JOINING HANDS 14 Maart 2018 WEB

March in the Garden
It’s not really autumn in the garden yet,
March in the garden is simply late summer
with a ‘day-old beard growth’ – a lovely time
of year when there is much to do and to
plant in the garden…
May the forest be with you!
A new trend is called “forest bathing”, and
on March 21, (also Human Rights Day in
our country), it’s International Day of the
Forests too. ‘Forest bathing’ does not entail
a tiring hike through a huge plantation, and
nor does it mean standing naked under a
tree when it is raining, to save shower water…
It means a little bit of quiet “me-time” in
the company of green giants, to appreciate
their huge value to our planet, and our mental
health in general – being in the shade
and protection of trees does seem to soothe
anxiety!
It is therefore important that we do not
allow trees to be chopped down right, left,
and centre. It’s equally important that we
take time to choose the appropriate tree
for different situations, (your local GCA
garden centre will know!) and to support all
tree-planting initiatives in our communities.
Trees are the green lungs of our urban
areas and planting them is a symbol of love
for future generations to come.
Smart planting – “The golden age”
You may have seen that metallic colours
like rose gold and copper are still on-trend.
Metallic décor and plants with golden foliage
or bright variegation is still very ‘in’ – and
they create lightness and bright accents in
pots or in a garden.
Plant lots of dwarf Coprosma hybrids with
their glowing foliage which will start intensifying
as soon as it’s a little cooler. The
foliage of a star jasmine called ‘Summer
Sunset’ is coppery and gold, and the beautiful
new cordyline varieties like ‘Electric Pink’
and ‘Electric Star’ are very ‘in’ too. Another
glowing specimen to plant, is home grown
Leucadendron ‘Red Devil’. All of these are
great hardy plants!
Bedding besties
March is too early for the traditional winter
annuals, but a perfect time to plant the
hardy and adaptable verbenas, lobelias,
alyssums, dianthus and petunias (albeit only
in summer rainfall areas). They will enjoy
the last heat of summer, as well as cooler
weather when autumn really arrives.
Hot tip: Visit GCA garden centres on Fridays
or Saturdays for the best and widest
choice of seedlings as they usually receive
fresh stock just before the weekend.
Rose care – promote abundant leaf
growth
Build healthy leaves by fertilising with a
rose specific fertiliser this month. With lots
Miere is nog baie aktief in die laatsomer en
herfs, maar kan ook ‘n positiewe rol speel
in ‘n tuin of natuur deur larwe en eiers van
ander peste te eet.
Hulle kan ook help om grond te belug en
help ook met bestuiwing. Die probleem
is egter wanneer hulle in die huis in kom
en ook ‘n plaag raak op sekere bome en
struike.
Baie uitheemse bome is nie in hul natuurlike
habitat nie en is so meer vatbaar vir baie
luissoorte.
Die miere versprei die luise soos melk koeie
om die sap wat hul agterlaat te eet (of drink)
en dit kan vinnig ‘n boom laat agter uitgaan
en so te se dood maak. Gewoonlik is die
kenmerkende nagevolg ‘n swart neerslag
wat die blare smoor van suurstof en lig.
Dopluise kan ook die stam amper heeltemal
bedek in ‘n kort tydperk en is dan krities om
beheer en gestop te word.
Bome wat maklik vatbaar is, is Sitrus,
Myoprum (Sout en Peper), Fiddlewood en
selfs Ficus-soorte. Meer natuurlike
middels (of natuurvriendelike) kan gebruik
word om dit te verdryf of weg te hou of
gifstowwe wat vinnig sal werk.
Enige toediening moet in ‘n siklus van 10
tot 14 dae toegedien word om die uitbroei
siklus van die peste te breuk. Verskillende
gifstowwe kan ook afgewissel word want die
peste kan immuun raak teen een soort.
Miere in en om die huis kan met ‘n kontakinsekdoder
of korrellokaas beheer word.
Wees versigtig met troeteldiere en kinders
waar dit toegedien word. Asyn werk baie
goed om miere te verjaag en kan gespuit
word deur middel van ‘n handspuitbottel.
of leaves, the process of photosynthesis
remains in full swing, strengthening the
plants’ stems for fast spring sprouting, and
also to enable it to flower magnificently on
new stems well into winter.
The cute factor
It is trendy to go for smart, large containers
filled with pretty fruit trees like a calamondin
orange, lemon tree, lime tree, or kumquat.
Potted citrus trees can give you a harvest of
fruit throughout winter. Finish off your potted
fruit tree orchard with pretty companion
plants like curled parsley, nasturtiums and
dwarf marigolds.
Green lawn in winter
If you want a lawn that stays green for 365
days of the year, think out of the box – a
box of lawn seed! Choose a cold-hardy lawn
variety, which tolerates sun to light shade,
or one which will cover bald spots in deep
shade.
These lawn seeds are not only handy to
start a new lawn, but can also be used to
overseed old, motley lawns that go dormant.
The two grass types are compatible and
blend seamlessly into each other.
