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NOVEMBER 2010

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Publisher Lonehill Trading (Pty) Ltd Editor Tanya Visser Managing Director Kevin Beaumont

Taking the Plunge Pool gardens that work in total harmony In Rose and Columns Meet the attractive Rosaceae family Gardening is soul food Gardens with a thread of picturesque elegance Growing Organic A refresher on the basics from Australian Annette Welsford The Cherry on Top Try your hand at growing cherries

Welcome Garden Graft Ideas, tips and tasks for November Your Letters Moon Gardening Following November’s Moon Lunar Gardening Guide Plant Profile HOSTA ‘Yellow Spot’ In the Garden with Gerald Incas, Aggies & Mopheads!

Wildlife Gardening Attracting birds to your garden Diary of a Cape Garden Hardscaping for a Water-Wise Garden Combos that Work Verbenas and Bulbines Indigenous with Jenny Dean Extraordinary Beauty Rose Care Looking ahead to December Growing Herbs Herbs for Punch The Spice Collection The Curry Tree – MURRAYA koenigii Growing Vegetables Time to Harvest Bonsai In a (second) Nutshell Petpourri Just like Kids Koi Tata Ma Tosai Tatagoi Tales from the Green Dragon On Being Inconspicuous

Advertising Jonathan Gouws 031 764 0593 jonathan@thegardener.co.za

Managing Editor (Editorial enquiries) Wendy Moulton 031 764 0593 wendy@thegardener.co.za

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Welcome you must go to Keith and the sponsors who made it possible for us to share Chris’s wisdom and be inspired by his enthusiasm. What a privilege it was listening to this truly talented and amazing gardener.

This month Gerald takes a look at another of the plant families.

This time it is Rosaceae, which includes the genus Rosa, the rose, surely the most loved member of this family and possibly of all flowering plants, and it also has many other rather good-looking members, including one of my personal favourites, RHAPHIOLEPIS x delacourii ‘Kruschenia’ (Indian hawthorn). It is such a versatile shrub and thrives from the coast to the mountains. Other family members include Cotoneaster, Prunus and, of course, apples and pears ... Mmm, now all we need is the partridge! Do take your time to savour the article on this beautiful family, and all the other goodies in this jam-packed issue.

Happy gardening!

Yours truly, Chris Beardshaw and Keith Kirsten – how much more ‘gardening’ could you hope to fit in one photo?

V

ery soon we will be hearing Christmas carols in a seemingly never-ending sound loop in all the shopping centres – probably mostly by Boney M – and while I don’t have anything against Boney M (I actually enjoy their music) it really ‘gets under my skin’ when I hear carols being played in the shops. I don’t think the shop owners are playing the carols because they are feeling particularly festive, I think they believe it will induce us to buy more, and I guess that’s why it annoys me. Well, whether we buy more or not, the fact is that that silly season is around the corner and all the madness is about to begin.

The other fact is that summer is here, in full force. In this intense heat we need to make educated decisions when it comes to our gardens – about what we plant and how we care for and get the most out of our little gems, despite the heat.

Award-winning UK horticulturist Chris Beardshaw recently did a whirlwind lecture tour of SA. His visit was at the invitation of Keith Kirsten, and the proceeds from his lectures will benefit the South African Nursery Association Tom Arnold Bursary Fund. A huge thank

PS: Along with gardening I also have a passion for good food (and watching cute chefs!) so I’ll be spending some time at the Good Food & Wine Show at the Durban Exhibition Centre from Thursday 25 to Sunday 28 November 2010. Tickets to see the chefs in action are always in hot demand so book yours for the ‘Get Fresh With BBC Lifestyle’ theatre and the ‘Chefs In Action Theatre’ in advance through Computicket (or take your chances and try at the door). For more information, visit www.gourmetsa.com.

ON THE COVER STRELITZIA regina Green Champion

Tanya dressed by:

Preparing for the Good Food & Wine Show? Nope! This is how you get your eyes to sparkle just before you’re about to film a slot for another series of The Gardener for the Home Channel.

