CATEGORIES

Fine Planting Is Fynbos!
The Gardener

Fine Planting Is Fynbos!

Heritage plants like proteas, pincushions, blushing brides and cone bushes are common sights in garden centres nowadays, so there’s no excuse for not planting some of your own.

time-read
3 mins  |
Aug 2017
Cascading Plants For Indoors
The Gardener

Cascading Plants For Indoors

Growing plants add a special dimension to the interiors of homes and offices. Usually those with plain green or sometimes variegated leaves are the easiest to grow in the low light and less humid conditions found indoors. We’ve selected three of the easiest and simplest indoor plants that perform admirably in a wide range of conditions. All they need is regular watering when the soil is dry to the touch and a splash of plant food every 4-6 weeks, and they’re styling.

time-read
2 mins  |
May 2017
5 Easy-To-Grow Indoor Flowering Plants
The Gardener

5 Easy-To-Grow Indoor Flowering Plants

If you’re a gardener and a mother, chances are you’ll receive an indoor flowering plant for Mother’s Day. The timing is good, because it doesn’t take much effort to keep the flowers going through winter, and who knows what this winter will bring?

time-read
4 mins  |
May 2017
Freesias And Tulips
The Gardener

Freesias And Tulips

Breeding experiments turned two bulbous plants from different continents into the late-winter-and spring-flowering darlings of gardeners all over the world.

time-read
2 mins  |
May 2017
Striking Cobra Lily For Seasonal Colour
The Gardener

Striking Cobra Lily For Seasonal Colour

Although commonly called the cobra lily due to its hooded upper petal, Chasmanthe aethiopica is actually a member of the iris family (Iridaceae).

time-read
3 mins  |
May 2017
How many koi can I keep in my pond?
The Gardener

How many koi can I keep in my pond?

To determine how many koi your pond can hold, you need to take into consideration a number of factors.

time-read
2 mins  |
May 2017
A Garden Full Of Rooms
The Gardener

A Garden Full Of Rooms

When the time has come, the best way to scale down is to surround and enclose yourself with much-loved plants...

time-read
2 mins  |
April 2017
Fertility And Friability
The Gardener

Fertility And Friability

Organisms in the soil influence these important performance factors.

time-read
4 mins  |
August 2018
Raise The Bar In Your Food Garden
The Gardener

Raise The Bar In Your Food Garden

Want to make your veggie garden more productive? Raised beds provide better drainage (which veggies love) and a friable mix that makes it easier for the roots to draw up water, oxygen and nutrients, especially in gardens with clay, sand or very stony soil.

time-read
3 mins  |
August 2018
Magnificent Cape Saffron For Small Gardens
The Gardener

Magnificent Cape Saffron For Small Gardens

The Cape saffron or lepelhout is one of South Africa’s most rewarding evergreen trees to grow.

time-read
2 mins  |
August 2018
Drought-Proof Dollar Plants
The Gardener

Drought-Proof Dollar Plants

Indigenous and water-wise, crassulas can be jewels in a dry garden.

time-read
2 mins  |
August 2018
Black Diamonds
The Gardener

Black Diamonds

As a result of the extremely dry conditions over the last few years, everybody is struggling to find plants that will survive the harsh water restrictions.

time-read
1 min  |
January 2019
Blushing Beauties
The Gardener

Blushing Beauties

Harness the power of pink for your summer garden.

time-read
4 mins  |
January 2019
3 Great Summer-Flowering Shrubs
The Gardener

3 Great Summer-Flowering Shrubs

Summer gardens throughout most of the country are luxuriant with trees and shrubs in full growth. Many produce an abundance of blooms during the heart of the growing season, adding to the allure of these warm months. The flowers are offset by a background of greenery that is often in stark contrast to winter and spring, when so many blooms appear before the new spring leaves. Shrubs perform many important functions in the garden, including creating a permanent foundation to give the landscape shape and form. Flowering shrubs add a little extra to the entire garden when they’re in full bloom.

time-read
2 mins  |
December 2018
Roses' Many Bedfellows
The Gardener

Roses' Many Bedfellows

Companion plants for roses need to be carefully picked for success.

time-read
5 mins  |
December 2018
Caring For Air Plants
The Gardener

Caring For Air Plants

They cannot live on air alone!

time-read
4 mins  |
December 2018
August In Your Garden
The Gardener

August In Your Garden

This quick checklist is to remind you what to do in your garden in August.

time-read
7 mins  |
August 2019
No Frills
The Gardener

No Frills

A terracotta pot with some salvias that had been in there for two years needed much attention. If the plants could have issued an instruction it would have been, ‘Please free me from this pot!’ So, armed with a few plants, I set to giving this gorgeous pot a new look, and at the same time transplanted the salvias into the garden where I am sure they will be much happier.

time-read
1 min  |
August 2019
Regenerate And Build
The Gardener

Regenerate And Build

Plant in pots near kitchenGet some basil seed to plant with these – great for pizza nights this summerQuick and easy – great taste for saladsDon’t plant these 2 together!Mom’s quick pickles for these!Use these for the carrot mousse recipe – the kids love it!

time-read
4 mins  |
August 2019
Moonlighting!
The Gardener

Moonlighting!

By day silvery leaves stand out gently between all the different shades of green. But when illuminated by only the light of the moon, they create a magical lustre…

time-read
4 mins  |
August 2019
Get Ready For Summer
The Gardener

Get Ready For Summer

Good Idea in Plantation.

time-read
2 mins  |
August 2019
New Trends for Shade
The Gardener

New Trends for Shade

Stumperies make a comeback

time-read
4 mins  |
March 2017
Heaven Scent Indigenous Plants
The Gardener

Heaven Scent Indigenous Plants

I magine sitting in your favourite spot in the garden. Now add the sweet scent of wild jasmine wafting on the breeze, and the nutmeggy, spicy scent of Cape may that you’ve just brushed past. In this way, clever placement of scented and aromatic plants can bring enchantment to your garden. 

time-read
3 mins  |
March 2017
Up Close And Personal With The Chelsea Flower Show
The Gardener

Up Close And Personal With The Chelsea Flower Show

Inspiration from the keynote gardens.

time-read
7 mins  |
August 2016
Indigenous Hedges And Screens: Keeping It Green
The Gardener

Indigenous Hedges And Screens: Keeping It Green

Many gardeners are hesitant about hedges and unsure about screens. A hedge, they reason, will take a long time to grow and need a lot of maintenance, but that’s not necessarily so.

time-read
4 mins  |
August 2016
The Family Herb Garden Herbs To Keep Dad Happy And Healthy
The Gardener

The Family Herb Garden Herbs To Keep Dad Happy And Healthy

Herbs can easily become part of our daily lives because they have so many different uses.

time-read
3 mins  |
June 2018
Getting To Grips With Paving
The Gardener

Getting To Grips With Paving

Paving an area can transform it, and it’s quite simple to do yourself. Here are some points to keep in mind to make your paving job perfect.

time-read
3 mins  |
June 2018
Patterns In Pavers
The Gardener

Patterns In Pavers

Laying pavers seems so easy and fun that anyone could do it.

time-read
2 mins  |
June 2018
Restios Have Soul And Style
The Gardener

Restios Have Soul And Style

For graceful movement in the wind, turn to the Cape reed family.

time-read
5 mins  |
July 2018
Great Expectations
The Gardener

Great Expectations

Pruning various roses for maximum yield of blooms.

time-read
4 mins  |
July 2018