Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2025 i The Gardener Magazine

Delphiniums for summer-long colour If you are looking for something stately and colourful in your summer garden, you can’t go wrong with delphiniums. These perennials tower over smaller annuals with their tall spikes of usually blue, mauve, pink or white flowers, which will last in the garden and make excellent cut flowers. ● Choose a position in full sun that is sheltered from the wind. ● Soil should be rich and well-draining. Add plenty of compost into the soil at planting. They prefer a more alkaline soil with a pH range of 6.0 to 7.5. ● Feed with a balanced liquid fertiliser every 2-3 weeks from the beginning of spring. ● Plants may need staking when they reach around 30 cm high. ● If there is enough rain, they will…

Salvias There is a range of salvias commonly known as bedding salvias that are planted as annuals and invariably have brightly coloured flower plumes that will add some sparkle to any garden. These compact plants will grow to 20-40 cm, making them ideal for the front of garden beds or for containers. Try these • Salvia‘Fire Breather’ is a new variety of compact salvia with an excellent plant habit and exceptional uniformity. The contrast between the fiery red spike and the healthy green leaves makes this a standout in the garden. • Salvia ‘Vista’ is a dwarf salvia that flowers all season and into autumn if deadheaded regularly. They feature long-tubed bright flowers in dense, erect, terminal racemes in red, purple, cream, salmon, and lavender. These salvias need: Full sun…

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You know your plants need a repot when the roots are climbing through the drainage holes! October is ideal, as the rhizomes have just awakened from their winter slumber. Repotting also lets you divide clumps, creating space for more pitchers and extra plants to share with fellow ‘carnies’. Give your Sarracenia the perfect home with Bark Unlimited’s Carnivorous Plant Mix, specially blended to mimic their natural habitat and support strong root growth. Here’s how to repot them for thriving results. 1. Soak your carnivorous plant mix in a tub of water to hydrate soil particles. 2. Remove the plant from the pot and trim away any dead pitchers. 3. Remove most of the soil from the roots to easily divide rhizomes. 4. Fill your pot halfway with potting medium, hold…

The plants 1. Phormium ‘Cream Stripe’ – need a pop, even in a pot? Pop in a phormium. Flaxes are available in many colour combinations and sizes, and we chose a variegated green and yellow one. 2. Plectranthus ciliatus ‘Sasha’ – this is the golden cousin of the speckled spur flower. It will produce delicate white flower sprays in autumn, but is more valued as a spreading foliage plant with its purple stems and golden yellow foliage, with the odd emerald green and bronze markings. 3. Crassula pellucida – low growing and creeping, with decorative light green succulent leaves and clusters of star-shaped pale pink or white flowers in spring. 4. Osteospermum ‘Akila Grand Canyon’ – this range is seeds-own and available in different colours. We picked a typical colour…

BEST DAYS FOR OCTOBER…

Once a freestanding home, and now one of four units in a private estate, it reflects a harmony between the old and the new. While the owners have made many changes to the property, there are still charming remnants of bygone days. A stubborn concrete fencing post that was impossible to remove, the old gatepost to the farmhouse, now incorporated into a potting shed, and the original wall-mounted cascading water feature in the courtyard garden, which have been lovingly preserved. However, the success story of this renovated garden is one of adaptation. Sustainable living When the home was purchased in the mid-2000s by its new owners, a large swimming pool dominated the front garden, which also sloped down to the driveway, making it difficult to maintain. With sustainable living a…

Consumer Choice Awards The Consumer Choice Award for Independent Garden Centres is a special nod to those who deliver outstanding customer service and consistently go the extra mile. Well done to all the winners and finalists for raising the bar in retail gardening. Through a mystery shopper program, independent garden centres welcomed visits from everyday individuals, some seasoned gardeners, others perhaps new to the craft. These shoppers, guided by a detailed evaluation form, assessed the performance across various departments. Interestingly, the consumer perspective revealed a less critical lens than perhaps the industry standard, with participating stores achieving remarkably high scores. To determine the final winners, we meticulously reviewed the detailed scores and invaluable feedback provided by our mystery shoppers. Here are the winners: DEPARTMENTAL AWARDS ✓ Best Indoor Section – Stodels,…

The concept of ‘Unique Utopia’ in garden trends is to escape the drudgery of daily life into a tropical paradise within your own garden. This style of gardening is over-the-top and filled with colours, textures and patterns. It’s also time to add bulbs into the mix for something different. Use vibrant, rich colours to transform a corner of your garden, taking inspiration from the tropics and blending large and small leaves with bold flowers. A visual spectacle that will get you reaching for a camera. Take inspiration from these images and then order your glads and dahlias. Gladioli ✔ Plant in spring once the temperatures are over 13 °C. ✔ Add plenty of compost to the soil and work in to about 40 cm deep to make the soil friable.…

