Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2020 i The Gardener Magazine

With the passing of the longest night and shortest day now behind us (thank goodness!), there are only good things to come! We have all settled into our new normal – even here at Lonehill the new rhythm of working from home and only popping into the office for essential meetings has become the norm. I firmly believe that we as a business have overcome the worst of the worst challenges so far. We are still here, publishing, keeping you updated on Facebook, giving you weekly dates on Facebook live, and can you believe that we start filming the next season of The Gardener for The Home Channel next week! I would like to thank you all for your unwavering support during these very difficult times. Thank you for calling…

New releases of these ever-popular flowering plants (which have indigenous forefathers) appear every year, and the good news is that they have more compact but multi-branching growth habits, more abundant flowers and better disease-resistance – we thank the untiring and dedicated breeders for this. Due to their efforts and the growing skills of our local trade, we can fill our pots, barrels, window boxes and beds with the latest zonal pelargoniums, and plant up hanging baskets, window boxes and retaining walls with tough and trailing ivy-leaved pelargoniums. Flowering time Most of the modern varieties flower repeatedly throughout the year, but the natural flowering peaks are in spring and again in autumn when the temperatures are more moderate. The best climate In very cold regions, these plants should either be treated…

Herbs are not only good companions for vegetables, but are also nutritionally rich, less demanding to grow, harvestable all year round, and there is no better way to naturally flavour food. August is a good time to plan your herb garden or decide on how to incorporate herbs into the veggie garden. By September you should be ready to plant. Although it is human nature to plunge in headfirst, the best way to get the most from your herb garden is to have a plan. Planning a herb garden involves deciding on a theme, selecting the site, creating the design and drawing up a herb list. Step one Start by selecting a theme, whether it is culinary or healing, or maybe a bit of both. For a culinary garden it…

Spinach is a very versatile leafy green that can be used in a variety of meals, and for dips, soups, pesto, pizza toppings, and the young fresh leaves in salads. The best way to use a large harvest of spinach or Swiss chard is to blanch and freeze it. While eating fresh leaves raw is very different, the taste of frozen spinach is so similar to freshly cooked that its worth the time to prepare it for freezing. Wash the leaves well in salted water (just in case a few bugs made it in from the garden). Fling off any excess water and pack the spinach into a large pot with a little olive oil in the bottom. Cover with the lid and heat. It takes about 5 minutes for…

If you have spaces to fill but a flat purse, get Erigeron karvinskianus(Mexican daisy). It is a fast-growing, inexpensive evergreen that can be plugged into crevices and cracks in stone walls, and even in shallow poor soil between pavers. Once established in your garden it will never leave, and will pop up in the most unexpected places. It might sometimes take a rest in the heat of summer only to reappear and thrive again when things cool off. If you take good care of it, fleabane will produce masses of tiny white daisy flowers tinged in pink almost all year long. It is hardy and will grow in full sun to semi-shade in sandy, well-drained soil. Water regularly in summer and less in winter. When necessary, simply trim it back…

These weird and wonderful evergreen perennials, which flower for months on end, originated from the crossing of two Australian species to get a large range of dwarf cultivars (50 – 60cm x 45cm) with big flower power in a wide array of bright colours. Underground horizontal rhizomes give life to clumps of tough, sword-like green leaves with fans of leafless stalks topped by racemes of tubular two-lipped blooms. Both stalks and flowers are covered in colourful woolly hairs, giving them a velvety touch. Maturing flowers flare open at their tips into six greenish petals resembling a small paw. The flowers are long-lasting on the plant as well as in a vase and are very popular as commercially grown cut flowers. Garden plants will flower virtually all year long if given…

Herb of the month Parsley is a garden staple with a surprising number of benefits. As a garnish it adds the finishing touch to a dish. It is a good source of vitamin C, as well as other vitamins, soothes indigestion and is a natural diuretic. Chop and add to pet’s food to get rid of worms. In the garden, it attracts aphids away from the roses and vegetables. It needs at least four hours of sun a day, and deep, fertile soil that drains well. Fertilise monthly and water regularly. The soil should never dry out completely. Do not plant with mint. Yellowing leaves indicate a drainage problem (too waterlogged) or a lack of fertiliser. Set out new plants every six months.…

Rose care for August In most areas, complete the pruning by the first week of August. In very cold areas, like Underberg, Kokstad and the Eastern Free State, delay pruning until the middle or end of August. If the soil was not dug over, composted and fertilised after pruning, do so before the roses start sprouting. Increase watering to twice a week as the roses are entering their most active growing phase. Fertilise with Vigorosa. If the roses were fertilised after pruning, delay fertilising until the end of August or early September. Start checking the tips of new growth for aphids. Spray with Ludwig’s Insect Spray or drench around the roses with Koinor, which also eradicates thrips. It has a long-lasting action. From the end of August, or as the…

