Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2022 i The Gardener Magazine

We don’t get many chances in life to honour people, especially while they are still alive! You know it’s true! But today I write to honour a friend who I got to know through our world of gardening when I was still a wee seedling. We both grew up in gardening, so to speak, and have travelled a long journey together: committees, tours, trips and many, many long phone calls. This is Wayne Stewart, owner of Eckards Garden Pavilion in Bedfordview, Gauteng. We both served on the board of the South African Nursery Association for over 10 years; I was led by him as the president of the association and worked alongside him as vice president. At the prestigious gala dinner of this year’s annual SANA convention (which was the…

Why are grasses important? There are reasons why 40% of the earth’s land mass is covered by grasslands: these vast areas of usually moderate to low rainfall are filled with grasses that support a teeming plant, insect and wildlife world, and they literally hold the land in place. A world without grasslands would be a very different place, a dusty desert. In fact, grasslands are considered one of the most important biomes on earth. Grasses: • Provide food for humans People rely on grains as their main source of food in most countries, particularly in low-income countries. Although diets are changing, the world’s daily food intake is made up of 45% grain including wheat, rice, wild rice, corn, oats, barley, millet, sorghum and rye, out of the potential 10 000…

Petunias are renowned for three reasons; they’ve been in the gardening trade forever (they’ve been known since the mid-1700s at least), they’re generous bloomers and there’s a petunia to suit every season. Petunia grandiflora, as the name suggests, has large flowers and spreads vigorously so is more suitable for garden beds. Petunia multiflora has blooms about half the size but produces double the quantity of P. grandiflora. They also have a more mound-like growth habit, which makes them perfect for filling in gaps or as borders for a garden bed. Petunia milliflora has very small flowers but they are prolific in nature. ‘Milliflora’ means ‘thousand flowers’, so if it’s abundance you’re after, this is the one for you. Vegetative petunias come in unique colours and are the best choice for…

Rocket is probably the easiest herb to grow from seed, and its peppery leaves offer just the right kind of tang for spring and summer salads. This zesty herb originates from the Mediterranean regions. Not surprisingly, it is used as a fresh topping for pizzas and open sandwiches or for tossing through pasta before serving. Like basil, it makes a rather tasty pesto for flavouring pasta, soups and baked or roasted vegetables. Older, spicier leaves can be added to stir-fries, egg dishes, soups and stews. Kirchhoffs has two types of rocket available in seed packets: wild rocket (Diplotaxis tenuifolia) and garden rocket (Eruca sativa). Wild rocket has narrow, deeply lobed aromatic leaves and a stronger flavour than normal rocket. It is favoured by chefs as a microgreen or baby leaf…

Spring scarifying of lawns, normally performed in August in temperate climates or in September in cold regions, has become a bit ‘old school’. This is because modern, evergreen, tuft-forming grass blends and lawn types like Berea or Durban grass traditionally planted in subtropical garden should never be cut too low and so don’t require scarification. So when beginning your spring treatment, just mow the lawn as you would normally do before following the next steps. Runner-type lawns like kikuyu and some of the tougher cynodon grasses can, however, be cut quite low and raked afterwards to remove and loosen the mat of old roots. Spiking Spiking your whole lawn with a garden fork will aerate the compacted soil and stimulate root growth as it will let air, water and nutrients…

An unsightly disfiguration of the leaves on lemon trees and ornamental indigenous trees such as cabbage and coral trees is common. The pest that causes these ugly bumps on the leaves is called citrus psylla. Adult psyllids, which have limited flying skills, lay their eggs on the margins of young, actively growing leaves. The emerging nymphs that are maturing to psyllids cause these galls and malformed leaves while feeding. There are usually repeated generations in a year. The tree and its fruit are not harmed unless the infestation is severe, in which case the infected parts should be removed. Predatory insects like ladybirds, wasps, lacewings as well as birds and spiders can help to control the psylla population, and the control of ants nearby can also help. Spraying the infected…

The 2022 Chelsea Flower Show, held from the 24 – 26 May this year, celebrates horticulture like nothing else can, with blooms at their most magnificent and garden design at its most ingenious. This year was no different, with plenty of celebrities in addition to the Queen’s visit, but it was the gardens and the plants that stole the show. Here are just some of the ideas we got from this year’s spectacle: Out of 20 new plants painstakingly developed by growers and breeders, these are the three that made it into top position on this year’s list:…

