Training roses to grow on vertical supports allows you to use vertical space in your garden while creating a memorable and creative garden feature. Most rose varieties are suitable for training onto supports, but climber, rambler, and piller roses are the plants of choice for best results. The roses also benefit from the air flowing through their foliage, helping them to dry more quickly and avoid fungal diseases. Read the rest of this entry »

Seed pans, wicker baskets and basins make ideal homes for small plants. Choose these containers for succulents and seaside plants, which won’t mind if the shallow soil dries out from time to time on hot sunny days. Read the rest of this entry »

The term ‘bulb’ includes corms, rhizomes and tubers — all of which store food beneath the ground during periods of drought and dormancy (see box, far right). They are mostly associated with spring, but the autumn-flowering plants in the main arrangement on the facing page grow from corms. Read the rest of this entry »

Use plants as a decorative feature at Christmas. Plant festive container arrangements to decorate the house, stoep and patio and give visitors a cheery welcome. Read the rest of this entry »

Suspended anywhere from a door to a tree, baskets of flowers have an old-fashioned appeal. But with the right plants and container, the hanging basket can have a place in even the most modern of settings. Read the rest of this entry »

Soft colours in gentle harmonies enhance a terrace, a patio or a quiet corner of the garden on sunny days and long, balmy twilit evenings.

Shades of mauve and pink are enhanced by the lilac-grey mulch, which was not only used in the pot but also spread onto the ground at its base. Read the rest of this entry »

Transport yourself to another land with displays inspired by foreign influences. The oriental look is well suited to containers, since it uses few plants and limited colour. In pots you can also create the perfect conditions for exotics that would normally be unattainable. Read the rest of this entry »

White a single container can create a focal point, several pots grouped close together can completely transform a bare patio or balcony. Make the most of the flexibility of containers to achieve the effect you want. Read the rest of this entry »

Bonsai will thrive in a semi-shaded spot that is exposed to a couple of hours of morning sun each day. Try to avoid the hot midday and afternoon sun. A light, airy environment is best for growing trees in, but do not expose them to the cold, dry winds that blow inland, or the drying, salty wind along the coast. They also do not do well in dark, damp corners of patios where there is too little light and all sorts of pests and diseases can breed. Read the rest of this entry »

CERAMIC

Ceramic containers have a definite place in the home and there is such a wonderful selection from which to choose.

From the East has come a fine assemblage of ceramic containers, many of them decorated with ornate and intricate designs. These are quite expensive but most of them can be regarded as works of art due to the high standard of workmanship and quality finishes. This also applies to the work of local ceramicists, whose products are on display in many nurseries and garden centres. Many have flower motifs, but there are also those that are more plainly decorated, and thus suitable for a larger selection of plants. Read the rest of this entry »

Follow these ten straightforward rules to give any shrub you plant a flying start.

1 Always make the planting hole about 15 cm deeper and 30 cm broader than the roots of the shrub.

2 Cover the bottom of the hole with an 8-12 cm-thick layer of compost mixed with a little of the surrounding soil. Read the rest of this entry »

Sunday afternoon, several folks of mine decided to treat ourselves to a green barbecue of delicious foods. we recycled a spare terracotta pot from the garden instead of buying an expensive high-tech metal barbecue, and use charcoal from sustainably managed woodlands.  I had to say the whole garden pot barbecue idea is awesome. The barbecue is extremely delicious, sizzling and less smoky. Read the rest of this entry »

This tree grows on my neighbor’s wall. It is awesome. But it is amazing thing is the figs are very sweet and juicy. Read the rest of this entry »

The wormery is a bin (usually plastic) with a lid, and layers or chambers through which the worms move as they eat up the waste.

There is a collector tray at the bottom which holds the liquid that is produced, with a tap to run it off. The lowest chamber has a layer of bedding where the worms live to start with. Read the rest of this entry »

A Line of Defense

“The woodchuck got to me. He ate EVERYTHING — an entire row of beans in one night. I couldn’t feed him and me, too.”

If you’re in a country place where the woodchuck and rabbit populations are high, you need a fence. Invest some time and effort to construct one that’s burrow-proof. Do it in fall, while the memory of crops unsavored (because the varmint got there first) still stings. Read the rest of this entry »

Lazy gardeners are willing to let a few bugs eat. “I simply plant too much,” says one gardener. “I give my crops rich soil and let them fend for themselves. There are all kinds of bugs, and I don’t have time to fool with them, so if they eat half my chard, I eat the other half.”

“Most gardeners panic when they see one bug eating,” says another gardener, who chides the “spray-happy people who rain destruction on a whole garden for one squash bug. I usually let them eat, and spray only when a crop is really threatened. ” Insect pests will eventually come into balance with their natural enemies, he suggests. Read the rest of this entry »

Garden walls give a pleasant sense of enclosure, trapping sun, excluding wind and guaranteeing privacy. They look best when in harmony with the house materials and style.

Walls are perfect backgrounds for plants that like shelter, or which drape easily or climb. Read the rest of this entry »

A successful landscape needs a garden style which appeals to you, and this is often linked to the house design. It can also be influenced by the kind of plants you like, or by your garden site and its climate.

Garden styles

There is a variety of garden styles, from formal to cottage garden, each with its own atmosphere and character. A predominantly natural or wild garden might look best in the country, or, alternatively, it could turn a town garden into a green oasis and bird sanctuary. A Mediterranean courtyard style would suit a small garden or echo Spanish-style architecture. You may like a formal garden for its symmetry, or an oriental garden for its serenity. Read the rest of this entry »

Get a head start on newspaper mulch in winter. As you finish reading today’s paper, staple it to yesterday’s. Make strips of newspapers as long as a garden row, roll them up and store until spring. When you need mulch, unroll on the garden.

When I was a young, newly married gardening novice, we lived on the sea shore. A violent December storm drove high tides within a few feet of our front door. When the waters receded, a huge pile of eelgrass and seaweed ringed our home. Too lazy to cart it away, we raked the debris a few feet closer to the house and stuffed it under foundation plantings. Read the rest of this entry »

Lazy gardeners are willing to let a few bugs eat. “I simply plant too much,” says one gardener. “I give my crops rich soil and let them fend for themselves. There are all kinds of bugs, and I don’t have time to fool with them, so if they eat half my chard, I eat the other half.”

“Most gardeners panic when they see one bug eating,” says another gardener, who chides the “spray-happy people who rain destruction on a whole garden for one squash bug. I usually let them eat, and spray only when a crop is really threatened. ” Insect pests will eventually come into balance with their natural enemies, he suggests. Read the rest of this entry »