Spray citrus against scale, and plant deciduous fruit trees and berry canes. Keep all subtropical fruit well-watered and feed with a fertiliser for fruit and flowers. Prune formal and informal hedges and clean up under them. Feed with a balanced fertiliser and water well. Prune back the following autumn- and winter-flowering shrubs as soon as they have finished flowering: poinsettea, plumbago, tecoma, hypericums, heliotropes, solanums, canary creeper, golden shower and buddleja. Prune wisterias as soon as they have finished flowering by cutting back the side branches to about three buds. You can start planting summer-flowering bulbs like gladiolus, spider lily, George lily, tuberose, galtonia, watsonia, schizostylis, liatris, crocosmia, eucomis and storm lily. In temperate areas start sowing summer annuals in prepared seed trays, to fill gaps in borders. Sow seeds…

Many moons ago I was sent on a 3-day course to learn about ‘problem solving and decision making’. Identifying the problem (a problem is not always perceived as a problem) required asking a lot of questions to ascertain exactly what was wrong and why. Resolving the problem required as many (hopefully logical) steps to minimise the damage caused, by making good decisions. This course has stood me in good stead up until now. But since being treated like a kid and told by a so-called ‘Command Council’ to shut-up, what to do and what not to do, what to wear and what not to wear, what I can and can’t buy and eat, to stay at home, and even that ‘Friday comes after Thursday’, something seems to have affected my…

Camellia ‘Valentine Day’ This is a slow-growing but robust cultivar of C. japonica and C. reticulata, and is regarded as an old-fashioned heritage plant. It can be used as a large background shrub or small specimen tree (1.8m – 2.4m). The growth habit is upright and evergreen with glossy oval leaves. Very large double blooms with prominent rose bud centres appear in late winter to spring. The flower colour is deep rose pink. Growing requirements are dappled shade (morning sun and afternoon shade), acidic, well-draining and compost-enriched soil, and organic mulching to keep the root system cool. Water needs are average to low, but special care should be taken not to allow the plants to dry out too much during bud-setting from late summer to autumn. Loropetalum ‘Plum Gorgeous’ This…

The wild peach or wildeperske is an easily grown small or medium-sized, evergreen or semi-deciduous tree. While it usually reaches 4 – 13m tall in gardens, with a spread of about 3m, very old wild specimens can grow to 20m in height. Widely distributed within South Africa, it belongs to the family Achariaceae and occurs from the Western Cape to Limpopo, extending to Kenya in tropical East Africa. It is found along the margins of coastal and inland forests, as well as on rocky hill and mountain slopes in full sun. Depending on wild location, the leaf margins may be flat or slightly wavy, or strongly serrated and similar to those of commercial peach trees, hence the common name. The trees sometimes develop multiple trunks and have an appealing smooth,…

The gardener’s version of Mission Impossible? Repotting a cactus. It is a tedious activity that only comes once every few years but remains in our nightmares. If that time has come for you, follow these few steps to protect your green thumbs and keep your cactus happy. You will need Braai tongs (or use newspaper) A slightly larger pot – one size up is usually enough Cacti and Succulent potting soil or make your own with 50% pool filter sand and 50% potting soil Gravel Instructions Repot your cactus when roots appear on the sides of the pot, or every 3-4 years. Use braai tongs to loop around the centre of the cactus. Holding the sides together, place the pot on its side and gently pull it out. Fill the…

Wall art For a wall in a light, airy spot 100-grit sandpaper A selection of air plants Tools: Drill, 22mm spade bit, 5mm What you need 4 x 22mm PVC elbows (we painted ours copper colour, don’t use copper as it could be toxic to your plants) 1 x 400mm x 200mm plank Twine Chalk paint Paintbrush Super contact adhesive TIP Place in a light position, but not in direct sunlit, and spritz weekly, or twice weekly in hot weather, to keep the plants happy. Add a liquid fertiliser to the water to give them a boost. Here are some more ideas. Use the QR code to watch the video on how to make these. Desk art Bathroom art…

We combined: Anigozanthos ‘Bush Bonanza’ – a vigorous variety with golden-yellow flowers sitting atop slightly reddish stems. Salvia ‘Lancelot’ – a new perennial salvia on the block with silvery-white felted leaves and lavender flowers with a pleasant sage fragrance. Petunia ‘Shock Wave Denim’ – a densely cascading petunia producing an avalanche of stunning blue-purple flowers. Anigozanthos indoors? The novelty value of these plants in full, magnificent flower will cause you to want to carry them indoors too! You can do this if the plant: Is kept on a sunny window sill; is watered more often than garden plants, but not left with sodden roots all the time. While the plant is indoors, pick off some blooms to put in a vase.…

Correa alba ticks all boxes as a plant for all seasons, all climates and all difficult spots in a garden. It is a fast-growing evergreen shrub with leathery grey-green leaves and a naturally dense, rounded habit. If left unchecked it can reach a height and spread of 1.5m, but it responds very well to pruning into any size or formal shape – it will also work well as a hedge. White correa loves full sun and hot spots such as a gravel or rock garden, as well as dappled sunlight, which means you can plant it under trees where the shade is not too dense. It is not fussy about soil, provided that drainage is good. Regular watering is needed at first, but well-established plants are extremely drought-hardy. Correa is…

