Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2015 i The Gardener Magazine

Water is becoming a bigger issue every month. I know we’ve been telling you how to conserve water for years, but every single gardener needs to be an active water saver. And I get so cross with people who say they don’t mind paying extra to keep their garden green – water conservation is not just about saving money. It is about saving our most valuable resource and, potentially, lives. If rain stays away for much longer we will all be directly, drastically affected. If you haven’t already installed a rainwater harvesting system it’s too late to harvest the benefits for this drought. But install one now so that when it does rain, you catch it and don’t just watch it disappear into the stormwater drain. We’ve got a few…

Combine stylish Hakbijl glass vases, floral foam, a couple of orchids, some moss and tillandsia, and you have a classy arrangement that will last for months in your home. A visit to the Hadeco shop and a glimpse of their range of stunning vases inspired our long-lasting flower arrangement, which you can replicate to add to this season’s atmosphere. We used the orchids (leaves, roots and all) and fed them with specialised Pokon Orchid food so that the blooms would last even longer. Unique Dutch style Hakbijl glass vases, named after Jan Hakbijl, the founder of the company, are made in Rotterdam and come in glorious colours, like red, peach, green and soft pink, as well as the classic black and white. There is a wide variety available from the…

GET THE LOOK Planting ‘My Granny’ and ‘Granny’s Delight’ together in raised, built planters solves a multitude of problems and looks spectacular. In this example, landscaper Karen Gardelli uses raised planters to provide height in the garden and to solve the problem of root competition from nearby trees. In gardens with very stony or shallow soil, growing roses in planters also makes sense. “Fill the planter with good-quality top soil and compost and the roses will love it,” says Karen. Cascading roses like the ‘Granny’s’ series as well as Sunsation roses (‘Salmon’, ‘Peach’, ‘Dawn’ and ‘Delicate’) and ‘Profusion’ roses look their best when planted like this, as it allows their stems to arch gracefully over the edge. Another tip from Karen is to use planters in small gardens, as this…

There are so many benefits of using mulch and compost in the garden – especially when you make your own. VIKING, a division of the STIHL Group, has just launched an exciting new range of electric garden shredders to make mulching and composting quick, easy and hassle-free. Included in this range is the very latest shredding technology in powerful units offering outstanding value for money. VIKING Electric Shredders GE 250 The GE 250 reduces large amounts of garden waste to mulch in no time. Using powerful, multi-cut technology and noise-reducing blades, it can shred flower and vegetable cuttings, leaves and twigs, as well as hard branches up to 30 mm in diameter, quietly and efficiently, producing large volumes of mulch or compost. GE 103 The GE 103 is a powerful…

Why not let herbs set the menu for this year’s festive feast? Even the smallest herb garden can boast a variety of herbs – it is how you use them that counts. For instance, did you know that a fragrant herb like marjoram can be used to flavour avocado, cabbage, green beans, baby marrows, mushrooms, potatoes, peas, tomatoes, beef, lamb, pork, fish and chicken dishes? What can be more satisfying than combining herbs with other products from the food garden: the first tomatoes, baby potatoes, crunchy sweet peppers and baby spinach leaves. As the 18th century English writer Oliver Goldsmith wrote, “Blest be those feasts with simple plenty crown’d”. He must also have been a food gardener! Basil – for bite-sized delights Fragrant, tender basil leaves turn snacks into a…

We live in an era where artificial Christmas trees are often preferred to the real deal, either growing or simply harvested as a cut off ‘branch’ that can be thrown away after the festivities. There is no doubt that real trees add that little something extra in terms of fresh coniferous aromas and a sense of realism to the occasion. Here are three different tree types that make lovely real Christmas trees. Podocarpus falcatus (Outeniqua yellowwood) is a fantastic indigenous option for a Christmas tree. The narrow, glossy green leaves are smaller than those on any of the other local yellowwood species. This makes it an ideal tree for holding decorations, as the foliage is not overwhelming. The trees last well indoors in low light conditions, and can be…

The 40th year of The Witness Garden Show was held in Pietermaritzburg recently, with the theme of ‘Symphony of Spring’. This whimsical, upbeat and playful theme gave garden designers the freedom to get creative, to embrace the melodies of the spring garden, and to draw on their full complement of skills to show the pubic what can be done when you come up with a plan and stick to it! While there were so many great gardens, we have identified the ones that we thought most accurately reflected the theme and celebrated the playful nature of spring. The City of Cape Town was particularly ingenious in their interpretation of the theme, not only bringing visual elements into their garden, but also using actual, interactive musical instruments that brought their display…

The experts are predicting a hot, dry summer. The sun is already blazing down on us and gardens are becoming thirstier. As water is a scarce and increasingly expensive resource, we gardeners need to make every drop count, and try to save what we can for ‘un-rainy days’. With good planning and clever tricks, you can keep having fun in the garden with a clear conscience and without draining the dams. Here are a number of ways you can become a waterwise hero in your garden: HYDRO-ZONE • Group plants together according to their water requirements: 1-drop, 2-drop, 3-drop and no-drop zones. (The latter includes hard surfaces such as permeable paving and gravel, as well as plants that can survive solely on rain once established.) • Plant a variety of…

SPARKLING POOL Start a dedicated programme to get rid of any algae growth in your pool, and check that the paved surrounds are secure and clean. Remove any potential hazards like old pots or thorny plants that could hurt excited kids or get in the way of raucous water games. Now is also a good time to clean out all ponds and water features. Water lilies and other water plants are at their best at this time of year and are readily available from nurseries, so invest in some new floating greenery and flowers. FEED THE LAWN Fertilise your lawn with a specialised lawn fertiliser and water it well before and after application, and then at least twice a week in the early morning. Remove large, persistent weeds by hand.…

