The Gardener March

Start a foodgarden

growPaprika Kiwi fruit Broccoli

for the BirdS& the BeeS Candelabra treeS DIYBalcony revamp

recycling Bench

R22.95OTHER COUNTRIESR20.13 Excl. TAXOn sale 14 February to 14 March 2011

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MARCH 2011

SOUTH AFRICA

YOUR FAVOURITE GARDENING MAGAZINE

PLantHangoVerSCascading cures

for ugly walls

new releasesSedum angelina, athoumSea Urchin & Coral reefipomoea Sweet CarolineBlack Petunias

old favouritesSedum autumn JoyLemon verbenadwarf coral treePineapple flower

Publisher Lonehill Trading (Pty) LtdEditor Tanya VisserManaging Director Kevin BeaumontManaging Editor (Editorial enquiries)Wendy Moulton 031 764 0593 [email protected] Copy EditorDesiree Collett van RooyenArt DirectorRuth BrophyWeb and Graphic DesignTanya CampherPhotography Geoff Redman,David van den Bergh

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Office Administrator (Enquiries) Kim van Rooyen 031 764 0593 [email protected]

DIY ExpertGarth Demmer

SubscriptionsRNA 011 473 8700 [email protected]

Editorial contributors Alice Spenser-Higgs, Anna Celliers, Di-Di Hoffman, Gerald Schofield, Glynne Anderson, Kevin Beaumont, Dr Hugh Glen, Ian Sharp, Ilona Thorndike, Jenny Dean, Lindsay Gray, Ludwig Taschner, Malcolm Hepplewhite, 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: [email protected]

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.

CONTENTS March 2011

06 MarchDiary Garden graft, Open gardens, Events

12 Letters A glimpse into readers’ gardens

13 Lunargardeningguide Garden by the moon with Ilona

14 Plantprofile ALOYSIA triphylla (Lemon verbena)

19 It’smeagain! Tanya’s in the garden with lots

of plants and a cool new cultivator

28 FarmGardenDesign Visit Anne and Brian Knox’s farm

garden in Bedford with us

32 Hangovers Plant cures for ugly walls

38 Euphorbias Candelabra trees are a food source

for creatures when times are lean

42 Fruitfile Grow kiwi fruit

44 IndigenouswithJennyDean Summer is almost gone

46 Growingherbs Harvesting and preserving

48 Growingvegetables Starting a food garden

51 Thespicecollection CAPSICUM annuum (Paprika)

52 DiaryofaCapegardener Reviving a neglected hedge

54 TenoftheBest Bird attracting plants for

small gardens

60 Fourdecadesofroses Ludwig celebrates 40 years

createdefine your living spacein the garden

marketplace

extras

57 WatergardeningDIY A unique water feature

67 DIYwithwood Super stylish recycling bench

70 DIYwithcement • Birdbath

• Textured walls

72 BalconyMakeover Sky high gardening: revamp

a balcony in 3 hours

77 Newproducts,promotions andgiveaways

59 Petpourri Love bites

88 TalesfromtheGreenDragon Memory ...

76 SubscribetoTheGardener Stand a chance to win a garden

planter from Home Organic

Recently, many readers have been dealing with extreme weather conditions, and in some places these conditions persist. As I write some readers are still in the throes of

mopping up and finding their plants under layers of silt and mud, while others are having to save every drop of grey water to keep their gardens alive. For those of us not directly facing these realities it seems surreal that such difficulties are being experienced right here in our own country. I guess it is true that ