The Gardener Magazine February 2011

YOUR FAVOURITE GARDENING MAGAZINE

gardener the

FEBRUARY 2011

for everyone who loves gardening

SOUTH AFRICA

DIY

Outdoor shower Haemanthus Patio fire pit Rabbit’s Ears April Fools Dwarfs

All about Liquidambar ‘Variegata’ Bay Trees & Yarrow

DIY

Floating Shelf Paver Planter Swing Bench R22.95 INCL VAT

OTHER COUNTRIES

www.thegardener.co.za

R20.13 Excl. TAX On sale 18 January to 14 February 2011

Grow Veggies & Herbs in

LIGHT SHADE

Fancy a

Sizzling Summer Plants

Frangipani?

They bloom in a fragrant profusion of colour

February 2011

Contents 25

FEATURES

Norwood – In the Grand Tradition Wander through the garden of a grand old homestead in Pietermaritzburg Haemanthus Take a look at this entirely southern African genus of 22 species Fancy Frangipanis They withstand drought, propagate easily and bloom profusely in a wide array of colours.

The Prettiest Pavements Roses can be perfect in a pavement garden Sizzling Midsummer Extend your summer with these colourful bedding plants

1 Welcome 6 Garden Graft

Ideas, tips and tasks for February 11 Your Letters 12 Plant Profile

LIQUIDAMBAR styraciflua ‘Variegata’ 13 Lunar Gardening Guide 15 Gerald in the Garden

Prepare for the Months Ahead 36 Rose Care

Deferred Romance 40 Bonsai

Plant Names 42 Indigenous with Jenny Dean

A Gentle Transformation 44 Growing Herbs

Valentine Herbal Home Spa 46 Growing Vegetables

Veggies and Herbs for Light Shade 49 The Spice Collection

LAURUS nobilis – Bay Tree 50 Diary of a Cape Gardener

Choosing Plants for Clay Soils 53 Koi

Avoid Big Problems in Mini Ponds

29 32

REGULARS

37 38

Publisher Lonehill Trading (Pty) Ltd Editor Tanya Visser Managing Director Kevin Beaumont Managing Editor (Editorial enquiries) Wendy Moulton 031 764 0593 wendy@thegardener.co.za Chief Copy Editor Desiree Collett van Rooyen Art Director Ruth Brophy Web and Graphic Design Tanya Campher Photography Geoff Redman, David van den Bergh

Advertising Jonathan Gouws 031 764 0593 jonathan@thegardener.co.za Advertising and Classifieds Mokete Maepa 031 764 0593 mokete@thegardener.co.za Groundcover Advertising/ Advertising Production Controller Rusty Croft 031 764 0593 rustyc@thegardener.co.za Office Administrator (Enquiries) Kim van Rooyen 031 764 0593 kim@thegardener.co.za

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80

Petpourri Back to school Tales from the Green Dragon Who Would You Most Like to Spend Time With?

CREATE

DEFINE YOUR LIVING SPACE 59

62

65

67

68

Swinging Summer Build a swinging bench DIY with PPC Cement • Paver planter • Floating shelf Glass in the garden with PG Glass Outdoor Shower Quick DIY Valentine’s Suitcase Elastobond from Rock Solid Industries Rock Solid Paving

MARKETPLACE 72 73 74 75

New Products The Gardener DVD series Groundcover Advertisements Classified Directory

COMPETITIONS PROMOTIONS AND EVENTS 7

10 72

Paint a Poppy Competition with Starke Ayres, Wizzard Worms & The Gardener Events and Open Gardens New Waterfall Fountain Ring Subscribe and win Stand a chance to WIN one of 8 loppers from Löwe

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DIY Expert Garth Demmer Subscriptions RNA 011 473 8700 subs@RNAD.co.za Editorial contributors Alice Spenser-Higgs, Angela Beckx, Anna Celliers, Di-Di Hoffman, Gerald Schofield, Glynne Anderson, Graham Duncan, Gary English, Kevin Beaumont, Dr Hugh Glen, Ilona Thorndike, Jenny Dean, Ludwig Taschner, Margaret Roberts, Ruth Brophy, Tanya Visser, Wendy Moulton.

