Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2020 i The Gardener Magazine

I was dreading the day that I had to take my first flight since Covid-19 upended the world. I have been avoiding air travel at all costs; I much prefer the idea of being in my own bubble in my home office, dogs around me, my garden to look at. But alas, I have had to bite the bullet and head to the skies. So here I am safely in Johannesburg on 2 November, after a flight without very much drama! I did it! Of course, as happens whenever we are anxious, last night was not a good night of sleep: a peanut butter sandwich at 2:30am, letting the dogs out at 4am, and then the alarm going off at 5am – mmm, the joys of travel! The fur kids…

Landscaper Mike Carver is no stranger to Blair Athol: his gift of creating magnificent natural water features has led to a number of commissions on the estate. When a resident of the estate approached him to work his magic, Mike was all too happy to oblige. “When I first surveyed the property, I immediately noticed a peaceful copse of trees at its top end, which I knew would be the perfect frame for a series of streams and waterfalls,” commented Mike. “I particularly like using indigenous plants where possible and the mix of karee (Searsia lancea), white stinkwood (Celtis africana) and river bushwillow (Combretum erythrophyllum) gave me a wonderful mixture of shapes and textures to work with.” From there the property slopes down to the access road, with the homestead…

WHAT YOU WILL NEED Succulent cuttings with 2cm-long stems. (We used mini aeoniums, echeverias and graptopetalums.) 2.5mm gauge wire Side cutter/pliers Rope Ribbon Glue gun Wooden beads Twine STEPS TIP: Use a skewer to guide twine through the beads’ holes.…

Zinnia marylandica is a hybrid cross, so simply put these are not the fussy, musty zinnias of old. These strong, disease-resistant plants have outstanding heat and drought tolerance and come in a range of unique, bright colours. Varieties available on the market are called ‘Zahara’ or ‘Profusion’. The plants flower all summer long, are bushier and more compact (35 – 50cm high), and don’t get diseases like rust or mildew, which sometimes plague the originals. This sun lover will thrive well in a humus-rich, well-drained, fertile soil. Plants look good and keep flowering with almost no care, surviving irregular watering, heat, humidity and buckets of rain (provided there is good drainage). Choose between single and double blooms and let them shine in borders, beds and containers.…

Such is the vigour and beauty of some large bulbs, like summer-flowering amaryllis, that they don’t even have to be planted to bring indoor pleasure. If you have planted your bulbs in pots the conventional way (and exactly six weeks before Christmas Day, as we reminded you to do last month), you can simply display the flowering plants in pretty cover pots with some candles and other decorations. If you are lucky enough to have these bulbs growing outside in the garden (they can live for many years and will multiply easily), chances are that they will be in flower and you can pick the long-stemmed flowerheads to arrange in a vase. Do this the day before: Cut the flower stalks a few centimetres above the bulbs at a 45°…

You’ll need 3 x 1100mm x 180mm X 60mm planks 4 x 1000mm x 10mm threaded bar 4 x threaded coupling bolts 2 x 10mm eye bolts 12 x 10mm nuts 4 x coupling nuts 12 x 10mm fender washers Woodoc 30 Exterior Sealer (Clear, Low Gloss) Woodoc Colours (Opal) Mineral turpentine Tools Cordless drill and 10mm drill bit, pencil, number 10 spanner, 80 – 100-grit sandpaper and sanding block/sander, paintbrush, steel wool, clean and dry cloths, flat stirring spatula Do this 1. Sand the three planks. 2. After sanding, wipe the surface with a clean, dry cloth to remove all dust. 3. Wipe the surface with mineral turpentine and allow to dry. 4. Open the Woodoc 30 and stir well with a flat spatula. 5. Shake the Woodoc Colours…

1. Group outdoor pots together in threes The famous Rule of Three says things are inherently more interesting, enjoyable, and memorable when presented in threes. This rule goes as far back as ancient times when the Romans used the phrase omne trium perfectum – ‘everything that comes in threes is perfect’. Lazy gardeners can co-opt this rule by grouping outdoor pots together in threes. Take it a step further by grouping pots of three different sizes in a patio corner or near your front door. So simple, yet so much more pleasing to the eye. 2. Prune, prune, prune! There is something powerful about pruning. Armed with shears, a gardener goes from a tender carer to a maniacal plant dictator, lopping off tree limbs with glee. Not only is this…