Some plants have an ethereal grace if planted near a simple bowl of water, close to a tap, or in a gravelled area with minimalistic planting such as a zen-like garden. Fern-leaf bamboo (Arundinaria disticha) has it and gives off a sense of serenity and calm. It might not be the first plant you notice and pick up in a nursery, but if you bring it home and plant it you will have the pleasure of its tropical look for years. Typical of a dwarf bamboo are the thin, reedy stems and lush green ferny leaves that create a soft mound of 1 x 1m. This native from Japan grows in full sun or semi-shade and is cold, but not frost, hardy. It tends to invade space a bit (just…

The secret of success with pruning relies on what, when and how to prune plants. You are not going to necessarily kill off a plant if you prune it at a different time of year, but doing it to some at the wrong time can result in a loss of seasonal flowering. Another point to remember is that spring pruning done too early in cold gardens that can receive late frost can cause damage to fresh new growth that has been stimulated – in this case, it is better to wait until the end of September or even early October. For the rest of us, it’s time to do some graft with the sharp blades. Hard pruning of soft woody shrubs that have flowered in late summer and autumn:…

Lifestyle College starts their next Landscape Design Course on the 1 August for a full year of top quality learning and at the end of it, producing gardens like these. Enrol today at 084 668 1568 or email marketing@lifestyle college.co.za…

Having taken in two needy puppies that have since grown into huge, hungry and energetic dogs, it’s been a challenge to develop a healthy diet that doesn’t implode the budget. I am also one of those soft-hearted owners who feels that just feeding your dogs biscuits is dead boring. What is life without gravy? My vet’s advice was to opt for the best-balanced dog biscuits that I could afford, and supplement that with a gravy using natural products (vegetables, lean chicken and liver) rather than tinned dog food, which contains preservatives and is more expensive. Veggies are rich in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, enzymes and phytonutrients. For instance, most squashes are rich in vitamins, especially A and C, as well as minerals that contribute to the overall health of the dog…

If you are looking for something different to grow, think about rhubarb. It is a short-lived perennial (about 5 years) that looks like a vegetable, but its tart-flavoured stems are eaten as a fruit, cooked on their own or with apples in puddings, tarts and crumbles. When paired with lemons, it makes a refreshing rhubarb lemonade. The plant itself is big, bold and beautiful with large green leaves and bright red or green stems. It is a feature plant for the veggie garden (or foliage garden) but it needs space. Apart from that, its basic requirements is deep, fertile soil that doesn’t dry out, especially in summer. Because plants need a dormant period in winter, they do best in cooler areas. August is the month to plant out rhubarb crowns…

‘Pompadour’ is an Antico Moderno rose with blooms that are as elaborate and decorative as the ‘pompadour’ hairstyle from the age of romance that was favoured by the ladies of the Royal French court from 1680’s onwards. Not surprisingly, this rose from the French rose breeder Delbard is sumptuously perfumed. This graceful shrub rose grows to shoulder height and has arching stems weighed down by the clusters of full-petalled blooms. Rose tasks for August • Increase watering, and if you didn’t fertilise after pruning in July, give the roses a boost with Vigorosa. • Prevent thrips and aphids, which deform leaves and spoil blooms, by drenching around the base of rose bushes with Koinor. This is taken up into the plant and has a long-lasting action, for up to six…

If you have a large pergola or want to cover a sturdy fence and like the idea of a romantic old-fashioned rambling rose, plant Rosa banksiae ‘Alba Plena’. Unlike climbing roses, the banksia rose has long thornless canes covered in small leaves and remains evergreen in temperate climates. It is a very vigorous semi-climber suitable for large gardens, and prefers full sun. It is cold and frost hardy and will tolerate heat, periods of drought, humidity and coastal conditions, and is quite resistant to the usual rose pests and diseases. Flowering time in spring is spectacular when masses of double creamy-white, violet-scented flowers appear. They stick around for a few weeks, dropping blown petals like confetti around the plant, which is another endearing characteristic. Banksia roses don’t repeat bloom and…

✓ Start feeding hydrangeas with specialised fertiliser for blue or pink flowers. ✓ Fuchsias in the garden can be given a dressing of nitrogen-rich fertiliser, and those in pots can be re-potted into fresh potting soil. Supply a mulch around the plants and start pinching out the growth points to encourage bushy plants with lots of flowers. ✓ Feed all tropical fruit trees and pruned deciduous fruit trees. ✓ Feed acid-loving plants like azaleas, gardenias and brunfelsias with a microelement mixture to correct yellowing leaves and mulch with pine needles or pine bark. ✓ In late August you can start planting all the summer-flowering bulbs like gladioli, cannas, spider lilies, George lilies, tuberoses, galtonias, watsonias, schizostylis, liatris, crocosmias, eucomises and storm lilies. ✓ Start sowing hardy summer-flowering annuals in prepared…