Editorial Head Office 3 Haygarth Road, Kloof PO Box 29244, Maytime 3624 Telephone (031) 764 0593 Telefax (031) 764 1148 e-mail: info@thegardener.co.za

Copyright subsists in all work published in this magazine. Any reproduction or adaptation, in whole or part, without written permission is strictly prohibited. The Gardener will not be held responsible for any omissions or errors. Unsolicited material will not be accepted. The Gardener is available at leading nurseries and selected retail outlets nationally.

Welcome

I

t’s the month of love – red roses, chocolates and romantic dinners.

If none of these come your way please don’t get depressed, rather spend time in a garden and you’ll soon be feeling better.

Gardens are always good news and while you may not find red roses in every garden in February, I do guarantee that there will be something for you to pick for yourself or for your loved one. How gratifying it is to give a gift that you grew and tended, and that is still so fresh that it has dew drops on it. If you need more inspiration for creating home grown romance then go straight to Alice’s article on page 44 for her ideas on fragrant, relaxing herbal baths.

Ok, that’s enough of the mushy stuff!

With Valentine’s Day taken care of, there is still the rest of the month to get into our gardens, without any excuses.

February is the excruciatingly muggy and hot month, so when you go out to garden please remember to cover up with a hat and sunscreen. When you are done you will surely be grateful for a cool shower – I know when I have finished in the garden I am often banned from entering the house because I am covered from head to toe in layers of mud and grime, which means an outdoor shower would be perfect. Last month we showed you how to build a rustic outdoor shower, this month we show you an ultra-modern, glasswalled version. Whichever style you prefer for your garden, it’s sure to be a boon. I plan on building one as soon as possible.

Gardeners who travel to the subtropical areas can often be found drooling in envy at the Frangipani trees flowering in a kaleidoscope of hues. These days this muchloved, somewhat old-fashioned plant is sometimes difficult to find in nurseries, and when you do track one down then it is often a case of ‘lucky dip’ because it is not always obvious what colour the flowers will be when

they appear. Nevertheless, they are always lovely, so I hope you’ll enjoy Gerald’s article on these trees, which starts on page 32.

Not only does the summer heat have us battling, it can also prove challenging for our bedding plants. To give them the best chance of flourishing be sure to plant the right plant in the right area, and here I’m thinking

particularly of the amount of sunlight that each area gets. Take a look at ‘Sizzling Midsummer’ (page 38) before you go out on a summer-colour shopping spree, it will help you with those difficult decisions.

Enjoy the heat and stay hydrated (with water, not wine).

Happy gardening!

ON THE COVER

The beautiful (and fragrant) blooms of PLUMERIA rubra grace our cover this month.

Read more about P. rubra and the other species that go under the common name of ‘frangipani’ on pages 32 to 35.

Tanya dressed by: Green Champion

w w w.t h e g a r d e n e r.c o. z a

FEBRUARY DIARY

Garden

Graft Harvest seeds of herbs like coriander

Prime Planting February is a hot, sultry month that can sap the energy of gardeners. One strategy is to stick to the shade of our patios and pergolas, spending time on the gentler pastimes – like taking cuttings, harvesting seeds and planting the world’s greatest plants in pots, which brings me to the subject of the ‘Super Sundavilles’. If you have not yet met all the super floriferous varieties in the Sundaville® range of small shrubs or semi-climbers, you have something marvellous to discover. These Mandevilla hybrids are unfortunately frost tender, but otherwise very obliging, and ideal for containers placed in full sun or light shade. They bear trumpet-shaped flowers in pink, white or deep red all year long, with their best show in the hottest summer months. They are worth every penny one spends on them. For large, bright pink flowers get ‘Cosmos Pink’; for huge white flowers with a prominent yellow throat then ‘Cosmos White’ is the plant you want; while ‘Red’ produces the most romantic red flowers. All are evergreen and have a spreading, semiclimbing growth habit.

