Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2019 i The Gardener Magazine

The weather played its part and the show was launched on a beautiful sunny day in Melbourne. As you walk into the grounds, you are struck by the size of it all, set in the pristine gardens under age-old trees. The excitement is palpable and you are surrounded by beauty in this happy place. The handy map sent us directly to one of the highlights of the show, the designer gardens. LANDSCAPE DESIGN SHOW GARDENS Australia’s top landscapers gather at the Melbourne Flower Show to build and present show gardens of impeccable standard. Each has a unique vision of what a show garden should interpret and what modern design is all about. The overall feeling you get from these gardens is that these designers are attuned to modern day living…

1 Move roses that are in the wrong place Roses that are in the shade, in too much sun, or just don’t look right can be safely moved this month. Prepare the new bed or hole first. Cut down plants by 1/3 (making sure to label them if you are moving more than one) and water the plant well. The next day, dig down around the rose with a spade, in a circle about 20cm from the centre of the rose. Make sure the spade cuts the roots. Lever the bush out of the ground. Working with two spades makes it easier. Cut off any broken roots and stems and replant the rose in the prepared ground. Firm down the ground and water well. Water every second or third day…

Nothing matches their charm, or the incredible array of colours and colour combos. There are pansies with faces, with whiskers, and with frilly petals, and even some that look as if they have been hand painted. If you don’t think your garden needs more colour, look again. They take up as little or as much space as you determine. They fill any nook or cranny, old wheelbarrow, gutter, hanging basket and pot, as a border or between spring bulbs; anywhere that receives enough winter sunshine. Pansies can be teamed up with other flowering annuals such as alyssum, Bellis perennis, Iceland poppies, calendulas and violas. Use them as a border to frame tall snapdragons (Antirrhinum), delphiniums and stocks. If a bed receives a mix of sun and shade, use pansies as…

Thai red and green curry pastes Herbs are the major ingredient in Thai curry paste, which forms the base of vegetarian curries as well as chicken, beef and fish or seafood curries. A dollop of curry paste adds flavour to stirfried Asian greens, soups, noodles and any other dishes that could do with some heat. Red curry paste goes well with chicken, beef and fish, as well as vegetables such as tomatoes, sweet potatoes, potatoes, butternut, snow peas, cauliflower, broccoli and baby marrows. Combine 1 spring onion, 1 fresh stalk of lemongrass (minced), 1 – 2 red chillies, 4 cloves garlic, 1 thumb-size piece of fresh ginger (grated), 2 tablespoons tomato sauce/puree, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, ¾ teaspoon ground coriander, ¼ teaspoon ground white pepper, 2 tablespoons fish sauce (or…

Small, attractive indigenous trees are much sought after for cultivation in gardens these days. The toad tree is one of the most suitable of these (and there is a large range of local South African trees to select from!). Perhaps the only shortfall in its many attributes is the lack of cold tolerance, being found largely in the more sub-tropical regions. Description It is a small tree that grows about 3 – 8m high, with a single straight stem and a rounded crown. The corky bark is pale grey and deeply fissured, contrasting with the leaves that are bright green above and paler beneath. They’re long and slender and arranged in opposite pairs with a raised midrib and prominent veins. Leaves are shed in spring, and the trees are described…

1 Ash your flower beds When cleaning your fireplace, save the ashes from burnt logs and scatter them around flowering plants. Wood ash is a good source of potash, which helps to promote the flowering of winter annuals, bulbs and shrubs. 2 Add the patina of time Encourage lichen growth on raw brick walls or stone garden ornaments like urns by painting them with liquid seaweed fertiliser or yoghurt. 3 Super winter woodland shrubs Azalea ‘Magenta’ is probably the most glorious and easy-to-grow variety of all the azaleas (Rhododendron). It is a large shrub (up to 3m) that produces large, singular magenta flowers from late winter to spring. Plant it in well-drained soil enriched with acidic compost in sun or preferably filtered shade. Azaleas like a cool root run in…

In my favourite television advert two young blokes are standing at a traffic light when a mature, silver-haired lady dressed very nattily in a tightfitting lycra outfit comes sprinting up to it and eases to a graceful stop. Then she stretches and arches one leg behind her back so high that it nearly touches her head. Parked in the background of this scene is a metallic-silver Toyota Tazz. The one guy unbelievingly asks his open-mouthed friend next to him, “Is that an Ouma?” It took me a while to decide whether somebody was trying to advertise sexy sports clothes for a fit old lady, or simply trying to teach folk an Afrikaans word. Then I realised it was all about a special, cheap service plan for an iconic old model…

Crassulas are an incredibly large and diverse genus of succulent plants with many species, subspecies, varieties and forms hailing from across South Africa. Although not all are worth growing, others are so interesting and pretty that it’s easy to fall into the trap of collecting as many of them as you can! There is great scope in this wonderful genus for South African gardeners, as among the plethora of crassulas you will find a plant for just about any situation. There are groundcovers that will grow and flower heartily in the poor soil around tree trunks in dry or even wet (well-drained) semi-shade, or in difficult-to-plant retaining walls. Then there are other crassulas to use as bright colour accents in gravel gardens, specimen plants to use in large containers or…