Germination is as speedy as between 5–10
days, and if all goes according to plan, you
can achieve reasonable coverage within 8
weeks, provided there is no foot traffic over
it. Seed your grass today!
Trending: The social networking of
plants
The idea behind this trend for 2018 is communities
of plants which ‘network’ together,
so natural prairie gardens with swathes of
ornamental grasses and floriferous perennials
are hot news! If you are still planting
‘one of a kind’, leaving large areas of soil
unplanted, you will be creating a lot of maintenance
for yourself. Rather pick a limited
palette of adaptable plants, and send them
to ground in numbers!
Recommended grasses: Fabulous fountain
grasses include Pennisetum ‘Fireworks’,
‘Rubrum’ and ‘Vertigo’, pink muhly
grass, Miscanthus sinensis ‘Zebrinus’ (Zebra
grass), Carex ‘Frosted Curls’, Coman’s
‘Khaki’, Festuca ‘Silver Eye catch’ and also
the pretty indigenous restios like Elegia
tectorum (Cape thatching reed).
Perennials, especially those that flower
well into autumn, are worth every cent.
They supply lots of flowers for long periods
without fuss and can be left to their own
devices once planted. Do try some of these
trouble-free perennials for all conditions and
tastes:
Long-flowering; acanthus, campanula,
centranthus, diascia, gaura, Japanese
anemone, kangaroo paw, nepeta, rudbeckia
and echinacea.
Drought resistant; armeria, artemisia,
bergenia, felicia, eryngium, salvia and
penstemon.
Evergreen; ajuga, dierama, hellebore, heuchera,
kniphofia, liriope and ophiopogon.
Windy and coastal gardens; indigenous
forget-me-not, geranium, stachys, limonium,
lychnis, pelargonium, agapanthus, centaurea,
crocosmia, dietes, and salvias.
Note: Most of these will grow everywhere
and in any region. If you have any concerns
or need some advice, ask your local GCA
garden centre.
Bug watch
•Italian cypress aphid – start treating
conifers against this pest with a systemic
insecticide as a spray or soil drench.
•Ants – spray with contact insecticide for up
to 3 months’ protection, or apply granular
ant bait to eradicate the nest (the bait will be
carried to the nest).
•Termites – apply a systemic insecticide to
control wood destroying termites or use a
granular bait for harvester termites.
Cool season herbs to plant
•Chives and garlic chives – grow in sun
or partial shade. They also grow well in
window boxes indoors, provided there is
enough light.
•Coriander – grows in light shade or indoors
on a window sill.
•Calendula – healing herb with pretty, edible
flowers. Grow in full sun.
•Rocket – the peppery leaves are rich in
iron, chlorophyll and various vitamins. Grow
outside in a sunny spot and even try it
indoors on a sunny window sill.
Products to shop for now
•Be an early bird and start buying
spring-flowering bulbs which are available in
variety now, before they sell out. It’s still too
early to plant them as the soil temperature
needs to cool down some more.
•Buy a specialised micro-element mixture
to treat azaleas and gardenias that may be
turning yellow and which need a pep up.
•Stock up on acidic fertiliser and acidic
mulch (bark nuggets or chips) to feed azaleas,
camellias, brunfelsias and gardenias
before winter.
Coastal gardening
(Western Cape, Northern Cape, Eastern
Cape, and KwaZulu-Natal)
•Sow California poppies, cornflowers,
godetias, bokbaaivygies and Namaqualand
daisies in situ.
•Cut back spent heliconia and cannas, and
cover root areas with a mulch of compost,
or well-rotted kraal manure.
•Be kind to camellias and azaleas, with ample
and deep watering in dry spells or they
will drop their buds.
•Sow lettuces, Asian greens, radishes,
Swiss chard, peas, all the cabbage types,
carrots and beetroot. If you do not have a
dedicated veggie patch, you can grow most
of the above squeezed in anywhere, or in
containers.
•Start preparing a bed for strawberries by
digging in well-rotted kraal manure, compost,
a dusting of flowers of Sulphur (they
like acidity) and general fertiliser. Strawberries
can also be grown successfully in
containers and hanging baskets – use a
good quality potting soil.
•Waste not want not, so harvest crops like
basil and coriander, and process into pesto
for the winter season.
•Plant wild dagga (Leonotis leonurus) as
it is a fast and easy-growing shrub that
flowers profusely and attracts wildlife to the
garden such as birds, bees and butterflies.
The flowers are tubular and bright orange in
colour; however, there are white and salmon
coloured ones available too.
Life is a Garden is the marketing division
of The South African Nursery Association
(SANA). SANA is a member driven,
non profit organisation, which strives to
promote gardening as a hobby in South
Africa for ALL South Africans. Find your
nearest Life is a Garden/GCA affiliated
Garden Centre by looking for the yellow
and green GCA flag at independent
garden centres, and all Builders Group
Home stores.
For more information on bringing Life to
your Garden, visit our website www.lifeisagarden.co.za
or join the conversation
on our Facebook page: www.facebook.
com/lifeisagardensa