Visit us on:

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NOVEMBER DIARY

Garden

Graft TRACHELOSPERMUM jasminoides (star jasmine)

Prime Planting In November the sweet fragrance of TRACHELOSPERMUM jasminoides (star jasmine) fills the air. This evergreen climber with polished dark green foliage and star-shaped white flowers will grow happily in light shade or full sun. Plant masses of it in the shade of deciduous trees as low maintenance ground covers, and plant a few more specimens in sturdy hanging baskets so you can enjoy the tumbling branches covered in blooms.

They are also rewarding when planted in large containers and trained around elegant steel obelisks or tepees made of thin wooden poles, or planted in the ground and allowed to trail over wire fences, pergolas and garden arches. These trusty plants generally give no problems, except that the leaves sometimes begin to turn yellow – prevent this by fertilising the soil with a general fertiliser that is rich in nitrogen and potassium. Star jasmine does best in composted, free-draining soil.

For something really special plant the very exotic STEPHANOTIS floribunda (Madagascar jasmine) in a pot close to your patio. This climber has large, leathery leaves and a spreading growth habit and produces the most awesome bunches of sweet-smelling trumpet-shaped flowers all while growing without any fuss.

Plant now

STEPHANOTIS floribunda (Madagascan jasmine)

PETUNIA

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Red-flowering bedding plants are just the ticket to add that special touch to your garden for the festive season. You can use them as an economical option for indoor table decorations too. Start by planting individual bedding plants in small pots now and growing them on. By Christmas they should be looking good, and then it’s simply a case of dropping them into decorative cover pots and using some baubles and glitz around their feet in place of mulch – they will be fit to grace the table of any festive feast; what great value from a six pack of plants. Pick the red-flowering plants from the options that follow.

Bedding begonias are useful for edging off flower beds, and Dragon Wing Red Begonia, the familiar big begonia with cascading growth, looks great in hanging baskets and pots.

Dianthus (DIANTHUS chinensis x barbatus or D. chinensis) is also available in bright red and it only reaches a height of 20 to 25 cm. In the garden it is used to provide edging colour, but it looks equally great in pots. It grows in full sun but light shade will be tolerated too. To ensure they flower prolifically and continuously you need to feed your dianthus plants with a soluble fertiliser every two weeks. Also consider planting the very compact DIANTHUS caryophyllus (pot carnation). There are quite a few fragrant and pretty varieties available now.

Lipstick-red New Guinea impatiens in pots make perfect table decorations.

Petunias love December if it’s hot and dry; if you’re in a winter rainfall area then plant a few dozen red-flowering petunias in pots, hanging baskets and window boxes now and they will be magnificent in December.

SALVIA splendens (red salvia) just has that Christmas feel about it, with its upright red flower sprays evoking memories of the toy soldiers of The Nutcracker. Salvias make handy summer bedding plants for full sun and light shade. Use the dwarf varieties

DIANTHUS ‘Corona Cherry Magic’

SALVIA splendens (red salvia)

IMPATIENS (New Guinea hybrid)

(15 cm high) as well as the giants, which will grow up to 30 cm. Both are great for festive Christmas pots.

Vinca (CATHARANTHUS roseus) is the hardiest of all the bedding plants. They love a hot spot in full sun and poor sandy soil, and they detest too much water. The latest hybrids are wonderful for Christmassy pots as they are compact and bushy and bear lots of red flowers backed up by glossy leaves.

Your lawn If your lawn isn’t emerald green yet, then fertilise again with a lawn fertiliser and water regularly.

Set the blades high and mow frequently. Kikuyu, in particular, will develop a much finer texture if mown twice a week.

Kitchen gardening Herbs Sow sweet basil, coriander, fennel, Italian parsley, chives, green peppers, chillies and sage.

Vegetables Sow cabbage, spinach, rocket, carrots, beets, radishes, runner beans, brinjals, tomatoes, celery and rhubarb.

Plant chillies this month

Pest problems Beetles – CMR beetles and fruit chafers (bigger and nastier!) can devour flowers with ease in a day. These yellow and black beetles are difficult to miss and the best way to deal with them is to catch them by hand. Serious infestations can be controlled with Ludwig’s Insect Spray Plus (Reg. no L 7631) at a rate of 100 ml to 10 litres of water to which 10 ml Spray Stay has been added.

