Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2022 i The Gardener Magazine

You will have often heard the saying that ‘the only constant is change’. Oh my goodness, how apt this saying is now! Our lives have changed, we have changed, the people around us have changed, and our relationships have changed. Our most intimate environment, our homes, have had the spotlight shone on them for the past two years: bedrooms were transformed into home offices, or the dining-room table had to get cleared superfast after the breakfast run so that Mom could make it look like an office, or at least a tidy space. Never before have we worried so much about our background spaces – yes, what do the others on that Zoom call see when they look at you on their screen? Would you ever have believed that there…

Anyone who has ever been to buy plants from a nursery knows that gardening isn’t cheap. Plus, there is no guarantee that the 2m-high magnolia in full flower that you just had to have and took out an extra bond for will actually survive in your garden. Seasoned gardeners know that you have to be savvy with what you have in order to make a spectacular garden with few resources. But it’s not all hard work: Mother Nature also provides. The joy of growing a crop of green peppers from the seeds you harvested from a fruit you bought at a supermarket, carefully dried, sowed, watered and fed, makes gardening more than just a hobby, but a way of life. Here are 10 ways to get big impact without blowing…

We’ve said it countless times before: healthy plants need healthy soil. If your garden is blessed with beautiful, rich, loamy soil, then good for you. If not, you might need to improve it to get the most out of your garden. The good news is that even if you have sandy or clay soil, it can be improved until it can support a healthy plant population. The golden rule of improving soil is adding organic matter to it, and there are a number of ways of doing so. Here are seven things that you can do in your garden that will make a big difference to the quality and health of the soil: 1 Compost When in doubt, add compost - we should put that on a The Gardener bumper…

Plant with What goes well in the background with the pretty and tough salvias, and has the same growth requirements? The vivid-blue phlox-like flowers of the all-time favourite Plumbago ‘Royal Cape’, of course! This is an excellent background or hedge plant with a compact growth form of about 1.5m x 1.5m. From spring to autumn, it is seldom not in flower. Quick fact: It is also a great pick if you are looking for something nice and easy to care for in large containers on a patio that gets a little shade during the day. ‘Royal Cape’ won’t mind that at all, and for the short while when it is not in flower, you will enjoy a cascade of fresh green foliage. Hot and fiery finery in front When you…

Heuchera ‘Purple Petticoats’ Heucheras or coral bells are back with a bang thanks to many varieties with intricately patterned leaves of different hues. Although their dainty little flower sprays are quite pretty, it is the leaves that attract the eye. The new varieties are tough and tolerant to heat and have medium water usage. One of them to go for is ‘Purple Petticoats’, which has dark purple and burgundy frilly leaves and cream flowers. This perennial will reach a size of about 35cm x 50cm. Plectranthus scutellarioides ‘Campfire’ There is a resurgence in popularity as far as coleus is concerned, with beautiful varieties that look very different to the old types of the past in their coffee tins on a grandma’s back porch. These new hybrids can take a lot…

Technology, innovation, products and just thinking differently can help us to reduce our water usage. We are already choosing species with a better drought tolerant factor, like those with grey foliage that reflects the sun’s rays away from the plant and keeps it cooler, which in turn reduces water loss. We are also now using many more succulents, which store water in their leaves and stems. Modern hybrids of old favourite perennials are now bred with a higher resistance to heat and have much lower water needs. But there is always something more that you can do, like the following: Save every rainy day Harvesting rainwater makes ecological and financial sense. Rainwater is relatively clean water that can be used in the garden for irrigation, in the swimming pool or…

When we picture an edible garden, we typically imagine neat rows of grouped vegetables, tidy orchards or raised beds overflowing with produce. These gardens have their own designated spaces, and a clear identity that most gardeners recognise. But what if your edible garden could match the meticulously landscaped areas of the rest of your garden? At first glance, you may not even know many of the plants were edible, as they blend seamlessly into your design aesthetic. That’s the goal of foodscaping, a popular movement combining the growth of edibles with the practice of landscaping. Foodscaping is not only about design, or making your garden beautiful and functional at the same time. It’s also about using all available garden space to grow your own produce to improve health, save money…

Sunflowers (Helianthus annuus) Sunflowers grow quickly and easily, and can be sown from early spring to midsummer. Garden centres will even have some of the modern and dwarf varieties in colour bags now, ready to plant and nearly in flower. Plant tall varieties of sunflowers in full sun in the background of a flower bed where they will shade other plants, and use the dwarf varieties somewhere in the middle. Enrich the soil with compost and plant the seed about 3mm deep and about 50cm – 90cm apart. Water well and keep the soil moist until germination, which is between 5 and 10 days. Growth thereafter is fast and furious. • ‘Dwarf Sunspot’ – A classic yellow with big seed-filled heads on dwarf bushes up to 60cm high. • ‘Cut…