Times are tight and folks are bone tired after another long year of graft. But we all love festive occasions in pretty surroundings with good food in the company of our dear ones. So let’s create a little magic without breaking a sweat, or the bank… Theme Rustic and earthy with a touch of faux-opulence and bohemian bling. Decor dream board The trick is to look around your house and garden for stuff that can be quickly jazzed up to make interesting party decor items. • Collect any rusting or odd objects that have been sitting on the stoep for ages, as well as recycled glass jars hoarded in a kitchen cupboard. We sprayed old candlesticks, birdcages, plant pots and plastic toys with aerosol spray paint in shades of dull…

This cycle's most important gardening chore is to organically feed/water flower and edible annuals especially on 'irrigate' days and during the last quarter moon phase. It's also the best phase for slow release applications. In heavy rainfall areas, additional organic fertiliser can be applied on 'root' days. The days marked for 'harvest' are noted - so harvest on these days for short store and later use. Harvest on a 'fertile' day for extra juicy produce and immediate use (like Christmas day); in dry regions, however, irrigate before picking.…

The perfect braai, with a juicy but crispy choppie and a dollop of ‘pap-and-sheba’, should be a hallowed, gourmet experience. But having a braai with friends or family while our country (or just our supported province) is locked in a knockout game of sport is not a good idea! Here are the best reasons why NOT to braai: Reason one: Your stress levels and normally placid nature will have had at least five days to build up to exploding point in the week leading up to the game. This prevents you from being the serene personality that you prefer to be when playing host, and you can no longer make calm decisions about laying a proper table with garden flowers, planning a delicious and balanced menu, and getting your garden…

We are entering the hottest period of the garden year, and it is very hard to predict whether it will be hot and dry or hot and wet. If it is dry, then water-shedding will become as much a fact of life as load-shedding. This will call for careful, waterwise gardening, and selecting only the most heat-tolerant plants. Fortunately there are plenty of heat-tolerant plants. If they are planted in the right position, in soil that has been enriched with compost for good aeration and water retention, and are watered correctly, it is still possible to have a glorious summer garden. Flowers that beat the heat High heat tolerance: angelonias, celosias, euphorbias, gazanias, marigolds, portulacas, petunias (in dry coastal areas), salvias, vincas Medium-to-high heat tolerance: begonias, chrysanthemums, dianthus, lobelias, marigolds,…

Strelitzia reginae ‘Mandela’s Gold’ is a special, golden-yellow form of the bird of paradise flower or crane flower, endemic to South Africa’s Eastern Cape coastline and to north-eastern KwaZulu-Natal. S. reginae and the four other species found in South Africa (S. alba, S. caudata, S. juncea and S. nicolai) belong to the family Strelitziaceae. The family also includes two other genera, each containing just one species: the spectacular traveller’s palm from Madagascar (Ravenala madagascariensis) and the similar-looking South American traveller’s palm (Phenakospermum guyannense) from northern South America. One of the world’s most familiar garden plants, orange forms of S. reginae are widely grown in temperate and subtropical gardens, and as prized conservatory subjects in cold climates. The plant thrives so well in southern California that it is often…

Garden Tasks • Continue with succession planting of tomatoes, beans, carrots, beetroot, lettuce and spinach or Swiss chard. • In cooler areas, start sowing broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower in seed trays. In hotter areas this can be delayed until February. • Water frequently in hot, dry weather, especially fruit-bearing vegetables that drop their flowers when the soil dries out. • Place mulch around large vegetables to keep their roots cool and the soil moist for longer. • Pull out weeds daily. • Tomatoes, beans, chillies, sweet peppers and brinjals are producing fruit and need feeding every second week with a liquid fertiliser. • Pick regularly to extend the harvest. 5 minutes to spare Gently tap the trusses of tomato flowers everyday. This releases the pollen and improves pollination, which results…

What you will need Christmas tree template (see below) 12 mm plywood 480 mm x 400 mm (for the tree) 12 mm plywood 172 mm x 172 mm (for the pot stand) 12 mm plywood 120 mm x 30 mm (for the cross piece) Undercoat PVA (we used Brilliant White, but use any colour you want to) Plastic pot (we painted ours purple!) 4 x 20 mm panel pins An indigenous asparagus Tools Cordless drill, 10 mm drill bit for wood, hammer, electric sander, wood saw, jigsaw, holesaw, wood chisel, pencil, paintbrush 1 Draw a Christmas tree shape on a large piece of paper, matching the dimensions given in the template. Cut out the paper template, place it on the large piece of plywood, lining up the bottom with the…

KwaZulu-Natal Thursday 3 Talk: Intriguing relationships between birds, insects and trees, by Braam van Wyk Visitors Centre, Durban Botanical Gardens Enquiries: botsoc-kzn@mweb.co.za Friday 4 – Sunday 6 Orchid and Exotic Plant Fair South Coast 2015 Stephward Estate Country House, 1B Meriel Road, Uvongo Enquiries: 039 315 5926 Wednesday 16 – Sunday 20 Light up the Night Christmas Event An evening in the gardens for the Keep Kloof Beautiful Association. 1 Old Main Road, Kloof Enquiries: Sandra 031 764 1830, www.keepkloofbeautiful.org.za GAUTENG Friday 11 – Sunday 13 Workshop: Making herb wines and liqueurs Patsy’s Potions and the Herb and Indigenous Plant Guild Booking essential: Patsy Vergeer 011 393 3427 Wednesday 16 Orchid sale and open day Plantae Orchids, Brits Enquiries: Nollie 084 752 682, Tinus 084 458 1199 info@plantae.co.za, www.plantae.co.za…