HELIANTHUS annuus

Must do Continue mulching flower beds with home-made compost.

Check your irrigation system regularly. Blocked nozzles and sprayers that don’t reach the soil when watering will result in plants wilting, and dying if they are deprived of water for too long.

Prune deciduous spring-flowering shrubs like SPIRAEA cantoniensis, SPIRAEA x arguta and Deutzia. Cut away all dead wood and remove about a third of the old growth.

Prune trailing geraniums back after their first flower flush and feed every two weeks to encourage more flowers.

Neaten climbers by pruning them lightly. Tie their side branches firmly to the structures that they have to cover. Bougainvilleas that have stopped flowering can be pruned too.

HELIANTHUS annuus (sunflowers) are easy to grow, and they grow fast. Sow the seed in full sun in the back of a bed as most grow quite tall.

Dig the soil over and add ample amounts of compost. Press the seeds into moistened soil, about 2 cm deep and 30 cm apart. Flood the row of seeds with water and keep the soil moist until they have germinated. www.thegardener.co.za l 7

NOVEMBER DIARY

In your

region

Summer rainfall temperate Plant PELARGONIUM graveolens (rose geranium). It is a small, bushy shrub that grows to about 1,5 m tall and produces soft pink flowers from August to January. When the fleshy leaves are crushed they give off a heavenly rose scent. Use the leaves and flowers to flavour and decorate deserts and cakes. You will have more flowers if you plant them in full sun, but light shade is also fine.

Prune shrubs like jasmine, banksias, Dorothy Perkins roses and spiraea when they have finished flowering. Hail-damaged plants can also be pruned lightly.

Stake young trees and standard roses properly to prevent storm damage.

Prune azaleas for neatness, feed and renew the acid mulch around them and water them regularly.

Summer rainfall subtropical Downy mildew is different from powdery mildew and a killer in cool but humid weather. Downy mildew causes the outer petals of rose buds to discolour and dry out.

To give your roses a fighting chance, you have to grow tougher leaves. A handful of dolomitic lime per rose plant every two years is a good strategy. Calcium is an important mineral in the soil and plays a big role in strengthening the cells and membranes of plants. Adding the foliar fertiliser Magi-Cal to your spraying cocktail will also help to strengthen the plants.

Winter rainfall

PELARGONIUM graveolens

Inspiration for a dry Japanese pond

Plant red petunias and alyssum in pots or along pathways for festive colour and a subtle and sweet fragrance.

Divide irises when they have finished flowering.

Use the water retentive product Aqua-Soil in beds when you plant out young and soft seedlings. It helps to break the water repellent layer over sun-baked soil and also helps to take water right down to root level. It will keep the soil moist for much longer too. Apart from its water retentive qualities, it also conditions the soil and contains slowly releasing fertiliser that will feed your seedlings.

Treat all containers and hanging baskets with Stockosorb water retentive crystals. You can also add it to planting holes for new plants.

Fynbos, including buchus, leucospermums, ericas and proteas, can be pruned for neatness after flowering. Renew their mulch.

Prune confetti bushes quite hard. You can cut them into interesting topiary shapes too.

Plant now for long-lasting summer colour. Red salvias and vincas love hot and dry summers.

Dry continental A ‘dry pond’, as seen in some Japanese gardens, is the ideal way to create a new focal point. Take care and time to place sand, gravel, stone and plants in a natural and interesting way. Use flat stones as stepping blocks for traversing the ‘pond’ while a thick and final layer of river sand can be raked neatly to be the ‘water’. Use strong focal plants to soften your scene and to add balance, like ELEGIA tectorum, ACORUS gramineus ‘Golden edge’, DIETES grandiflora, ACER palmatum var. dissectum ‘Atropurpureum’ and OPHIOPOGON japonicus‘Kyoto Dwarf’.

