Durban - Make the most of the ideal growing conditions at this time of year by getting stuck in to some serious gardening.
Your local nursery will be well stocked with a wide range of favourite summer seedlings – choose from asters, begonias, celosia, dianthus, marigolds, portulaca, torenias, verbena, zinnia and year-round varieties such as alyssum, dianthus, petunias, and more.
Begonias are well suited to shady areas and last for months – probably the best value for money of all the seedlings. There are bronze leaf and green leaf varieties, so you can make patterns with the leaf colours as well. The bronze leaf varieties grow slightly smaller than the green. There are many perennial varieties of begonia as well which grow for years – one of the best is Begonia Dragon Wings in red or pink. These flower continuously and abundantly, do well in shade, grow about 60cm tall and are excellent in pots and in the garden.
Marigolds are making a gardening comeback, especially now that orange is an “in” colour – yes, even gardening follows fashions. A few years ago, when nobody was wearing orange, you couldn’t give marigolds away.
They are easy to grow, love the sun, are available in a choice of flower size and colours from pale yellow, to orange to reddish bronze. They are good for your soil as they suppress eelworm and leave your soil better than it was before. When they have finished flowering, dig them into the soil as a kind of “green manure”.
There are new compact growing zinnias on the market that are mildew resistant and flower amazingly well with all the bright colours your summer garden needs. They perform really well in our summer heat.
Your lawn should be starting to look its best – especially now that it has rained. Mow at least every two weeks to encourage spreading, and feed every six to eight weeks.
To encourage your lawn in shady areas, mow “long” – it is the leaf that is the food factory. If you can get your lawn in the shade looking good now in summer, it will last right through next winter. Remember to water well if the shade prevents all the rain from reaching the grass.
Roses will be in full bloom. When you cut the flowers, lightly prune the stems to encourage shape and more flowers. Feed regularly and spray with a fungicide against mildew and blackspot, and with an insecticide against aphids. Your nurseryman can recommend a “cocktail” that will do all of this in one spray.
I recommend spraying every week as a preventative, rather than waiting for symptoms to appear and then panicking. Watch out also for rose beetles – some eat the leaves, making them look like lace, while others eat the petals. One spray will sort them both out – ask your nurseryman.
There are caterpillars that attack cycads, amaryllis, clivia, agapanthus and other lilies, especially after rain. These worms have a voracious appetite and can cause immense damage in just a day or two. Watch out for them. The eggs are laid about three days after rain and if you see them in clusters on the youngest leaves rub them off with your fingers – once they have hatched you will have to squash hundreds of yucky worms or spray with an insecticide containing cypermethrin which works well.
Citrus trees are now in bloom, and filling the air with the scent of orange blossom. Murraya exotica is also a member of the citrus family and is also now in flower, with the same Orange Blossom scent. This is why Murraya exotica and Murraya koenigii – the curry leaf – also get those same bumps on the leaves that other citrus get. These bumps or blisters are caused by citrus psylla, an insect that lays eggs under the young leaves.
By the time the bumps are seen on the mature leaves, the insect has hatched and long gone – though sometimes you can still find some under the leaves.
There are several good sprays that your nurseryman will have that will prevent psylla – but remember it is the young leaves that are “stung” so you need to spray when your citrus tree is putting on new growth.
Some citrus such as lemons can have up to three growth flushes a year, so regular spraying is required until the situation is under control.
A summer favourite of mine are marguerite daisies or argyranthemums as they are now called.
There are lots of new hybrids on the market with new and unusual flowers and colours – single and double types in white, yellow, pink, mauve and even cherry red. All are more compact than the old fashioned types and will flower all summer. They originate from the Canary Islands, so love the sun.
Remember to “dead head” regularly (even by trimming with hedge clippers.).
They love a regular feed – a 3:1:5 or 5:1:5 gives best results for all flowering plants. Marguerites can be used all over the garden – in mixed borders, rockeries and pots.
Another favourite, enjoying a resurgence in popularity is the not-so-humble day lily or hemerocallis.
This colourful plant has to be one of the easiest garden plants to grow. It is virtually pest and disease free. All parts of the plant are edible by humans (it has a nutty buttery taste). The flowers, leaves, stems or roots can all be used in stir fries, salads, and stews.
The flowers can be dipped in batter and fried. Google some recipes. Day lilies come in a huge variety of sizes and flower colours, which are constantly being hybridised and added to.
The latest varieties sell for thousands, yet the majority are easily available and well priced. As the name suggests, each flower only lasts for a day, yet so many flowers are produced you can have masses of colour for weeks at a time. For this reason they look best when massed together.
Vegetables are also easy to grow now that the rains are here. All need sun to add quality and goodness, but they can be grown anywhere in the garden. Parsley and lettuce can look good among roses. Herbs make a lovely hanging basket outside the kitchen door.
All kinds of salad vegetables and herbs can be grown in troughs and pots on rooftops, ledges, windowsills and patios. If you have the space, a well laid out vegetable garden is a visual and culinary delight. You can plant carrots, radish, beans, beetroot, spring onions, tomato, brinjal, lettuce, chard, chili and green pepper now.
I recently saw seeds of multicoloured vegetables: carrots, purple flowered cauliflower, bright yellow cherry tomatoes and multicoloured swiss chard for sale, so the choice is endless. - The Mercury