed, and set a layer of sand in the bottom with a layer of soil on top of this. Your lily bulb goes on this. Fill in around it with good g lilies six inches deep. The topsoil. Plant the g types such as the Madonna should be planted no deeper than two inches. stem-rootin- base-rootin- Plant the Madonna lily in August. You can mulch the lilies the first winter for protection. As a matter of fact, it might be well to mulch around them this summer to conserve moisture. Another idea is to plant annuals around the lilies. To protect the bloom, you should provide the lily with afternoon shade in the hot summer. Lilies today are easy to grow and do well in our local gardens. Plant them in clumps among the shrubbery. They look good planted in the flower borders. Combine them with daylilies. delphinium, or ferns. Remember, lilies never are completely dormant so do not allow them to dry out before planting. DAHLIAS WILL give you beautiful color in the garden from July to frost. They do very well in our climate and soils. There are many types to select from, from tiny pompon types to huge dinner plate size. Dahlias are natives of Mexico and are not difficult to grow. Perhaps the most trouble some people have with dahlias is in storing the tubers. Plant the exhibition types or large dahlias in rows as require staking. If you have clumps stored, you must divide them before planting. you would vegetables. They will In late April, you can bring your box of dahlias out to a warm location to develop the eyes on the clumps. Next study the clump of tubers carefully and get as many tubers with eyes as possible. The eyes will appear on the crown of the plant. With a sharp knife or primers carefully divide the tubers, making certain a piece of crown with the eye is attached. You plant dahlias about the middle of May in the Salt Lake area and a week or two later in the higher altitudes. Advice from the garden doctor Water: its best use t y by Dr. Arvil L. Stark Tribune Garden Consultant The Salt Q. Please give me the names of some ferns I can obtain locally which will do well indoors. reader, Ogden. A. You might like the meyeri which is a lovely light green in color; the foliage is fine on spikey stems. Plumosus is nice, with fronds three to four feet long. type with foliage on long Sprengeri is an stems resembling pine needles. Q. I would like a tree-lik-e plant for my home. Can you give the name of one which will be easy to grow? S.M., Salt Lake City A. The Scheffelera is probably one of the most popular indoor trees. It has nice glossy green leaves, and will grow rather tall. Give it a light window out of direct sun and a soil mixture of equal parts peat moss, sand and garden loam. Water it when the soil in the top of the pot is dry to the touch. Q. I have some peonies that are not blooming as they should. They have been in the same location for many years. Should they be divided this spring? G.A.C., Salt Lake City. A. No doubt your peonies should be dug up, divided and transplanted. However you should wait until fall to do this. The middle of September, is the best time fur this task. A WHERE to use a limited supply of water on the home landscape is a decision facing most gardeners in the drought stricken West. Large trees and shrubs are the most valuable plants on the home landscape and hardest to replace so they deserve first consideration. Skyrocketing food costs will increase the popularity of home vegetable production so these crops merit a portion of a limited supply of water. Last on the watering list of most gardeners will be flowers and the lawn. We know from experience that Kentucky bluegrass lawns that receive no irrigation during summer are readily revived in fall or the next spring when water becomes available again. It is common practice in non irrigated areas to let the lawn go without irrigation all summer long. ' I The grass turns brown and dries up during summer but comes back without replanting when rainfall is ample. ADDITION of nitrogen fertilizer to turf increases the rate of growth and thus the demand for water so it makes good sense not to apply it when the supply of water is limited. Allowing the grass to grow tall increases the evaporation surface of the foliage and the demand for water. But tall grass also shades the ground to reduce water evaporation from the soil. From a water conservation point of view it is not certain what height of mowing is best so you may as well continue on with the usual inch and a half or two inches as in the past. Leaving the clippings on the turf acts as a mulch to cut down moisture loss from the soil, and should not be too detrimental on an unfertilized lawn that is cut at least once each week so the clippings are short. MUCH WATER is lost while sprinkling during hot, windy weather. Apply it after dark in calm weather to save water. Put on enough at one time to wet the soil at least six inches deep. This will to an inch of water require one-hadepending on the type of soil. Light sprinklings that wet only the top inch or two are a waste of water on an established lawn. Apply water only when it is needed as indicated by wilting plants in early morning or by checking the soil six inches down with a shovel. We Americans have been wasting water and energy over the years. The present critical situation might be used to teach us how to conserve both. lf easy-to-gro- Lake w Sunday, 27, 1977 11 3 |