CISTUS ‘Silver Pink’ has small grey-green leaves and is covered from early spring to midsummer with masses of rose pink flowers. This is a very tough shrub which endures alkaline soil and full sun. It combines well with SANTOLINA chamaecyparissus (dwarf santolina), another tough shrub that endures extreme climates. Dwarf santolina has fine, silvery foliage and bears mustard yellow flowers in summer.

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Growing 56 I www.thegardener.co.za

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ntil fairly recently organic gardening was generally regarded as the preserve of eccentrics who refused to accept the self-evident truth that twentieth-century progress had transformed the ancient art of gardening. The attitude was ‘why fiddle around with compost and garlic spray when modern fertilisers and insecticides are so much more efficient and easier to use?’

Opinions have changed because the benefits of twentieth-century technology have come at a price, and now most gardeners regard ‘organic’ as the most sensible way to garden. Chemical sprays and fertilisers have done much damage to the environment. As individual gardeners we might not think that we can do much to change the world, but we certainly can take sensible care of the one part of the environment we control: our own garden.

And by doing so, we do make a difference, particularly when you add up all the home gardens in the world – they represent a fair chunk of the environment.

Organic gardening is simply the application of common sense such as people have been practising for centuries. It involves digging manure into a planting bed, putting kitchen scraps onto a compost heap, using blood and bone on your tomatoes instead of sulphate of ammonia. By spreading rich

compost that you have made, rather than a bag of chemical fertiliser, you know that it will benefit not just the growth of your plants, but the health of your soil for years to come. You are working hand in hand with nature, in harmony with its own rhythms.

In order to maintain a healthy organic garden it is worth spending a few minutes reviewing the cycle of life in the garden, so that you understand all the elements and their interdependence on each other. In a richly forested area, where a huge variety of plants grow abundantly without human intervention, you will notice that the forest floor will be covered by a thin layer of fallen leaves. The leaves are decaying and beneath them is the multitude of living organisms that are digesting the organic matter and in their turn adding their own dead bodies to the soil. They range from worms and small insects down to microscopic bacteria and fungi and without them the recycling process could not occur.

Humus The result of the work of all these organisms is the wonderful substance called humus.

It is a sort of black colloid and gives fertile soil its dark colour and sweet earthy smell.

It sticks to the mineral particles that form the framework of the soil and fills in the gaps so that water and dissolved nutrients

It takes time to build up the levels of humus in the soil, especially if it has been depleted by wasteful gardening and poisoned by indiscriminate use of insecticides, fungicides and artificial fertilisers. It also takes time to get used to the idea of feeding the soil and not the plants.

are held within the structure, to be made available to plants as they are needed.

Humus is gradually digested and yields its nutrients to plants, and unless it is constantly replaced the soil dies. The soil lives as long as the recycling process is not interfered with – but interference is precisely what happens in a garden. We don’t return everything to the soil. We remove weeds to the compost heap; we eat our vegetables and send our own wastes elsewhere. We cut flowers and throw them in the garbage; we burn leaves and prunings. And each of these actions diminishes the humus supply.

We may even use poisonous chemicals that kill the micro-organisms. Clearly we need to work to restore the balance.

Unless you replenish the organic matter from which the humus is continually being created, the soil will gradually die. Added chemical fertilisers boost the growth of your plants for a little while, but they do not nourish the living creatures of the soil, nor do they create humus. Chemical fertilisers present other problems as well.

To make them soluble they contain things the garden doesn’t need: sulphate of ammonia certainly yields nitrogen from the ammonia, but the sulphate part poisons worms, bacteria and fungi. www.thegardener.co.za I 57

Organic matter – material that was once alive – must be added continually to feed the humus, which is why it is important to make your own compost by recycling as much organic matter as possible from the garden itself. Fallen leaves, vegetable stalks, spent flowers – nothing should be wasted. Then bring in other matter from outside: vegetable scraps, animal manure, blood and bone, lawn clippings, hair, newspaper and straw.

Is compost a good fertiliser?