Kiwifruit at home Actinidia deliciosa, originally from China, is primarily grown in New Zealand today for the commercial market. These tasty, but expensive, little egg-shaped fruits in the supermarket can easily be grown at home with some tips: ● You will need a male and female plant to get fruit. They both produce flowers, but it’s the females which will produce fruit. Some varieties are self-fertile if you can find them. ● They prefer a temperature of 5 to 25 °C for good fruiting, but they can survive temperatures of as low as -10 °C while dormant. This includes cooler areas of KwaZulu-Natal, the Highveld and Lowveld, as well as the Western Cape. The flowers must be protected from frost, and severe early frost will retard growth. Very high day…

Vintage for spring There is a way to display flowers, which means you can pick them at will from the garden and get a range of flowers. This is achieved by displaying them in a variety of containers. There are different ways to do this. Use one type of container, such as a selection of glass bottles. Alternatively, use a variety of ceramic mugs and bowls in different sizes and shapes, or gather all the vintage items in your home and group them by height and texture for an interesting display. Whatever you choose, be creative and have fun with it.…

The problem often lies not in what we do, but how we do it. Let’s start with a simple truth: weeds must never be allowed to flower. The moment they bloom, they set seed, and your problem multiplies – literally. Regular mowing prevents this, but here’s where most go wrong: mowing too low. Shaving your lawn down to stubble weakens the grass, exposes soil, and opens the door for weeds to thrive. Grass needs leaf surface to photosynthesise and build resilience. By contrast, a lawn kept slightly longer creates its own mulch layer, shading the soil and crowding out opportunistic weeds. Still battling broadleaf weeds? Understanding herbicides helps. Pre-emergent herbicides prevent weed seeds from germinating and should be applied early in the season. Post-emergent herbicides deal with visible weeds but…

Deeply hexagonal The roomy dimensions of this pot allowed us to plant more than one specimen of flowering annuals, perennials and some trusty ornamental grass. The plants 1. Argyranthemum ‘Grandaisy Yellow’ – the centre-pieces are two compact daisy bushes with very cheerful and large yellow flowers with dark centres. These perennials will flower until autumn if cut back lightly throughout summer. 2. Calibrachoa ‘Conga Deep Yellow’ – naturally compact and fast-growing, with prolific flowering for months on end. It is a classic spiller, which makes it perfect for containers. The ‘Conga’ range is available in a wide range of solid colours, as well as two-tones, stripes, patterns and double-flowered varieties. 3. Lobularia ‘Easy Breezy White’ – a variety of alyssum which spreads out into a soft cushion of small, honey-scented…

This is how to do it: 1 Gather everything you need before taking your cuttings, and then take a cutting at least 10 cm in length with a sharp pair of secateurs or scissors. Choose shoots without flowers and cut above a bud on the stem. Place in a plastic bag and refrigerate until ready to use (unless using them straightaway). Always take cuttings in the morning when there is plenty of moisture in the stems. 2 Prepare the growing medium. You can choose general potting soil, germinating mix, seedling mix, or even just plain sand to propagate. Fill a container – this can be a pot or tray – and tamp down the soil. To set the cuttings into the pot, use a pencil, dibber or dowel to make…

When I looked up the meaning of sayings about stupidity, it was explained as being the ‘stupid things that silly people do’. Further reading informed me that one is not necessarily judged by others as literally bonkers, but rather on one’s methodology of handling certain actions and their results. In the same vein, I also read that the ever-vigilant ‘woke’ people reckon that the ‘derogatory’ word ‘stupid’ should rather be replaced with ‘inadequate behaviour’. I am not calling others stupid, I am referring to myself, and when thinking of examples, I realised I have been guilty of many occasions of ‘inadequate behaviour’. They cannot be divulged here, and hopefully most are now shrouded in the mists of forgetfulness and forgiveness… As we have moved to a different town, we realised…

Dear Tanya, I’m writing from Port Elizabeth to ask for your advice regarding a tricky spot in my garden. We have a narrow garden bed alongside our swimming pool, which is only 60 cm wide. Between the bed and the pool is 50 cm of paving, and on the other side is our boundary wall topped with an electric fence. This area is fully shaded and damp in winter, while in summer it receives about half a day of sun and tends to be dry. The soil is sandy. Do you have any suggestions for plants that could thrive in this challenging space? I’d love to introduce some height for privacy and to draw attention away from the electric fence, but I need something that won’t interfere with it. Given…

Why you need a potting bench A potting bench provides a stable, elevated surface for planting, pruning, transplanting, and seed starting – saving your back and knees from excessive bending. It helps keep your gardening tools in one place and your garden shed or patio less cluttered. With dedicated storage, shelving, hooks, and drawers, a potting bench can house everything from potting soil and hand tools to seeds, gloves, and fertilisers. Best materials for a potting bench Choosing the right material depends on your climate, budget, and style. Timber is the most popular choice – rustic, attractive and sturdy. Treated pine is particularly good for outdoor use due to its resistance to rot and insects. Reclaimed wood offers a charming, eco-friendly option. If you prefer low maintenance, consider benches with…

