Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2017 i The Gardener Magazine

We’ve arrived in what I think is one of the toughest gardening months – I personally battle with this time. By now I’m begging for cooler weather and have planned my autumn planting over and over in my head. But in saying that, I have to tell you that my tough summer annuals are being superstars in my garden. The begonias have weathered the storm, as always, and are going to give me many more weeks of unrivalled, hassle-free colour. The cute torenias have been such a show against the white agapanthus. These, in my mind, are two of the toughest bedding plants – nothing wants to nibble on them, and they just flower and flower! The team from The Gardener decided that since Feb is the month of love,…

When it comes to colour and vibrancy, there’s nothing like Mexican garden or patio styles for inspiration. Sunny yellow, electric blue, warm oranges and reds are all combined in a colour scheme that shouts bold and beautiful. We took our inspiration for this story from Sonita Young of Young Landscape Design Studio’s recent display garden at the 2016 Garden Design Show held at Garden World. Sonita chose for her inspiration the home of renowned Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, whose self-portraits and colourful life are legendary in the art world. Her home La Casa Azul (The Blue House) in Mexico City was the starting point for Sonita’s garden. In designing this garden, Sonita thought carefully about the plants – they had to be hardy, water-wise plants to go with the trends…

Tangerines, manderins or naartjies. What you call them makes no real difference to the great value that these soft citrus fruits bring to the home garden. They’re attractive evergreen trees or large shrubs that are bathed in sweetly scented white blossoms in spring, which in turn produce delicious fruit that ripens from autumn through winter. There is nothing quite like picking a fresh tangerine from your own tree, peeling off the aromatic skin that’s so rich in oils, and then biting into the succulent flesh of the juicy fruit. Many different hybrids or cultivars are grown commercially by citrus farmers, some of which are available for the home garden. Tangerines thrive in many parts of the country, are easy to grow and are very rewarding if cared for correctly. Growing…

The common plakkie or pig’s ear (Cotyledon orbiculata var. orbiculata) – that stalwart of many a dry, windswept coastal garden – is well known for its colour-variable, almost circular leaves (hence the specific name orbiculata) in shades of green, grey or almost white, often with reddish margins. It occurs across a vast area of South Africa as well as in Namibia and southern Angola, and has a multitude of medicinal uses, including treatment against earache, toothache, boils and warts. A member of the Crassula family (Crassulaceae), it’s grown worldwide grey, fleshy, smooth or hairy leaves with pointed tips. Forming a low-growing, spreading, branched shrub 30-60cm high, it bears clusters of striking, long-lasting orange pendent blooms produced in dense heads from winter to spring. Several distinct forms of this variety have…

LOVE ANNUAL COLOUR Remove annuals if they are looking a bit sad and deadhead others that are still willing to be around, to give you a second flush of colour. Annuals that can be planted for late summer and autumn colour include petunias, begonias, marigolds, celosias, vincas, verbenas and portulacas. With them in the ground your flowerbeds will look fresh again! Hot tip! Although petunias are a firm favourite, they shouldn’t be planted twice in the same spot, to prevent soil-borne diseases. Also be adventurous and look for new varieties to plant. COLD CLIME SOWINGTIME... Start sowing those winter- and spring-flowering jewels that need a bit of time to grow up in seedling trays, like cinerarias, gazanias, Iceland poppies, primulas, violas, pansies, larkspurs, Canterbury bells, columbines, sweet Williams and aquilegias.…

Awhile back we were approached by Dr Nevin Stewart, a hobby cider maker from Guildford in Surrey, England, to see if we were interested in sharing his ‘juice and strain’ method of making apple cider at home. When it comes to apple season there is always a good supply around, and what better way to use them up? What we wanted to verify before publishing is how easy it is to find the equipment you need in South Africa, and also how easy cider really is to make. While experimenting with beer brewing for The Ultimate Braai magazine, we also made good use of the time and made a batch of apple cider, with the help of Brad and Chris from Beer Bros. Our conclusion? Cider is very easy to…

