Marjoram Origins

This is a small plant found in the eastern Mediterranean countries, southern Europe and north Africa.

Marjoram Essential oil

Steam distillation of the flowers and leaves produces an oil that ranges in colour from pale yellow to rich amber. It has a warm, spicy aroma.

Marjoram Most common uses

• calms and regulates the nervous system
• good for insomnia, depression and anxiety
• relieves aching limbs and rheumatic conditions
• helps nervous stomach and digestion Read the rest of this entry »

To extend the lift of a cut flower display, pick the bloomsin the early morning or in the evening. Cut at an angle to expose more water-carrying cells. The following are specially recommended for cutting, as the flowers are long-lasting when arranged in water.

• Chalk plant (Gypsophila elegans) Half-hardy annual with sprays of tiny white flowers in summer. 45-60cm/1¹/-2ft. A good choice for chalky soils.
• China aster(Callistephus chinensis) Half-hardy annual. Blooms (mid-summer to autumn) vary from chrysanthemum shape to pompon, and come in many colours. 30-60cm/1-2ft. Sun and good soil are needed for best results; but choose a sheltered spot for tall varieties. Read the rest of this entry »

In tubs, urns, window boxes or hanging baskets, the following plants will make a colourful show all summer and into autumn. Grow in a good potting compost either loam-based or a peat-based type.

• Floss flower (Ageratum houstonianum) Very popular half- hardy annual, useful for edging. Blue, pink or white powder- puff flowers freely produced, especially if you trim off dead blooms. 15cm/6in. Moist soil, sun.
• Geranium, ivy-leaf (Pelargonium peltatum) A classic container plant. Half-hardy perennial treated as an annual. Ivy-shaped leaves on trailing stems, producing a cascade of pink, red or white flowers well into autumn. 60cm/2ft. Easy to grow; feed well, plenty of sun. Read the rest of this entry »

Border perennials provide long displays of flowers or bold colourful foliage to enhance most parts of the garden. There are two kinds: herbaceous perennials, which die down to the ground each autumn but throw up new shoots with the onset of spring; and evergreen perennials, which retain their leaves (often dramatically textured) all year round, giving interest even in winter. All the plants listed here are herbaceous, unless otherwise stated.

You should cut down the stems of herbaceous perennials each year in late autumn — not to leave “stubble”, as is so often seen, but right down to the ground. With evergreens, all you need do is remove any dead leaves. Most perennials thrive in sunny spots with well-drained soil, and are easy-going. Read the rest of this entry »

Here are many lovely plants for soil which does not dryout and receives dappled shade — in other words, shade cast by trees with a light canopy of foliage. Typical areas are light woodland or parts of a shrub border. Work plenty of peat or well-rotted organic matter into the soil for these plants.

• Candelabra primulas (Primula species) Whorls of flowers up the stems in early summer. Various colours, such as red Primula japonica. 60-90cm/2-3ft.

• Drumstick primrose (Primula denticulata) This has large globular heads of mauve, pink or white flowers over a long period in spring. 30cm/12in. Easy and reliable. Read the rest of this entry »

Three bulbs and corms for growing in grass

Grassy areas can be made colourful by planting bulbs andcorms, perhaps around the bases of trees or on banks. Do not cut the grass until at least 9 weeks after the flowers have faded, or there will be few or no flowers next year.

• Crocus, large-flowered Dutch Large, goblet-shaped flower in shades of yellow, purples, blue or white in spring. 10— 15cm/4-9in. Full sun needed for blooms to open.
• Crocus, autumn-flowering (Crocus speciosus) Lilac flowers in autumn, leaves following in spring. 10cm/4in. Full sun and well-drained soil.
• Daffodil, miniature (Narcissus bulbocodium and N. cyclamineus) Yellow flared and trumpet-shaped miniature flowers respectively, in spring. 15cm/9in. Moist soil, and sun or partial shade. Plant generously in drifts. Read the rest of this entry »

Exotics — from warm or tropical regions of the world — have luxurious associations for inhabitants of cooler dimes. Most have to be nurtured under glass in temperate climates.A warm greenhouse or conservatory (minimum temperature 15^°C/59°F), or an intermediate one (at least 8^°C/50°F), allows you to grow some highly colourful tropical plants. Even a cool greenhouse or conservatory (at least 5-7^°C/40-45°F) can be colourful all year round.

Five flowering exotics for the warm greenhouse

These plants offer long-lasting, spectacular flowers. They are easy to grow provided that they have plenty of warmth at all times, and moist or humid air. Read the rest of this entry »

Three roses for shady walls

Those modern repeat-flowering climbers, which bloom insummer and autumn, are suitable for growing against a cool, shady wall or fence, or other supports in the shade, such as pergolas or pillars. To prune, cut back the old side shoots to one or two buds in early spring.