Just how good compost is as a fertiliser depends on how you measure it. The amounts of available nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus (the NPK figures) are rather low and variable when compared to artificial fertiliser. It doesn’t force an instant spurt of growth; its benefit is long term. If your soil is naturally low in a particular element, you simply add the required elements to the heap, preferably in a form on which the micro-organisms can work. Anything rich in protein (blood, bone, urine, manure) will add nitrogen; bone meal supplies phosphorus; potash comes from wood ash or seaweed. The demand for compost in a garden is greatest in late winter, when planting beds are being made up, and through spring, when mulching gets under way for summer, but you can spread your compost as and when it suits you.

Growing tomatoes organically Tomatoes love lots of compost and manure.

Ideally it should be dug into the bed at least eight weeks before planting to give it time to break down as well as to generate beneficial microorganisms. Time is also required for the nutrients in the compost or manure to be released. Digging the compost or manure into the soil will probably result in a whole lot of weeds germinating, and they can then be weeded out before planting your tomatoes. Around established plants, where you don’t want to dig deep and disturb roots, spread compost onto the surface as mulch. As it decomposes it will settle down into the soil and the earthworms will come up and take it down with them. A more-or-less permanent layer of mulch will keep the soil cool, smother any weeds and conserve moisture.

This article was written by Australian Annette Welsford. Annette co-wrote How to Grow Juicy Tasty Tomatoes with Lucia Grimmer, a plant nutrition technician and an authority on plant diseases. The book details everything one needs to know about growing tomatoes organically, it has step-by-step instructions for the novice gardener and advanced trial-based information for the professional grower.

Visit www.bestjuicytomatoes.com to order a hard copy or buy and download an electronic copy.

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THE

CURRY

TREE Murraya koenigii

By Margaret Roberts

I

ndian emigrants took their curry trees with them when they went to live in different countries. I was given my first curry trees, about twenty years ago, by an Indian chef who also taught me how to make ‘real curry powder’, as he put it. He also casually said that the fresh leaves had medicinal properties – his grandmother used them to keep colds and ‘flu away, and they were a good treatment for viruses and some cancers. I was astonished. Later I found out that the medical claims were correct and that the leaf is rich in antioxidants and that it is listed in the pharmacopoeias of Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. Through the centuries every home had a curry tree and its sprays of compound leaves were there for daily pickings.

Growing the Curry Tree MURRAYA koenigii is frost tender, so do not attempt to grow it if you do not live in a warm subtropical area or a tropical, frost free area. Tiny trees are grown from clusters of seeds that form from the tiny, white, star-shaped flowers. The seeds need to ripen and to dry out before picking and sowing.

Press two or three ripe seeds into a pot of moist, compost-rich soil and keep the pot in the shade; do not let the soil dry out. The little seedlings take a few months to become sturdy and strong enough to plant out. At that stage choose an area that gets full sun and prepare deep and wide compost-filled planting holes and flood them with water.

Carefully, so as not to disturb the roots, ease the little trees out of the pot and sink them into the prepared holes. Press the soil all around each tree to secure it and keep it moist. Make a strong dam around each tree, in preparation for a long, slow, weekly watering and watch over the trees carefully.

Using the Curry Leaf

“Real Curry Powder”

The word curry comes from the Tamil word kari, which means a spicy, intensely flavoured sauce. The curry leaf is a vital ingredient in the Tamil kitchen and has been in use as both a flavouring and a food since the first century AD. It has been used in Hindu medications and Ayurvedic medicine for many centuries and it has its place in ceremony and in celebration, and its reputation as a valuable medicine, listed and registered in the highest pharmacopoeias, gives it a unique status that is recognised worldwide.

Modern medical research validates its role in treating diarrhoea, dysentery, vomiting, nausea and extreme exhaustion due to trauma. A tea of the leaves – a quarter cup of leaves to one cup of boiling water, stand 5 minutes, stir well, then strain and sip slowly – is greatly soothing for these ailments and is also the traditional tea for diabetes, a use that is coming under the spotlight as research isolates helpful compounds within the fresh leaves. The cooled tea is becoming a popular lotion, gargle and mouthwash, and is used to treat sore throats, flu symptoms, mouth infections, gum ailments and sores around the mouth. Curry leaves are rich in antioxidants and antiviral compounds that have been found to have protective effects against certain cancers.