1 ASSISTED GRAVITY GREY-WATER SYSTEMS A simple gravity grey-water system uses a fitting attached to the grey-water downpipe from bathrooms, and a fitting to a standard hosepipe. Gravity then drains the bath water, for example, into the garden. But this system can take over an hour to drain a bath, so the best thing to do is purchase a small Waterfall flow pump to speed up the process. The WT700 has a threaded inlet, the only pump on the market with this feature, that makes it ideal for an assisted gravity feed system. www.klbengineering.co.za 2 FOOTHILLS DRYAWAY The Foothills DryAway is the perfect solution for preserving your excess summer harvest using nothing but the sun and the warmth of the long summer days. It does this by dehydrating the produce…

The Moonlight Calendar is a visual timing guide to South African Lunar Phases, Lunar Zodiac and Gardening by the Moon. The Moonlight Calendar is the first reference work for being in tune with the moon’s cycles, either by phase, sign or fertility mode on any day of the year. Annual followers include gardeners, farmers, fishermen, planners, photographers and naturalists. Moonlight Calendar features: • A photograph of the daily moon; • The exact times of the four main moon phases; • The exact times the moon changes zodiac signs; • Colour coding showing the ‘fertility’ rating of every day; • Void-of-course times (the no-action periods) before Zodiac sign changes. The Moonlight 2017 Calendar poster is available to The Gardener/Die Tuinier readers for R130 or a special offer of three for R235,…

One of the most commonly asked questions in gardening circles is “What colourful plants can be grown in the shade?” And sometimes people narrow this down even further by saying, “Oh, and by the way they must be indigenous too.” There aren’t that many answers, because generally flowering plants need sunlight to initiate the formation of buds. But here are three proven shade-tolerant indigenous plants that offer a solution to this challenging question. Anthericum saundersiae ‘Starlight’ This is a recently introduced variation on the weeping anthericum that is planted extensively in large landscape projects. ‘Starlight’has strikingly variegated leaves that lend both colour and movement to the garden. Thin, grass-like leaves grow in neat clumps to some 50cm in height with a similar spread. Small, white, star-shaped flowers on slender wiry…

This style of planting would include plants that are tough and beat the heat and those that are water-wise. Sonita’s garden includes areas for lush, tropical-type plants that would grow in a more protected area and desert-type plants that would take the heat in the open areas. Choose plants such as these to get the right look: Pelargoniums The vibrancy of colours available in pelargoniums in flower and their suitability for growing in pots in a sunny position makes them an ideal choice. Choose from the peltatum (ivy-leaved) trailing varieties or the more upright zonale (geranium) types, and plant in terracotta pots. Bougainvilleas Once established, bougainvilleas thrive on neglect. In fact, too much water and food is detrimental to their health. The colourful bracts are present most of the year…

GET THE LOOK – A ROMANTIC ROSY BOWER Create a rosy bower to shade you during the hottest month of the year. Three scented, climbing roses are planted up the pillars of this iron gazebo so that they mingle at the top, providing light, dappled shade while infusing the air with perfume. What could be more romantic? The roses that are ideal for this are ‘Gülilah’, ‘Crème Caramel’, ‘Compassion’, ‘Jude the Obscure’, and they are all scented. 5 WAYS to keep the roses cool • Roses don’t mind their leaves getting wet, and one of the most effective ways to cool them down is with overhead sprinklers, in the late afternoon. The leaves dry off quickly because of the warm nights so there is no danger of fungal diseases. •…

PART THREE You’ve installed a water tank, the rain has filled it up, and now you need to make sure that the water is used wisely. It’s time for a pressure-boosting pump! What pump should I buy? Peripheral-style pump This is the cheapest style and range of booster pumps, which are ideal for a quick, low-cost solution. These low-pressure pumps can supply about two hosepipes at standard municipal pressure. Their open impellers are noisy, but can handle silty water really well. Centrifugal-style pump This is the preferred pump solution when paired with a controller. It’s the best value for money in terms of performance and multipurpose use, and is the plumbing installers’ preferred model for pressure boosting from a tank for irrigation or home use. It delivers the same pressure…