• ‘Aloha’ Large, coral-pink, double flowers freely produced. Grows to 2.4m/8ft.
• ‘Golden Showers‘ Highly popular variety with large, bright yellow flowers. About 2.4m/8ft.
• ‘The New Dawn‘ A popular variety with the palest pink well-shaped blooms. A moderately vigorous grower, attaining about 3m/l0ft. Read the rest of this entry »

Garden pools can look rather bleak unless you grace them with water plants. These should certainly include some waterlilies, with large, rounded, floating leaves which help to shade the water and exotic-looking blooms, mostly bowl-shaped, in summer and autumn.

Water plants are best planted during late spring or early summer. Most will be happy in ordinary fibrous garden soil in purpose-made planting baskets, but first you must line each basket with clean, coarse sacking. Before immersing in the pool, spread a layer of coarse gravel over the soil to prevent it from floating off and to prevent disturbance by fish. Baskets 25-30cm/10-12in square are suitable for most vigorous plants, but small versions, 20cm/8in square, are better for pygmy waterlilies and less invasive plants. Read the rest of this entry »

Suitable for a sunny, sheltered wall, or any structure which receives full sun.

• Californian lilac(Ceanothus species and varieties) Attractive wall shrubs, both evergreen and deciduous, producing mainly blue flowers in spring/early summer, or in summer and autumn. Height variable to 6m/20ft. Not suited to shallow, chalky soils; good drainage and shelter needed.
• Chilean potato tree(Solanum crispum) Vigorous semi- evergreen climber to 6m/20ft, with purplish blue, potato-like flowers in summer. `Glasnevin’ is a good variety. Shelter and good drainage needed. Prune previous year’s shoots hard back in mid-spring. Read the rest of this entry »

Yellow King Alfreds we have seen before, many, many times, but ‘Irene Copeland’, 14 inches, cream, has petals as tightly packed as a small dahlia or chrysanthemum and ‘Tahiti’, at 15 inches, has a mix of golden yellow petals with a smaller bright orange centre.

To the expert a daffodil is always a narcissus but we tend to think of narcissus as the short-trumpeted variety, such as the poeticus species with their white perianths and orange crowns. Rather than bother about the different divisions—bicolour large cups, jonquilla, triandrus and so on—select daffodils for a box entirely on the information you can get about them. Most bulbs are sold from open boxes, or in packs, with a good illustration and details of size and colour; don’t fall for any with an incomplete description because although they may well be cheaper they cannot be guaranteed to provide the effect you want in a box. Read the rest of this entry »

Alyssum is always associated with lobelia—usually planted alternately along suburban front paths and all right, I suppose, if you like that sort of thing. Once available only in white, it can now be found in pinks and purples that have more charm. Ageratum, too, now comes in some really deep shades of lilac and blue, which makes it more appealing for the front of the box. Again, pack it in tightly.

Dianthus, the annual, is increasingly produced for window boxes and also for hanging baskets. Most varieties flower in flushes, three or four times during the season rather than continuously, so it is a good idea to plant a second basket three weeks later in the hope that when the flush in the first one is over you can quickly replace it with the second just coming into its best. Read the rest of this entry »

In the open garden autumn is a time of cutting down, tidying up and battening down the hatches against the onslaught of winter. In the more restricted garden on the window sill there is a little more scope for planting, to provide interest and perhaps colour for the grey days to follow. It is the greyness of the days, and hence the lack of light, rather than the cold that makes the late autumn and winter such a dead season as far as flowers are concerned.

For early autumn you must have dahlias. Their paint-box colours are quietened by the softer light of autumn and dahlia blooms laced with cobwebs and beaded with dew are, for me, a final confirmation that summer is truly over. Read the rest of this entry »

Yellows and creams

Yellow means warmth and sunshine, light and brightness. Golden yellow is not commonly used on large areas in interiors but toned down with white or cream the softer shades of sand and butter yellow are very popular. As in nature large patches of bright yellow need the contrast of plenty of green to cool them down. Imagine a bed ofdaffodils in strong sunlight then imagine the same flowers planted in grass. The first is overpowering, the second is calmer and much more pleasing. Yellow and green is one of the freshest combinations you can use. To make it sparkle even more add lots of white too. Creamy-yellow rooms need a highlight or two of brighter yellow and there are plenty of flowering houseplants which come in all shades of yellow from pale primrose to chrysanthemum gold to fill the bill. Read the rest of this entry »

Among the hybrids are the well loved types which produce large, well rounded flowers of a heavy texture, with spotted dorsal petals and highly glossed petals and pouches. These come in a variety of colours from lime green and clear yellow to rich dark reds and bronzes with any number of shades in between and various spots and stripes. These are the types which, although many times removed from the species, can be traced back through their pedigree to Paphiopedilum insigne and its many varieties (including the yellow form P. insigne var. sanderae), and also P. bellatulum. It was the combination of these two completely different Paphiopedilums which formed the base for the modern breeding lines. Read the rest of this entry »

