Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2016 i The Gardener Magazine

It’s been a busy year, but it looks as though it’s just going to keep on getting busier! As I write this I’m getting ready to jet off to London for the Chelsea flower show, a treat that never tires. I’m so looking forward to seeing what the landscaping and horticultural geniuses of the world come up with this year! And who knows – maybe we’ll see the Queen! Back home we’re gearing up for the East Coast Home and Garden Show, where we will be holding our annual The Gardener Live show, just full of everything to do with your garden. At the moment our team is furiously organising the very best food and gardening suppliers for your enjoyment. Ball Straathof recently held their trial day and Geoff and…

Seedling tables full of highly colourful flowering annuals and ‘colour pots’ (planted up with either mature annuals or very desirable young perennials already flowering) are usually displayed in a prime location at any nursery. The plan is to snare the consumer’s attention either at the entrance or at the exit (like the sweets at supermarkets). But somewhere a bit further away will be the somewhat less exciting ‘staple ingredients’ that are needed to quickly and economically vegetate large areas in any garden. These ‘six- or four-pack punnets’ are filled with popular and trusty perennials and groundcovers that you need in numbers. And, most importantly, they are far cheaper than the same plants bought individually. My quest for value at my local nursery unearthed the following finds: Thicket spurflower (Plectranthus madagascariensis…

LOTS OF PLANTING OPTIONS Plants that are dormant now, particularly deciduous plants (which might just look like a bunch of sticks at the moment), love to be planted at this time of the year as it gives them time to settle in before reawakening in spring. So plant roses, vines and fruit trees, especially deciduous blossom trees like flowering peaches, plums, cherries, quinces and crab apples. The bees love their spring blossoms. Also keep in mind that lots of our indigenous plants such as diascias, red hot pokers, leucadendrons, pincushions, proteas, buchus and confetti bushes flower in winter, so don’t miss out on their flower power. Others to plant now include river stars, sage woods, mountain sages, white stinkwoods and the euryops species. Conifers cope well in the cold, and…

Use every bit of available, sunny space for veggies and herbs, especially in flowerbeds, patios that are warm and sheltered, containers, hanging baskets and window boxes. For instant greens that will keep going through winter, pot up or plant out established Asian greens (mizuna, tatsoi, pak choi, red mustard) that are available in pots from garden centres. Make plastic tunnels and grow frost-sensitive veggies like lettuce, rocket, and other salad greens as well as tender herbs like mint. Grow microgreens in large trays under cover. Transplant cold-sensitive herbs into pots and keep them in sunny, warm areas. Cultivate your own bean sprouts in the kitchen for adding to salads and stir-fries. Use plastic cool drink bottles as a cloche to protect tender seedlings. Watch the weather report for frost predictions…

The first and last weeks of the month in the last-quarter moon phase are best for clearing spent autumn annuals and cutting back shrubs and overgrown perennials. Night-time temperatures drop as we reach the winter solstice on the 21st, and garden growth slows. The dormant solar season is the period to repot, transplant and divide. Limit shock and help plants establish themselves easier by doing so on the growing lunar phase ;after New Moon to Full Moon) when the prevailing soil and plant energy turns upward.…

In the cold, frosty parts of the country, winter can wreak havoc on your vegetables and garden plants. Many are damaged and set back severely, while others may even be killed by frost and cold winds. As the seasons change, cover tender plants with a special fabric that gives them protection. Building a temporary framework covered with frost-guard fabric is the perfect solution in the vegetable garden (see our easy DIY below). The fabric then doesn’t need to be removed every day – the sides or edges can be rolled up to let additional light and air into the plants, while water can be applied under or through the frost cover. Remove the covering every 7-10 days to inspect the plants and make sure that no pests and diseases are…

“The force of nature changed the face of my garden drastically in one fell swoop” Eight years ago I had to kiss my large old garden goodbye. In the eighteen years we lived in that garden, I changed it from a typical ‘old lady’s garden’ (a mish-mash of randomly planted, old-fashioned stuff like pride-of-Madeiras, ivy, periwinkle, Prunus nigra, canna, sword fern, coreopsis, and a very old and ugly rose garden stuck away in a sandy corner) into a garden that was more my style. But you must know that it was the garden exactly as it was at the time that made me fall in love with the property. I didn’t even care about the state of disrepair inside the old family home, which sat squarely in the middle of…

Winter is the season when many succulent plants add much-needed colour to the garden with their bright foliage. The shorter day lengths, cooler temperatures and drier growing conditions all contribute to enhancing the colour of the leaves in dramatic fashion. These three plants combine effectively for a colourful and contrasting winter display. Sedum nussbaumerianum This is a small, shrubby sedum with golden-yellow, boat-shaped leaves in tightly packed whirls towards the tips of the branches. During winter they take on an orangey hue, adding a unique colour and texture to mixed groups of succulents. The flat clusters of creamy white flowers in spring are of secondary importance to the attractive foliage. This charming little plant from Mexico is drought resistant and easy to grow, especially in the warmer climates. Kalanchoe pumila…

If your garden is medium-sized to large, you have an opportunity to add interest with a selection of well-placed features in different areas. These will entice you and your guests to stroll though the entire garden. In a smaller garden, a single statue or beautiful container that complements the style of your home might be all you need to create impact. Creating a journey A garden is always far more exciting when its elements suggest that there is more to see. Suggest the start of a journey with a well laid out path and an attractive arch. A series of garden rooms separated by garden beds or dividers such as clipped hedges or wooden screens will give you the opportunity to showcase groups of plants, such as those for a…