FOR DRY SHADE The rienga lily, renga renga lily or New Zealand rock lily (Arthropodium cirratum) is a herbaceous, clump-forming perennial lily with soft, lime green foliage that adds lushness to any garden bed. The strap-like leaves surround masses of delicate starry flowers that are produced on a flower spike approximately 60cm in height. The lily-white flowers appear in abundance in late spring and continue popping up into summer. This is a maintenance-free plant that only needs to be kept looking tidy, which is done by removing the previous season’s bottom leaves every now and again. Arthropodium cirratum performs best in a fertile, well-drained soil. It can tolerate both sun or partial shade, but its strongest attribute is that it is an ideal plant for a dry and shady position,…

What you need Timber in the following dimensions (we used reclaimed pine): 2 x 1500mm x 175mm x 38mm (rocker top) 2 x 1200mm x 175mm x 38mm (rocker middle) 2 x 900mm x 175mm x 38mm (rocker bottom) 4 x 750mm x 90mm x 38mm (uprights) 2 x 600mm x 140mm x 38mm (footwell supports) 2 x 900mm x 175mm x 25mm (seats) 2 x 825mm x 140mm x 38mm (seat supports) 3 x 825mm x 175mm x 25mm (footwell) 2 x 825mm x 25mm dowel (handle bar) 8 x 6mm x 75mm coach screws 20 x 4mm x 50mm wood screws Methylated spirits 150-grit sandpaper 2 x 1L Woodoc Water-Borne MARINE 2 x 20ml Woodoc Colours, 1 in Full Moon and 1 in Teak Steps 1. Start by…

Build a water reservoir in the soil Makhro Home and Garden has introduced Aquafix, a polymer planting gel that absorbs up to 300 times its weight in water and acts as a reservoir in the soil. Along with water, it also absorbs water-soluble nutrients and fertilisers and then slowly releases them to the root zones as demanded by plants, which significantly reduces watering cycles and increases the seedling survival rate. www.makhro.co.za Solar watering Gardena’s AquaBloom Solar Powered Watering Set is designed to automatically water up to 20 plants without the requirement of a tap. You can use up to 14 pre-set watering programs that will run the pump in a water container to deliver water directly to the roots of your plants through drip irrigation. The whole system runs on…

A lone gardener can’t do much to change anything, but if we all pull together we might create a more positive outcome. The first place to start is with the eradication of invasive alien plants, which are still enjoying free boarding and lodging in our gardens. A basic definition of IAP’s (as they are referred to by SANBI at www.sanbi.org) is that they are products of unwise or unintentional plant introductions and are now widely considered to be a major threat to our biodiversity, human livelihoods and economic development. Simply put, they are dangerous plants that do not belong here anymore. They are choking our riverine areas, guzzling our water and threatening the delicate balance of ecosystems far beyond a normal suburban garden’s boundaries, perhaps without the gardener even noticing…

Planning your New Year’s resolutions? Exercising or becoming healthier in general probably features somewhere on the list. Before you splurge on an expensive year-long gym membership that, in all honesty, you may not end up using, take a glance at your garden. You may not realise it, but many of the activities we gardeners engage in outdoors count as exercise, and quite strenuous exercise too. Gardening is classified as moderate exercise by many organisations, which means you burn off 3 – 6 times more energy per minute than you would sitting down. Keeping up that activity for 30 minutes to an hour can burn around 300 calories – the same amount as a 30-minute, 5km run. Higher-intensity activities like digging or mowing burn more, but any movement around the garden…

What you need Large pot Potting soil Pebbles or piece of shadecloth 1 block palm peat Organic fertiliser Plants we used • Moss-curled parsley (Petroselinum crispum) – this plant is hight in antioxidants like vitamins C, A and E, which fight inflammation. It also helps to settle the stomach and aids in digestion. Parsley also acts as a natural breath freshener. • Coneflower (Echinacea ‘Cheyenne Spirit’) – echinacea boosts the immune system and mental health. It also aids in maintaining overall gut health. • Rocket (Eruca sativa) – this is a great detoxifying plant, filled with antioxidants. It also contains chlorophyll delivering vitamin K and calcium for healthy bones. In a salad: Roughly break up the rocket leaves and parsley. Pull the petals from the echinacea flowers and sprinkle them…

When they first moved into their little house with its medium-sized yard there was great excitement and visions of a vegetable garden surrounded by a lush hedge of lavender. I remarked that they should maybe think of baby steps first, just trying to keep their potted Ficus alive. I could see this house-warming gift was standing with its roots in water in a dark living room, with the blinds drawn tightly all day long. I told them that the Ficus should be watered sparingly and should receive more light, upon which I was asked how much is ‘sparse watering’ and how high should the light intensity be, in ‘lux’. My answer was that the-finger-in-the-soil touch to check if it is wet or dry would work, and just rolling up the…