In rural India and Sri Lanka toothbrushes are made from the stems and tender branches by crushing the ends and fraying out the fibres; they help to clean between the teeth as well as massaging the gums to clear up any infections.

Curry leaf is a warming, stimulating, wonderfully flavour-filled herb that eases the digestion, improves the appetite, soothes colic and diarrhoea, lifts constipation and disperses sour belching, burping and flatulence. All parts of the beautiful little tree are used and a paste of pounded leaves makes a soothing poultice over insect bites, stings, scratches and grazes. Fresh and dried leaves fried in ghee or oil are the base for curries, and added to chutneys, marinades, sauces, dressings and spreads, rubs and grindings with fenugreek and chilli and cumin.

This is the basic curry mix the Indian chef gave me on that wonderful day he brought the trees, and I have experimented, added to it and loved every taste.

• ½ cup coriander seeds • ½ cup cumin seeds • ½ cup fenugreek seeds • 2 teaspoons cardamom pods, shelled • 1 teaspoon cloves • ½ cup mustard seeds (yellow) • 1 tablespoon tamarind • 1 tablespoon turmeric • ½ cup (or more or less) chilli – finely

chopped and seeds removed if preferred • 1 cup fresh curry leaves • ½ cup freshly grated ginger • ½ cup thick brown sugar All are finely ground and crushed in a pestle and mortar and salt and black pepper are added to taste. This exquisite blend needs to be freshly made every time. Mix it well.

The tamarind comes in a paste – mash it into everything. The ginger needs to be really finely grated – add it to the sugar.

Carefully spoon the mixture into a hot pan with a little ghee and work quickly. Then add chicken pieces or fish or mutton, or keep it deliciously vegetarian and add chickpeas or lentils or brinjal, and vegetables, then add a little stock or water.

You may prefer stronger tastes – add and change and keep notes. Served with rice its pure taste is incredible!

NB! Don’t confuse MURRAYA koenigii with HELICHRYSUM italicum (the ‘curry plant’). H. italicum only smells like curry, but it cannot really be eaten.

The scent is the only ‘curry’ part of it, and the leaves are not edible.

Curry trees are available under the Margaret Roberts Malanseuns Herb Collection label.

Ask your nursery to order them for you.

Poolside living

Taking the

plunge

By Anna Celliers

Summer is here, you’re sporting a golden tan and your bikini fits like a glove once again.

But all of this is of no use to you if your swimming pool and entertainment area is not up to scratch. The Gardener visited two great gardens where the swimming pools, their surroundings and the homes work in total harmony with each other.

Old houses, modern poolside

This Montagu pool garden was designed by Jan Hagen of Zantedeschia Concepts with very specific stipulations; these came courtesy of David Muirhead and Associates of Johannesburg, who managed the project of joining the Krige House (a national monument) and House Biden, and handled the interior design.

There had to be complete synergy between the interior and exterior spaces of these two very old properties. The pool garden, which is enclosed with walls on three sides, is the centrepiece and is joined to the rest of the garden rooms with neat stepping stone pathways. Two separate water features of nearly the same design lead one away from the pool – the main expanse of cool water – into other sections of the garden. Balau wood was used extensively around the pool as flooring and there is also a balau deck placed under an old white stinkwood tree. www.thegardener.co.za I 35

Working with what you have‌

There is a large CELTIS africana (white stinkwood) and an old PODOCARPUS falcatus (Outeniqua yellowwood) on the property that are of sentimental value to the owners. Both were pruned neatly to enhance their shape and then draped with strings of fairy lights that create a magical atmosphere at night.

Adding the flair

No poolside garden is complete without reclining chairs and potted containers.

Be careful not to overdo your decorating though: there must be enough space around the edges of the pool for family members and guests to enjoy themselves and be safe even when playing boisterously.

A flamboyant chandelier hangs from a thick branch of the white stinkwood.

The tree is surrounded by a wooden deck.

The comfortable rattan garden furniture allows the family to spend long hours outside during the balmy summer evenings of Montagu.