Sundaville® ‘Cosmos Pink’

Your lawn Instead of cutting the lawn too short once a week, rather mow lightly and more often.

It entails more effort but avoids the patchy effect that results when exposed roots and runners get burnt by the hot sun.

Kitchen gardening

Aphids on a fennel plant 6 6 l l www.thegardener.co.za www.thegardener.co.za

Harvest the seeds of coriander, dill, fennel, caraway and anise by cutting off the stems carrying the ripening seeds, tying them in bundles and hanging them upside down over newspaper in a shady spot. As the seeds ripen they will drop onto the paper, making it easy to gather them. Store them in brown paper packets or dark-coloured glass jars and remember to label and date them.

Start preparing strawberry beds by digging in well-rotted kraal manure or compost and a few handfuls of general fertiliser. (New plantlets can be planted in March and April.)

Feed all deciduous fruit trees after the fruit is harvested (first clearing away all discarded fruit lying under the trees), then renew the mulch around their roots. These trees can also be summer pruned to allow more light and air into their centres.

Feed lemon trees with 3:1:5 or an organic fertiliser, and water regularly.

Check citrus trees for scale; if necessary treat with a mineral oil based insecticide.

Sow nasturtium and rue seeds at the base of fruit trees. Their presence appears to act as a deterrent to sap-sucking insects like aphids and scale. Concoctions brewed from the leaves of these plants are used as organic sprays to deter these pests.

In colder areas you can dig up the last of your potatoes now. Brush off excess soil and store them in cardboard boxes or hessian sacks in a cool (between 5 and 10° C is best), dry and dark place. Never store them in plastic and do not keep them in the refrigerator.

Bugs, pests and problems Aphids Although sap-sucking aphids can stunt new plant growth, they should never be completely eradicated from the garden as they are a food source to many predators, including ladybirds, hover flies, predatory wasps, praying mantises and assassin beetles. These predators in turn attract insect-eating birds. To control aphids you seldom have to do much more than washing them away with a strong jet of water, or spraying them with solution made from 5 ml of dishwashing liquid to 1 litre of water. Practising companion planting can also help to stop bad infestations.

Must do Prepare trenches for sweet peas. Enrich the soil with thick layers of compost and topsoil augmented with bone meal and general fertiliser. At the end of February, soak the seeds in tepid water overnight, and then sow them the next morning.

Plant lachenalia, nerine, veltheimia and belladonna bulbs.

Using seed trays, sow the seeds of late spring and early summer flowering biennials like Canterbury bells, columbines, pinks, foxgloves, larkspurs, sweet Williams and Iceland poppies. Put the trays in the shade and ensure they are kept continually moist until germination occurs.

Clip, trim and prune evergreens lightly. Keep the secateurs well away from those that will flower or produce ornamental berries in winter and spring.

Harvest the seeds of spent summer perennials and annuals. Store them in welllabelled, brown paper packets and keep them dry.

Cut back the flowering stems of perennials like Michaelmas daisies and physostegia to ground level when they have finished flowering. Remove the old flower stems from Inca lilies and cannas – just give them a firm tug!

Keep on feeding summer bulbs to enable them to store enough food to flower again. If their leaves are looking tatty, or already dead, tie them together in a bunch. Do not cut them off until the plants are completely dormant.

Prune regal and zonal pelargoniums, osteospermum, diascia, lavender, abelia, weigela, hydrangea, heliotrope and salvia plants, and any other summer flowering plants that need rejuvenation. If you need more of any of these plants then keep the stems that you have cut off as now is the right time to take soft and semi-hardwood cuttings of deciduous and evergreen It’s time to plant shrubs and perennials. To get them to root, lachenalias dip the bottom 1 cm of each cutting in rooting hormone, and plant them in a mix of compost and clean river sand. Keep the cuttings in a shady place, and the mix moist (not sopping wet). www.thegardener.co.za l 7

FEBRUARY DIARY

In your

region

Summer rainfall temperate Shrubs and climbers such as spiraea, banksia roses and jasmine will start flowering in late winter; to give them the nutrients they will be needing feed them now with 3:1:5SR, or an organic equivalent, and compost.