Events Gauteng Saturday 11 – Sunday 12 2017 Magoebaskloof Berry Festival Haenertsburg Pick your own berries on local farms, enjoy the Village market and take place in a host of outdoor activities. Enquiries: 083 880 8787, 082 575 5738, www.berryfestival.co.za Open Gardens Gauteng Gardens of the Golden City 4 – 5 February Inyoni Creek, Lyndhurst View 11 lovingly tended cottage and apartment gardens in this rural setting. Common area and pavement gardens merge in a variety of succulents, roses and pincushion proteas. Individual gardens vary from formal Italian style with topiaries, hanging baskets and pots to English country gardens with water features, fish ponds and lush rose and courtyard gardens. 10:00–17:00. Tea garden. Entrance: R30. Children under 12 free Enquiries: Pam 083 496 4746 4 – 5 February Germiston Rotary…

BRIEF This duplex was purchased recently by a young couple who fell in love with the view over the well-wooded valley. The garden is on two distinct levels, lending itself to a variety of activities. The railway sleeper steps between levels have deteriorated and are extremely slippery, while the retaining wall on the lower level is filled with alien invasive plants and the garden has no structure. The couple would like to include more indigenous plants to attract wildlife, and are also keen to grow culinary herbs. While the patio is adequate for entertaining, they enjoy using the lower section over weekends to relax in the late afternoon sun. They have one cat that enjoys exploring the garden. SOLUTION As with any existing garden that requires a revamp, the first…

Although it doesn’t feel like it, the season starts to change in March. Do we grit our teeth and let the garden stand still under February’s scorching heat or seek out plants that will carry us through to early winter? Three months is a long time for a garden to be under par, especially if we use it as an outdoor room for living and entertaining. It’s all about timing, and it’s rather like running a relay race, with some strong starters augmented by some high-powered sprinters at the end. First off the blocks in February Salvias, mimulus and portulacas all have staying power during this hottest of months. Best of all they keep going until winter, with their colours deepening as it gets cooler. • Bedding salvias are either…

VEGGIES OF THE MONTH Brassicas are the quintessential winter vegetable, full of vitamin C and minerals such as potassium, iron and selenium, which provide the goodness that we need during the colder months. Their needs are quite simple, but uncompromising: full sun, fertile and well-composted soil, space to grow and regular watering, as wilting affects their production. If winter is warmer than normal watch out for aphids – they are a definite crop spoiler. Brussels sprouts – blitz those aphids Spray preventatively for aphids because if they get into the fruit it is very bitter. Also, be generous with fertiliser in the growing stage because plants need to grow up to 1m high before being tipped off. That helps to push their energy into developing the fruit. When to plant…

Do It Yourself for under R 750 What you need Wood cutting list 2 x 990mm x 90mm x 30mm (front and back) 2 x 370mm x 90mm x 30mm (sides) 4 x 415mm x 90mm x 30mm (legs) 2 x 805mm x 20mm x 20mm (cleats) 42 x 40mm x 4mm cut screws 4 x 20mm x 4mm cut screws Wood glue Pine wood filler Sanding block Wood primer White enamel paint Tools Tape measure, pencil, carpenter’s square, cordless drill driver, 4mm wood bit and countersink What you do 1 Mark a line 30mm from the top of the front and back planks. This will be the inset level for the bamboo at a later stage. 2 Line up the top of each leg with the 30mm line and…

The first and last weekends are in thcl st moon phase, and ideal for succession planting of quick growing leaf veg. Keep beds in blooming colour and replace spent annuals on flower days, and deadhead on harvest days. Lunar gardeners who harvest at full moon will enjoy plump flavourful produce; and as this one's on a barren day, veg will be juicy, long lasting, with a low risk of spoilage. Note that the hot veg days after new moon, before t st quarter, apply to leaf varieties, while those sown at last quarter should be root. BEST DAYS FOR FEBRUARY…