Potted up in magnificent bright yellow flowering splendour is a lovely dwarf aloe hybrid.

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Adding some plants…

The plan was to turn this garden into a haven for the owners, who would escape to it for weekends and holidays away from their busy city lives. The decision was to keep foliage colour as peaceful as possible by using mainly green, but in different textures. The plantings of PHILODENDRON xanadu, VIBURNUM odoratissimum, V. tinus lucidum and V. suspensum are still young at this stage, but will eventually grow to soften the walls and create the feeling of deep shade and coolness so needed in the Klein Karoo, with its hot summers of 40 plus degrees C. Jan also experimented with SCHEFFLERA umbellifera (false cabbage tree) as he believes this plant will be ideal to supply vertical height and screening in narrow spaces because of its slender growth habit.

The spotted form of Ligularia can always be counted on to supply intrigue amongst other shades of green.

The leathery, polished leaves of the small evergreen MAGNOLIA grandiflora ‘Little Gem’ have a beautiful brown reverse.

The velvety leaves of TIBOUCHINA grandifolia (velvet-leaved glory bush) are soft to the touch and make it beautiful to look at, even when it is not covered in its deep purple flowers.

www.thegardener.co.za I 37

Poolhouse

This house has become so much a part of the garden that one can almost dive from a comfortable couch into the deep coolness of the dark blue swimming pool. Theresa Rabe of Onrusrivier, a windy coastal town close to Hermanus, became tired of her backyard patio because it afforded no protection from the elements. She covered it with a solid roof and installed a whitestained wooden floor and now the folding doors that separate it from the house can be completely opened up every day, allowing her to live closer to nature and inviting her garden into the house.

This has become her favourite room and the place where she spends most of her leisure time.

Adding some detail

Theresa loves decorating and styling, and she rings the changes according to the weather. If it is cold outside then warm red scatter cushions, throws and small dĂŠcor items are used to add a welcoming atmosphere to her entertainment area. If it is hot and sunny, room dĂŠcor in cool blue is used to change the look.

Planting, Theresa style...

The plant choice for this small pool garden with its magnificent backdrop of forbidding mountains was deliberately kept simple.

Large-leaved ivy covers some of the boundary walls, while those walls in full view of the entertainment room were made interesting with trellis panels upon which TRACHELOSPERMUM jasminoides (star jasmine) grows. Seasonal colour in the form of annuals is planted in wall-mounted pots between the trellises and neatly pruned SYZYGIUM paniculatum and WESTRINGIA fruticosa fill the window boxes and containers.

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Planning a pool party

• Pick a theme, going for something unusual that will create a buzz. For example, if you call it ‘nearly the end of a blooming great year’ you can use inexpensive floral-patterned material for the table runners and cushions, tie floral ribbons around the trees and hang paper lanterns across the tables.

• You can even get by with a modest catering budget: make simple picnic food and pack it in baskets. Friends can also be asked to help. The large snack platters available from most supermarkets are an economical option too – supplement them with fresh breads and spreads.

• Use leaves, flowers and succulents from your garden for decorating. Some fruits and vegetables are relatively cheap at this time of year so use them as table decorations too. It is sometimes a simple glossy nectarine in a small clay pot or a bunch of fresh herbs tied with string that gets all the oohs and aahs, rather than expensive blooms from a florist.

• Use lots of cheap candles in glass jars or old drinking glasses for lighting.

• Fill your wheelbarrow with ice and use it to keep drinks cold.

• Create small seating areas for eating, rather than one large table.

• Do not be neighbourhood pests; keep the noise and the music at an acceptable level and remember that the best pool parties are those where the neighbours have been invited. If it isn’t possible to invite everyone who might be inconvenienced then warn them ahead of time; do this by making a personal visit, bearing a gift from your garden.

www.thegardener.co.za I 39

BUY ONE

SUBSCRIPTION PLUS stand a chance to win an

MDT175 Lawn Tractor worth R22 000 from Creative Equipment

MTD lawn tractors are available from lawn and garden equipment outlets and home improvement centres. MTD is distributed in Southern Africa by Creative Equipment, contact 011 8285085, or visit www.creativelp.co.za.