The sugarbush or suikerbos is one of South Africa’s iconic and most familiar proteas. Originally described as Leucadendron repens by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1753, almost 20 years elapsed before Linnaeus finally placed it in Protea in his tome Mantissa Plantarum Altera, in 1771. The specific name repens, which means creeping, is inappropriate for this plant, which has an upright habit. Working in Sweden, from a meagre dried specimen with a very short stem collected at the Cape, Linnaeus was apparently under the erroneous impression that the plant had a low, creeping habit. However, the rules of botanical nomenclature dictate that the earliest name given to a plant takes preference over any later published ones, and thus the wholly appropriate name mellifera, published subsequently by Linnaeus’s compatriot Thunberg,…

The easy-growing annual should not be plagued by pests or diseases, especially if they are planted in well-composted soil and spaced 20cm apart for good air circulation. They need at least six hours of full sun in winter. For a long-lasting pansy display the best position is that which also gets dappled shade or partial shade in spring and summer. Before planting, water the seedlings so that the root ball is soaked through. Water well after planting to settle the plants in the soil. The crown of the plant should be just above soil level. If the seedling is very root-bound, gently loosen the roots so that they do not remain in a clump. Firm the soil around the roots, but not too hard. Water regularly (every 3 – 4…

Oregano ‘Hot and spicy’ has chilli-flavoured leaves that add a fiery edge to a dish. Use it as a substitute for chillies if you don’t like too much heat. Because of its high oil content oregano ‘Hot and Spicy’ dries well and has an even stronger flavour. Use half the amount of dried oregano to fresh. To grow: This low-growing bushy perennial (20cm high and wide) performs well in pots or in a sunny part of the food garden. Pick fresh leaves all year-round, as the plant is frost hardy. Plant it as a companion with broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, cucumber and peppers. The aromatic leaves act as a pest repellent. Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) has a strong scent and flavour that pairs well with garlic, fresh chillies and coriander, all stalwarts…

It is easy to presume that winter in the bonsai garden is a time of rest and relaxation. It’s true that deciduous trees have lost all their leaves and are sleeping during winter, but there is still lots for a bonsai grower to do. Spring follows winter, as it has done so since the world began, and spring is a time of furious activity. You must do a lot of preparation during winter so as not to be caught off guard. As the length of daylight increases during spring, all the trees in your bonsai garden will seem to shoot new leaves at the same time. This is the right time to repot trees because they have great vigour during spring, and they recover from the repotting process very quickly.…

Aloe ferox (bitter aloe) This vigorous single-stemmed aloe can exceed 5m tall in old plants, but usually reaches around 2m in gardens. Leaves are dull, greyish-green turning reddish in dry winter conditions. Brown spines are found on leaf margins, and occasionally younger plants sport them on upper and lower leaf surfaces. Inflorescences comprise 5 – 12 upright flower spikes, and the colours are variable, usually orange to red with yellow and even white forms found in specific locations. Flowering takes place from May to August. This aloe is found in diverse range of climates from extremely dry to high-rainfall grasslands and is probably the most widely grown single-stemmed aloe in South Africa. Aloe marlothii (mountain aloe) Robust plants that can attain heights of 4m or so, mountain aloes have leaves…

The return of 1970s fashion and design has one major highlight for us gardeners – the current boom in the popularity of indoor plants. If you are one to keep up with trends, an indoor Ficus is an absolute must. A few Ficus varieties have recently captured the eyes of plant lovers and can be seen splashed across design blogs and social media pages. Here are three options you can try to keep up with the times: Ficus lyrata Ficus elastica ‘Robusta’ Ficus elastica, commonly known as the rubber plant, has become a recent indoor staple. Its large glossy leaves and impressive height are not the only benefits; it is also number four on NASA’s Clean Air Study, making it a great air-purifying plant. Ficus elastica ‘Robusta’ is a good…

Feed-N-Wax Wood Polish & Conditioner WHAT YOU NEED •An old chair (or any piece of furniture that could do with some TLC) •Howard Feed-N-Wax wood polish and conditioner •A piece of 9mm plywood about 500mm x 500mm •A piece of fabric, about 700mm x 700mm •A piece of 30mm foam, about 500mm x 500mm Tools Festool pendulum jigsaw, Tork Craft cordless mini sander, Tork Craft sanding glove, Tork Craft stapler, scissors, large flat screwdriver, permanent marker, microfibre cloth, pencil * Our chair was old and in a terrible state, but the bones were good – it is made of oak, and only the plywood seat had disintegrated. Remember that if you’re doing a similar restoration of a chair to measure the seat before buying and cutting the plywood, material and…