Endemic to the winter-moist, sandy soils of the Cape Flats east of Cape Town, the whorled heath Erica verticillata was last seen in the wild in the early 1900s. Due to rapid urban, industrial and agricultural expansion it was obliterated in its natural environment, but fortunately it had already been established in cultivation in numerous gardens, including Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, Protea Park in Pretoria, Belvedere Palace in Austria, several locations in England including Kew Gardens, and in Germany and the USA. A project led by Anthony Hitchcock, the Kirstenbosch Nursery, Living Collections and Threatened Plants Manager, resulted in cuttings from these sources, each of which differs slightly in growth habit, height and flower colour, being acquired by Kirstenbosch, where they have been propagated and made available to the public.…

GET THE LOOK One of the challenges of large gardens is to create smaller areas of interest within them. In this garden, the climbing rose ‘Clair Matin’ has been trained onto a rustic frame to act as a screen, creating an almost hidden rose room, complete with table and bench, that is perfect for afternoon tea among the roses. The rosy theme is carried through by a massed planting of the floribunda rose ‘Not Simply Pink’ in the background, and additional colour is supplied by the climbing ‘Cherry Garland’ that complements ‘Clair Matin’ in height and flower power. Time to review your roses In areas that received good autumn rains after the drought, the roses are most likely growing and flowering. This is the month to review how they performed…

Kloof Conservancy Indigenous Open Gardens 11-12 June Twelve stunning indigenous gardens will be on show as part of Kloof Conservancy’s annual Indigenous Open Gardens. The theme for 2016 is, ‘Embrace D’MOSS. Live with Nature. D’MOSS is the Durban Metropolitan Open Space System, which is aimed at protecting high biodiversity value areas and providing green corridors for the free movement of wildlife. All the gardens selected have a D’MOSS connection and visitors will be able to appreciate the enhanced quality of life provided by the clever use of indigenous landscaping. Included in the line-up is the garden of Chris Dalzell, the former curator of the Durban Botanical Gardens. Chris has drawn upon all of his horticultural knowledge to produce a stunning garden optimising the use of indigenous species on a steep…

During the course of the last two or three decades, aloes have become popular garden plants for a number of different reasons. Many of them are indigenous to South Africa and are able to cope with dry growing conditions and the water shortages that have become a regular challenge. Most of them bloom in winter when flowers are scarce in the garden, and the vibrant inflorescences are rich in nectar, creating a winter feast for birds and insects when food is hard to come by. There are many other good reasons for growing aloes in modern gardens in a wide and diverse range of climatic conditions. Today, smaller aloe species and numerous hybrids are sought after for growing in the limited space afforded by apartment and town house living. Aloes…

Nature saves its brightest, warmest and most colourful flowers for winter, when we need them most. On a chilly morning it certainly helps to look out onto a garden filled with yellow, red, orange and gold flowers, with splashes of blue, purple and mauve to set them off. There is no need for winter to be dull, so get planting now. June is still mild enough to plant out those flowers that love the cold, and it will also do you good. Being active in winter improves circulation, boosts the immune system, and produces a feeling of wellbeing. Gardening is also easier in early winter – you don’t get as hot, sticky and tired as in summer. Pansies Pansies (Viola x wittrockiana) can easily claim to be the happiest plants…

Don’t forget Remove frost cover or roll back plastic cover during the day so that veggies are exposed to as much light as possible. Good to know In wet-winter areas, cover the compost heap to prevent nutrients leaching out. In drier areas, water once a week to keep the microbes active. Veggies that tolerate the cold There is still time to plant out the following cold-tolerant veggies if you are prepared to nurse the plants while they are getting established: rocket, endive, broccoli, chard, spinach, kale, lettuce, parsley, mustard greens, radicchio, radishes, and watercress. Grow them under cover, either in plastic tunnels or under individual cloches. Tips for the subtropical food garden In the Lowveld and coastal KZN this is the best time of year to grow veggies. Here are…

Most trees and plants have two distinct phases of growth, vegetative and mature. At the beginning of its life a young tree will normally be surrounded by other plants with which it competes for sunlight, moisture and nutrients. The trees that grow the fastest get the lion’s share of these three vital ingredients, so they begin their lives in a vigorous growth phase known as the vegetative phase. During this phase trees will put out long branches that grow very quickly in an attempt to harvest as much sun as possible. These long branches have large leaves and very wide internodal spaces. Nodes are the rings or points on a branch where new shoots and branches emerge from, and the internodal spaces are the relatively barren sections between the nodes.…

F12V-SUB 1800 This new pump from KLB Engineering is an ideal camping and caravanning companion. Designed to fit through the neck of most jerry cans, it can pump water or diesel to a height of 1.8m. It delivers 1800L/h, which is more than an average hosepipe. This makes it ideal as a ‘bush shower’, in conjunction with a water-filled jerry can. It uses only 70W of electricity (the same as one light bulb), so you can run it from a normal 12V battery. www.klbengineering.co.za 8-TREK ALL-PURPOSE OINTMENT When you work in the garden, sooner or later you’ll cut, nick or graze yourself. 8-TREK is an all-purpose ointment that helps to treat most minor skin injuries, including cuts, nicks, grazes, insect bites, eczema, splinters, ingrown nails and hairs, and even boils.…