Do you have a happy place? Just being in the garden is enough for most of us, but how about creating a special space just for you? Here are some ideas that also have practical uses! Make your own potting bench I couldn’t live without mine. A potting bench means that you don’t have to bend over to sow seed in trays or repot plants. It is perfect for growing trays of baby-leaf lettuce and spinach (harvesting is a cinch). Everything can be kept in one place: geminating and seedling mix, garden tools, fertiliser, even the wormery or bokashi bin if there is enough space. Try this Upscale an old desk or dresser that has drawers for keeping seed, plant ties, labels and what have you, and shelves for potting…

POT 1 SANTA SUIT Mask out the lip of the pot and spray-paint the pot red. Once dry, mask below the lip and spray-paint the pot lip white. If you don’t have black buttons, spray-paint the buttons black. Stick the buttons to the side of pot with a glue gun. We planted a Begonia elatior ‘Red’ in our pot and placed coir husk around the plant. WHAT YOU NEED A pot Red spray-paint Black spray-paint White spray-paint Masking tape 3 buttons Glue gun POT 2 GREEN FAIRY LIGHTS Spray-paint a pot green. Once dry, draw a string of lights with TipEx pen around and just under the rim. Using earbuds, dab coloured spots onto the drawn string of lights. We used a jade plant (Crassula ovata) for this pot and…

Secure the ends of your wire loop by bending over and hooking together. Wind rosemary around the hoop and secure with garden wire. Repeat the rosemary until your wreath is thick and lush. Give the wreath a dusting of golden spray paint. Place in your favourite spot and light the candle. (Never leave burning candles unattended.) WHAT YOU WILL NEED 2.5mm gauge wire cut into 250mm loop Plastic coated garden wire Gold spray paint Rosemary sprigs, approximately 300mm long Candle *Extra decorations optional…

Not all lobelias are neatly mounded for edge planting or trailing for hanging baskets, and not all lobelias are annuals with predominantly blue flowers. he tall and stately cardinal lobelia (Lobelia x speciosa) is a garden cultivar bred from two veld flower species (L. cardinalis and L. siphilitica) that love to grow in natural wetland areas. It is a deciduous, clump-forming perennial with a very erect growth habit, narrow leaves and terminal racemes of many two-lipped flowers that appear from mid-summer to late autumn. Now that we have dealt with the basics, we can wax lyrical about the latest cardinal flower hybrids, like the ‘Starship’ range. Flower colours range from very blue, to deep rose and scarlet red with either green or deep bronze leaves with maroon stems. These plants…

Highveld and KwaZulu-Natal Midlands Asparagus, bush and runner beans, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, cucumbers, Swiss chard Middleveld (Tshwane and other less frosty areas) Asparagus, bush and runner beans, beetroot, cucumbers, sweetcorn, pumpkins, bush and trailing squashes, sweetcorn, sweet melons, Swiss chard, tomatoes Eastern Cape and little Karoo Asparagus, bush and runner beans, beetroot, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, cucumbers, radishes, bush and trailing squashes, sweetcorn Northern Cape and Great Karoo Asparagus, bush and runner beans, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, cucumbers, pumpkins, Swiss chard Western Cape (and southern coast) Asparagus, bush and runner beans, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, lettuce, sweet melons, bush and trailing squashes, sweetcorn Lowveld and KwaZulu-Natal coast Nothing to sow…

Peperomia angulata Peperomia angulata is affectionately known as the beetle peperomia. It has a similar appearance to the watermelon peperomia – green leaves with yellow stripes in a similar pattern to a watermelon rind – that accounts for its new-found popularity. The orange-tinted stems add contrast and brightness that makes this variety irresistible to collectors. It remains compact throughout growth, reaching upwards and falling when the stems are heavy – an ideal option for hanging baskets. Peperomia caperata When you think peperomia, P. caperata is bound to be one of the first thoughts. This is one of the most popular peperomias, with heart-shaped, wrinkled leaves and cream or red coloured spikes when the plant is flowering. Unlike some other varieties, it comes in a range of colours, from green to…