CONGRATULATIONS to Mr A.J. Dreyer, Mrs B. Goldschmidt and Mrs E.H. Altintopi who each won a JoJo SlimlineTM tank plus R1500 cash to pay for the installation, the subscribe and win prizes for August 2010.

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AND GET ONE

FREE Get ready for the festive season

W

e have something really special lined up for one lucky subscriber this month, plus a double-up treat for every single new subscriber.

If you subscribe or renew your subscription to The Gardener or Die Tuinier before 22 November 2010 your name will go into the draw for a fantastic MTD175 Lawn Tractor worth over R22 000, supplied by Creative Equipment. New subscribers who take out a standard 12-month subscription for R220 will go into the draw for the prize from Creative Equipment AND get a second subscription absolutely free, to give as a gift.

Creative Equipment has introduced two new models to its tractor range: the MTD135 and the MTD175, and both take care of large areas quickly without any hard work.

MTD135 Lawn Tractor The MTD135 is a lawn tractor with rear discharge, a powerful 10,1 kW (13,5 hp) Briggs & Stratton engine under its hood and a cutting width of 92 cm, making it ideal for lawns of approximately 2 000 to 4 000 m2.

Subscribe online at www.rnadistribution.co.za or email subs@rnad.co.za

Call (011) 473 8700 with your credit card details or SMS ‘Subs TG’ to 41939 (R2/sms) and we’ll call you!

Renew for R207 and

save 25% on the cover price Senior Citizens pay only R193 and save 30%

GREATT GIF IDEA

A transmatic transmission transfers the engine power to the rear wheels, which allows you to switch drive positions without interruptions.

The MTD135 can be used as a 3-in-1 machine that can mulch, bag and discharge when equipped with a mulch kit and deflector, which are available as accessories. Thanks to its huge grass catcher (240 litre) you do not have to drive to the compost pile often, even if you have a large lawn. A few of the extra features from the comprehensive range are the floating deck, the turf-saving wheels and the pivoting front axle – attributes that are not usually included in this price class. Thanks to the deck that projects over the left side, you can mow especially close to the edge.

MTD175 Lawn Tractor The MTD175 lawn tractor, the prize for this month’s lucky winner, definitely belongs to the top category of rear discharge lawn tractors. Its robust design and construction makes it suitable for continuous use under rough conditions. It can also be used as a 3-in-1 machine that can mulch, bag and

Post a cheque with your details (name, postal address & contact number) to RNA Distribution SUBS, PO Box 725, Maraisburg, 1700

Debit order option: Call (011) 473 8700 and pay only R48 every 3 months.

A subscription to The Gardener costs only R220 and buys a year of reading pleasure along with the added benefits of free delivery and never missing an issue.

discharge when equipped with a mulch kit and deflector. Its smooth 4-stroke Briggs & Stratton engine performs with 12,9 kW (17,5 hp), which allows you to mow slopes quickly and easily. Even large areas of 4 000 to 5 000 m2 can be tackled in a relatively short period of time thanks to its working width of 105 cm. Another of the distinctive features of this machine is the newly developed automatic transmission from MTD. With it, the transmission is controlled by very robust mechanical parts, making it almost indestructible. You can easily control the speed, forward and in reverse, with a single pedal. There is no need to shift gears as the transmission continuously adjusts itself to the speed. With the new automatic transmission the tractor achieves a driving comfort that was previously exclusive to hydrostatic transmissions. A soft-grip steering wheel, high backrest, front bumper, top-quality rubberized anti-skid foot pads, and the step-through frame for easy mounting and dismounting round off the list of extra features.

Deposit your payment into Subscribe to The Gardener FNB Corporate Jhb, Code and nominate one 25 50 05 00, Account number Afrikaans-speaking friend 62104927259 and fax to receive three consecutive a copy along with your issues of Die Tuinier, details to (011) 474 5479 absolutely free.

Overseas subscribers R678. Rest of Africa R578. Please allow four weeks for processing of orders. All prices include vat. All prices valid to 30 November 2010. www.thegardener.co.za I 103