Neaten hail-damaged plants lightly and spray them with a fungicide so they will be less vulnerable to fungal disease while they are recovering.

Summer rainfall subtropical Evaporation from shallow fish ponds is extreme at this time – top them up regularly with fresh water. This helps to cool them down too.

Water lilies are flowering now, buy some for your pond.

Feed staghorn ferns with liquid fertiliser and mist them with water on a regular basis.

Prune tropical shrubs like acalyphas, jatrophas, crotons and hibiscus.

Winter rainfall Here’s a way to ensure some privacy and protection for your property, using two indigenous species. Plant a double hedge using BRACHYLAENA discolor (coast silver oak) and RHUS crenata (dune crow-berry). Use coast silver oak as the taller hedge. It is fast growing, can tolerate salty coastal winds, can be pruned into a formal hedge, and the silver undersides of the leaves as they flip over in the wind are a beautiful sight.

Alongside it, plant a row of hardy dune crow-berry. This worthwhile evergreen plant has small, dark green leaves and a neat growth habit, and it looks lovely as a lower hedge against the coast silver oak.

February is a dangerously dry month with high wind so take whatever precautions you can to make your home and garden less vulnerable. Keep all drains and gutters free of dry plant material and clear away any debris and flammable material from the garden and around the house. Remove dead branches from large shrubs and trees. Keep hosepipes attached to all garden taps.

As another precaution against encroaching fires, plant ground covers that have leaves and stems high in moisture instead of mulching beds near the house with bark nuggets or wood chips. Vygies, gazanias, sour figs (CARPOBROTUS edulis), crassulas, trailing pelargoniums and echeverias are all options.

Dry continental

Prune tropical shrubs like hibiscus

Deep summer is a good time to add more silver-grey coloured plants, and plants with hairy leaves, to the garden. These attributes indicate toughness, and make these plants look especially lovely at dusk. Try CONVOLVULUS cneorum, artemisia, indigenous and exotic perennial salvias, PHLOMIS fruticosa (Jerusalem sage), cotton lavender, and all the helichrysum species.

It’s now time to lift and divide large clumps of agapanthus.

PHLOMIS fruticosa

RHUS crenata 8 l www.thegardener.co.za

INDIGENOUS

HAEMANTHUS Text and photographs by Graham Duncan

co HAEMANTHUS

H

Fool) ccineus (April

aemanthus, a member of the Amaryllidaceae family, is an entirely southern African genus of 22 species of bulbous plants that are endemic to South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho and Swaziland. The genus takes its name from the Greek words haima meaning blood, and anthos meaning flower, and is a reference to the reddish flowers of H. coccineus and H. sanguineus, two of the first-described species. Bulbs of H. coccineus collected at the Cape of Good Hope first reached Europe in the early 17th century and were possibly the first South African plants to produce flowers there – they are known to have flowered at Middelburg in The Netherlands in 1604.

Most of the species are concentrated in Namaqualand in the arid north western part of South Africa: 15 species occur almost exclusively in the winter

rainfall region. Six species are found in the summer rainfall areas and only H. albiflos is known from both regions. H. albiflos is the most commonly grown Haemanthus worldwide; it is highly variable, evergreen and virtually indestructible. It is a most obliging and free-flowering plant that thrives on benign neglect.

Confusion still exists as to the morphological differences that separate Haemanthus and Scadoxus. Scadoxus, which was previously included under Haemanthus, is distinguished primarily by its rhizomatous rootstock and thin-textured leaves that have distinct midribs. In contrast, Haemanthus has true bulbs and succulent leaves without midribs. The leaves of most Scadoxus are arranged alternately on a distinct pseudostem whereas in Haemanthus a pseudostem is absent and the leaves are either single or arranged in opposite rows.