If anyone deserves a Christmas present this year, its our furry four-legged friends. Dogs give us unconditional love 365 days a year, but often miss out on the Christmas fun (unless they sneak some leftover roast). With this DIY, you can embrace the Christmas baking spirit, and make your dogs happy in the process. Although we’re all for collaboration in the kitchen, we recommend you make these as a surprise treat – if pets are involved, there may not be anything left to bake, and a huge mess to clean up afterwards. STEPS Preheat the oven to 180°C Combine all ingredients with a mixer or combine by hand. Optional: Use natural food colouring to add to dough for decorating biscuits. Roll out into a square and use Christmas cookie cutters…

Cut one loop of the wire role (approximately 500mm in diameter). Bend over the ends and clip them together, crimping the ends down. This will be your frame. Spray-paint both sides of the wire as well as some of the cones and seed pods. Wind penny gum around frame and secure with garden wire. Create a pocket for your staghorn with the stocking and coir, and tie it to the frame.Attach moss and seed pods to hide the stocking. Stick cones to the frame, working your way around the base of the frame. Place tillandsias to fill gaps in wreath. Add rope to the top, and hang. For extra effect, add fairy lights. This wreath will go on long after the festive season. It can even be kept on a…

Bedroom boarder The peace lily (Spathiphyllum wallisii) is the perfect houseplant to keep in a bedroom where natural light might be on the low side. This beautiful plant, with its glossy dark green foliage, is also a highly regarded air purifier. The plant will naturally bloom in spring and summer if kept in brighter light, like near a lamp or close to a window, and also if it is a little root-bound, which tells us this is not a demanding plant needing replanting too often. The flowers are pure white on tall stems and resemble little sails, hence the other common name: white sails. One of its other characteristics is the ability to recover spectacularly when watered after wilting due to being kept too dry. Try to avoid this, however,…

Understanding the basic requirements of the alpine-like Lewisia cotyledon, also called bitterroot, enables you to grow one of the prettiest summer-flowering succulents with ease. Although it is recommended for rock gardens and borders, you will get plenty of joy from it in a deep pot that will allow space for its taproot to grow unimpeded. The soil medium must be very well-draining and should have a mix of 50% sharp sand or grit and 50% potting soil. This plant makes substantial rosettes of fleshy spoon-shaped leaves above which sprays of brightly coloured dainty, flat-petalled flowers in shades of pink, magenta, yellow, peach, orange and white are carried. The whole package, of about 15 – 30cm wide and high, is cute beyond belief! To prevent rot, place a collar of sharp…

Pick green beans (bush and runner) before the seeds in the pods start to swell. Baby marrows picked small are sweeter and crunchier. Carrots get tough if left in the ground for too long. The ideal harvest size for beetroot is 5 – 8cm in diameter. Increase the production of Swiss chard by regular picking. Harvest 2 – 3 of the outer leaves from a plant. Harvest sweetcorn cobs within 2 – 3 days of being harvest-ready (when the tassels/silks of the female flowers have completely withered and turned brown). Leaving cobs on for too long results in chewy, inedible cobs. Pick cucumbers as soon as they mature. Leaving them on the plant reduces its vigour.…

You would think that I would have found plenty of spare time during the Covid-19 lockdown to work on my plants, but as things happen, I have been busier than ever. As a consequence, some of my bonsai have suffered from a bit of neglect. The Commiphora harveyi forest you see in the photos is one of them. Commiphora harveyi is a very common tree in Zululand, and is found throughout the wetter parts of our country. It is often called a paper-bark, because its bark can peel off like paper, but there are numerous tree species in this country that are called paper-bark trees. We tend to call them ‘commis’, and they belong to the myrrh family of plants. Commis are one of my favourite plant species for bonsai;…

They have no nest egg left over for the usual end-of-year holidays. The booming trade of past Novembers and Decembers that helped to create a 13th check or a small bonus is not on the cards either this year. Holiday bookings made last year in hope and excitement have had to be cancelled. The old beach buggy with a new layer of paint in canary yellow is no longer around, and neither are the beloved off-road caravan, extensive camping gear, mountain bikes, kayaks and fishing rods. All of it, along with other material luxuries, had to be sold to pay school fees, put food on the table, keep their businesses afloat and to pay the salaries of the staff they can thankfully still employ. They are quiet and much more…