A new rose ‘Missing You’ is a new Ludwig’s Roses GrandiRosa that combines vigour, health and charm. It grows into a neat 2 m-high bush, and its old-fashioned blooms exude a gentle, citrus-infused scent. Throughout the summer, it carries an abundance of buds that open into deep, cup-shaped blooms, finishing with a quartered rosette form. It easily outperforms many existing pink roses, and the dark green leaves are resistant to fungal diseases. It can be planted in a large pot, as a specimen, or to create a tidy screen against walls or a fence. Quick rose care checklist for this month ● Keep the roses in peak flowering condition by watering deeply once or twice a week. ● Keep on deadheading to encourage new blooms and keep the bushes neat.…

These three striking houseplants bring bold textures and glossy greens into your home with minimal effort. Whether you’re a seasoned collector or a budding enthusiast, they offer lush, low-maintenance appeal that thrives in most home environments. Here’s how to keep each looking its best: Dieffenbachia ‘Reflector’ This showstopper is all about statement foliage. Its large, deep green leaves are splashed with irregular lime and yellow markings that appear almost painted on, giving it the ‘reflector’ name. Dieffenbachia ‘Reflector’ thrives in bright, indirect light but will tolerate medium light. Keep the soil lightly moist, allowing the top few centimetres to dry out between waterings. Overwatering can lead to root rot, so ensure good drainage. It prefers higher humidity, so misting or placing it in a bright bathroom can help. As with…

Highveld and KwaZulu-Natal Midlands Asparagus, bush and runner beans, beetroot, brinjals, carrots, celery, cucumbers, chillies and sweet peppers, melons and watermelons, parsnips, pumpkins, radishes, spinach, Swiss chard, sweetcorn and mealies, bush and trailing squashes, tomatoes Middleveld (Tshwane and other less frosty areas) Asparagus, bush and runner beans, beetroot, brinjals, carrots, chillies and sweet peppers, cucumbers, melons and watermelons, parsnips, pumpkins, radishes, bush and trailing squashes, sweetcorn and mealies, spinach, Swiss chard, tomatoes Eastern Cape and Little Karoo Asparagus, bush and runner beans, beetroot, brinjals, cabbages, carrots, chillies and sweet peppers, cucumbers, lettuce, melons and watermelons, pumpkins, radishes, spinach, sweetcorn and mealies, bush and trailing squashes, Swiss chard, tomatoes Western Cape (and Southern coast) Asparagus, bush and runner beans, beetroot, brinjals, carrots, chillies and sweet peppers, cucumbers, lettuce, melons and watermelons,…

The plants 1. Brachyscome ‘Fresco Candy’ – a colourful hybrid of the Swan River daisy, which is a tough little annual groundcover. The ray florets of the bright little daisies can vary in colour from magenta (which we used) to mauve, blue and white, and surround bright yellow, brown or green centres. The foliage is feathery and fine, and mostly camouflaged by the mass of flowers. 2. Osteospermum ‘Akila White’ – it is Cape daisy time again, and this one takes pride of place with its upright habit, crispy white petals and bright yellow centres. 3. Kalanchoe pumila – a sprawling succulent with silvery-grey leaves and erect, dainty pink flowers with conspicuous anthers. 4. Bacopa ‘MegaCopa White’ – trailing, and very prolific with masses of brilliant white flowers adorned with…

When the first neon green cut flower chrysanthemums, so different from the traditional chrysanthemum colour palette, appeared years ago, it caused a bit of a stir. Nowadays, the rage is for surreal colourations on flowering garden and container plants – up to the point of ‘tyrannical cuteness’ as the Garden Media Group, ‘influencers’ and Pinterest might say. We agree, and picked some ‘unreal’-looking plants that are really out there for you to plant and drool over… Why are flowers colourful? Biological, ecological, and evolutionary factors play a role, but so does human impact through selective breeding on domesticated flowering plants, which expands the palette of colours that would never have evolved in nature. Dianthus ‘Amazon Neon’ Hybridising of dianthus species began as early as 1934. In 2025, we now have…

Get the look with my favorites A garden party is a wonderful way to celebrate the outdoors, bringing together friends and family in a relaxed setting. Surrounded by flowers and fresh air, it’s perfect for enjoying good food, laughter and conversation. You don’t need much to make it memorable; a few upcycled items can be utterly charming. Buckets of possibilities If you don’t have them, get them! Buckets can be used as drink coolers, filled with sand and used as candle holders or as utensil holders. My favourite is buckets filled with petals and floating candles. Personalise your buckets with a splash of paint; there are no limits when it comes to these versatile receptacles. Flour power All roads lead somewhere, and why not make the road to your party…