Plumbago auriculata (Cape leadwort or plumbago) is described as a scrambler, and you can see why as this lovely indigenous shrub will send long stems through the branches of other large plants in its quest for sunlight. Now that the autumn flowering season is over, you can now prune your overgrown plumbagoes hard by removing leggy stems and cutting the whole bush back by about ⅔ of its size. Next remove all old stems in the centre of the plant to allow in air and light. When the pruning is done, spread out a fresh layer of compost around it and feed generously with a slow-release fertiliser for flowering shrubs. Water well afterwards and look forward to a fine show of sky-blue, phlox-like flowers in late summer to next autumn.…

Close your eyes. Imagine a relaxing spot in your garden, the one place you go when you need a break from the world. A space to wind down and be at peace. Imagine the fresh air, the sounds of birds and leaves rustling around you as you sigh and sink into nature and all its glory. Regardless of what you imagined, I guarantee it could be made considerably better with the addition of a water feature (unless you already imagined one, in which case props to you). The sound of water naturally soothes us, as our brain interprets the sound as non-threatening, and it can even induce a meditative state. A modern water feature in your garden also screams ‘I’m a pro at garden design. I’ve put tons of thought…

Or to be honest, they should be there but they might not be because they could have been wiped out by poisons (even organic ones), insufficient food (too few flowers), no shelter (mulch) or a lack of water. “In the long term,” says agricultural scientist Johan Gerber, “these organisms play a role in the natural control of pests in the garden.” Johan is a tireless campaigner for environmentally responsible gardening. For any gardener wanting to share the garden space in a mutually beneficial way, his book, The Garden Guardian’s guide to environmentally responsible garden care, is both instructive and inspiring. Restoring the balance The use of pesticides is a major reason for the lack of beneficial insects in the garden, but not the only reason, says Johan. Low-maintenance gardens consisting…

Hellebores may be slow growing, but once you have them in the garden they will give years of pleasure. Once established, hellebore plants are drought-resistant, frost-hardy and robust, flowering from June to October. These long-lasting perennials are virtually free of disease, and with their abundant flowering habit and myriad of forms and colours, they are a must for any garden. Here are some growing tips: Helleboresdobestinpartial or dappled shade. Helleboreplantsrequireagood, well-drained loam enriched with plenty of compost and bonemeal. They will tolerate slightly acidic soils, but prefer a pH of about 7. As they are deep rooted, it’s best to plant them in deep, well-prepared holes. A dressing of general fertiliser in autumn helps the plants to thrive during the winter growing season. Their site should be moist…

Encore azaleas are simply irresistible for the following reasons: They have a dense, rounded and dwarf growth habit, which makes them perfect for pots and small gardens. Average size: 60 – 90cm x 60 – 90cm. They are evergreen and cold-hardy. Semi-double flowers appear more than once a year: the main flower flush in early spring, some flowers in summer, and a second peak in autumn. They thrive in full sun as well as partial shade. Morning sun and afternoon shade is perfect. In the garden: Plant them in humus-rich soil that drains very well, making sure that the top of the root ball is slightly above the soil level. Mulch with acidic pine needles or bark chips and water regularly. Fertilise them with a balanced, slow-release fertiliser straight after…

Add the sparkle and freshness of early spring with fluffy mounds of Gypsophila muralis ‘Gypsy’ – a new range that produce a profusion of semi-double flowers. This is a great bordering annual for small gardens, good for billowing hanging baskets, perfect as a soft filler for mixed containers and fantastic for bulging up and spilling out of window boxes. Willing in full sun and semi-shade and available in white, pink and deep rose. Height: 20 – 25cm and spread: 30 – 35cm.…

For gardeners the problem of dry skin is made worse by working in the garden, coupled in 2020 with the constant use of hand sanitiser. Fear winter no longer, for your plants are once again here to save you! The soothing, moisturising and cooling properties of aloe vera make it a prime candidate for a healing skin cream, and you can make your own by following these simple steps: You Will Need 5 aloe vera leaves 500ml aqueous cream 1 teaspoon vitamin E oil 1 tablespoon glycerine Pot and glass bowl to double boil Beater Glass jar Funnel Instructions 1. Before you start, sterilise the glass jar by filling it with boiling water, and then leave it to cool. 2. Place a pot filled with water on the stove and…

Verbenas tick all gardeners’ boxes: they’re prolific bloomers, hardy, heat-tolerant and, what we all want, they’re low maintenance. There’s a great variety to choose from – your standard bedding types, container and hanging basket varieties, and even spreading landscape options. Plant them in your garden in a sunny spot with well-draining soil, ideally one that gets about eight hours of direct sunlight every day. After the initial care and watering needed to establish your plants, only water them every so often – once the top centimetre of soil has dried out. Deadheading the dead or faded blooms on your verbenas is not a mammoth task and will make sure they don’t stop flowering.…