Haemanthus species are afforded high value by specialist collectors because of their wide variation in leaf form, texture and orientation; their dense showy flower heads enclosed by colourful bracts; and their attractive ripe berries. They are ideal subjects for containers and raised beds and, depending on the species, do well in sunny or shady rock garden pockets. When grown in pots, all the species are unfortunately highly susceptible to infestation by mealy bugs, which multiply between the bulb tunics. Apart from H. albiflos, three of the best species to grow are the winter-growing H. coccineus, the summer-growing H. humilis and the evergreen H. deformis.

HAEMANTHUS coccineus (April Fool)

H. coccineus is widely known as ‘April Fool’ due to its tendency to bloom around 1 April, following early autumn rains. The blooms provide a welcome splash of reddish orange and to residents of the winter rainfall region of southern Africa it is one of the most recognisable members of the genus. It has a very wide distribution, ranging from southern Namibia to Port Elizabeth. The bulbs are long-lived and best planted in late summer (late January to early February) so that they www.thegardener.co.za I 29

are in the ground before the flower heads appear. The flower stem extends from 8 to 40 cm above the ground, and the large fleshy bulb produces two broad (usually), tongue-shaped leathery leaves that grow throughout winter and die down in early summer. The bulbs are planted with the top of the neck just below soil level, in full sun or light shade. H. coccineus prefers a fast-draining, loamy or sandy medium such as can be made of equal parts of coarse river sand or grit, and finely sifted compost. Once established, the bulbs should be left undisturbed for at least five years or until growth and flowering performance deteriorate, because they resent disturbance to their perennial fleshy roots. Robust, broad-leaved forms of H. coccineus are best grown in rock garden pockets whereas smaller forms do well in pots of 20 to 25 cm diameter. This species is best propagated from seeds sown as soon as they can be easily removed from the bright red, fleshy berries. Thereafter patience is required as the first flowers can only be expected after about five years.

HAEMANTHUS hu

milis (Rabbit’s

Ear)

HAEMANTHUS humilis (Rabbit’s Ear)

A native to the summer rainfall parts of South Africa, H. humilis is widely distributed from the Eastern and Northern Cape to Mpumalanga. It is a very variable species – ranging from dwarf forms that are just 3 cm high to robust specimens that exceed 30 cm. There are two subspecies, the widespread H. humilis subsp. humilis that has ‘included’ (short) stamens and the less common H. humilis subsp. hirsutus that usually has well-protruding stamens.

The bulbs produce two broad, smooth or densely hairy leaves. Flowering, in pink or white, takes place any time from September to March. Both subspecies need light shade and are very successfully cultivated in 25 to 30 cm diameter pots or rock garden pockets. They like a sharply drained medium such as one made with equal parts of finely sifted compost (or milled bark) and coarse river sand (or industrial silica). The bulbs are planted with the top of the neck at, or just above, soil level. An insufficiently welldrained medium results in rotting of the roots and, in extreme instances, the bulbs.

The plants multiply fairly well by offset formation; the offsets are best removed and replanted in spring, as new growth begins. When grown in pots, in summer it is important for the medium to dry out sufficiently between watering, which should be at well-spaced intervals – typically about once a week. In winter the medium is best left to dry out completely. Forms from Lesotho and the Free State are probably frost hardy.

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hu HAEMANTHUS

milis (Rabbit’s

Ear)

HAEMANTHUS de

HAEMANTHUS deformis (Dwarf Haemanthus)

formis (Dwar

f Haemanthus )

The evergreen H. deformis is endemic to forests and shaded stream banks in the Transkei (Eastern Cape) and southern KwaZulu-Natal. It is a valuable bulb for the gardener because it requires dappled shade, and will even flower well in dense shade. The specific name deformis is most likely a reference to the very short, bent flower stem, and the extraordinary manner in which the flower head appears in the centre at the base of the two evergreen leaves (and not from a lateral point as in the other evergreen species). It is a whiteflowered species, grows up to 10 cm high with a short, hairy or smooth scape (single flower stem), and has two very broad, leathery leaves that lie flat on the ground. It flowers at any time from May to October. It likes a well-drained, humusrich growing medium, such as a mix composed of one part coarse river sand

de HAEMANTHUS

formis (Dwar

) f Haemanthus

to two parts well-decomposed compost or finely milled bark. The bulbs are planted with the top of the neck resting at ground level and can remain in the same position for many years, multiplying slowly by offset formation. Seeds form readily and should be harvested and sown as soon as they can be easily removed from the bright orange, fleshy berries. The plants make interesting subjects for wide-brimmed containers in shady courtyard gardens and shaded rockeries. They like drenching at well-spaced intervals in summer and prefer only occasional watering in winter, although they do survive heavy winter rainfall in mild parts of the Western Cape.