Other Odontoglossum species which may be tried as house plants include 0. bictoniense, a soft, green leaved species from Mexico which is continuously growing and which produces long upright sprays of up to twenty-five pretty flowers. The petals are green barred with brown, the heart shaped lip is white often suffused with pink. Flowering during the summer, it will continue to bloom for many weeks. 0. pulchellum, has pure white flowers with yellow centres which are produced from oval shaped bulbs which bear two narrow leaves. This species is fragrant and also comes from Mexico. It propagates and divides easily. None of the South American species of Odontoglossum or Miltonia are available these days as house plants. They will only be found in cultivation in limited quantities in botanical collections where they have become collector’s items, or in the stud houses of orchid breeders. Read the rest of this entry »

No section on indoor orchids would be complete without some mention of the Lycastes. These are extremely attractive orchids of which one or two of the more easily obtained species may be tried. There has been a tremendous amount of work done on breeding the Lycastes and many fine hybrids have been produced, including bigeneric hybrids of the manmade genus Angulocaste, which are the result of crossing Lycastes with Anguloas. These plants are superb growers but can become too large for indoors as they produce extensive foliage and are very space consuming when grown to perfection. The Lycaste species are smaller growers, although even they require sufficient room for their spreading leaves during the summer months. Their bulbs are plump and hard, and are topped by several large leaves which are paper thin and very easily damaged by water droplets or rough handling. These leaves are usually shed before the onset of winter and the plants remain in a dormant, leafless state until the new growth commences in the spring, often at the same time as the buds appear. When the leaves have turned yellow and are discarded naturally by the plant, spiteful thorny remains are left at the top of each bulb. No doubt this serves the plant as a protection in the wild, but they can give a painful scratch to the unwary! Read the rest of this entry »

mister lincoln

Large, full-bodied blooms; rich red in colour with a velvet sheen. Strong and vigorous with many long, sturdy stems, and easy to grow. A classic, highly perfumed garden cut rose

mondiale

KORozon (N). Hybrid Tea . Spire very tall This is an extraordinary rose. Tall- growing, it provides extra-longstems of florist quality in abundance. The colour of the large, pointed, triangular-shaped buds and open blooms is a playful combinationof deep coral-pink with a faintyellow that flows from the centre into each of the leathery petals. A slight fragrance is an added bonus.

The bush grows to 2 m, with many possible uses in the garden: as a flowering hedge when bushes are planted 70 cm apart, giving height behind other roses or breaking the monotony of walls when used in scattered groups Read the rest of this entry »

technikon pretoria

The Technician Pretoria has one of the largest campuses in the country, and sports the colours red, yellow and black. ‘Technician Pretoria’ combines yellow with red, leaving black to the imagination. Firm, triangular buds of deep yellow expand as they develop, and as soon as the unfolding and reflexing petals are exposed to the sun, they turn bright red. As more petals unfold and overlap, the subtle play between these two colours is extraordinary. The bushes are very compact for a Hybrid Tea and retain a neat shape. Nevertheless, each large bloom is carried on a moderately long, sturdy stem decorated with large, deep-green leaves. New flowering stems appear at short intervals from early spring into winter. This healthy rose is superb for planting at the front of beds and in pots.

The lady

‘The Lady’ not only produces medium-sized, slender, long buds, but also tough foliage and a willingness to perform unperturbed during storm and sunshine. The colour is an unusual blend of yellow and pink. A tall-growing rose worth trying in your garden. It won the silver medal in the Durbanville Rose Trials in 1993. Read the rest of this entry »

sandton smile

This rose would fit as well into the new category of Landscape roses — one of the reasons it was selected from many candidates to represent the up-market garden city, Sandton. Pointed buds half open into shapely, fragrant blooms that further unfold into curly semi-double flowers, at all times displaying a clear, soft salmon-pink. The bushes spread their huge clusters sideways to cover an area of about 2 m2, making space for a continuous supply of new stems all carrying clusters of highly perfumed, pickable blooms.

shocking blue

Medium-sized buds open into double blooms with 32 firm petals. The colour is not really ’shocking’ or ‘blue’, but a rather unusual mauve- lavender in the bud stage, maturing into shades of silver-blue as the blooms are exposed to daylight. An outstanding cut flower that is stunning in arrangement with yellow blooms; the yellow ‘Friesia’ is an excellent foreground companion. Vigorous, healthy and prolific growth with new, deep-purple foliage and glossy, deep-green leaves. Highly perfumed. Read the rest of this entry »