www.thegardener.co.za I 31

Fancy

Frangipanis

By Gerald Schofield

The range of Plumeria hybrids makes this a most collectable group of garden plants.

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Dogbane family – botanically referred to as the Apocynaceae family. (For more on the Dogbane family see the June 2010 issue of The Gardener.)

The flowers occur in a wide array of spectacular colours, from almost white through shades of pink, yellow and apricot, to dark maroon and shades of wine, and many have prominent yellow throats. All are deliciously fragrant – one of the main reasons it has traditionally been cultivated in gardens, as street trees and in temple grounds and cemeteries. The rich, heady fragrance of the blooms is particularly pronounced in the early evening, lending a distinctly romantic air to a garden.

P

LUMERIA rubra, one of the seven or eight species of Plumeria that are found in the wild and that go under the common name of ‘frangipani’, occurs naturally in Mexico, Central America, Colombia and Venezuela. For centuries it has been cultivated as a garden tree in most of the tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world. It has stout, succulent-like stems and branches that are topped with lance-shaped leaves from spring to autumn, and it produces copious amounts of fragrant flowers in terminal clusters for months on end. The leaves and stems exude milky sap if the plant is cut or damaged. The tree grows easily from cuttings (truncheons) taken from the parent tree during the dormant winter period. These need to be left for a few days for the sap to dry before planting. P. rubra belongs to the

www.thegardener.co.za I 33

The sturdy trunks and swollen branches of this statuesque tree are covered with pale grey bark. Being deciduous, it is bare limbed in winter and forms a striking silhouette in the landscape. The trees can grow to 7 or 8 metres tall and have a wide spreading growth habit, with branches extending down to almost ground level if left un-pruned.

Easy to grow and requiring little or no attention, frangipanis flourish in almost all soil types, from sand to clay, and they cope with a wide range of pH levels – both acid and alkaline. They grow best in full sun although many can be found in dappled or light shade in mature gardens.

The white flowering PLUMERIA alba The white flowering PLUMERIA alba

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In South Africa frangipanis are found growing in many gardens – from the Western Cape all along the coast and extending inland to most of the warmer regions. Lately they seem to be somewhat out of vogue, with few being grown and offered for sale in nurseries, however, the new hybrids that are making their way to our shores may well resuscitate their popularity. Some of these hybrids have huge individual blooms, reaching 7 to 8 cm in diameter, whilst the colours of others are strikingly beautiful. The magnificent photographs illustrating this article make an attempt to highlight just how spectacular they are – and what a far cry they are from the usual cream- and pink-flowered forms that were planted extensively a century or so ago.

Frangipani Fact File

• Frangipanis are deciduous trees that flourish in the warm, subtropical regions of South Africa.

• They withstand drought and dry periods with consummate ease.

• They propagate easily from cuttings or truncheons planted directly in situ.

• They bloom profusely from late spring through summer and into autumn.

• Blooms come in a wide array of different colours and are deliciously fragrant.

Another of the Plumeria species is the white-flowering PLUMERIA alba, commonly known as West Indian jasmine, which originates from Puerto Rico and parts of the West Indian islands. The numerous garden hybrids enhance the range and variety of frangipanis to the point that they have become a most collectable group of garden plants. If you have a large enough garden and you live in a climate where they grow well then begin collecting them now – you may be astounded to find out just how many different frangipanis there are.

An interesting statistic

In 2005 over 14 million PLUMERIA rubra blooms were harvested and sold in Hawaii for making leis (flower garlands). If you have a tree then you can make your own and use them to lend a Hawaiian theme to your summer parties.

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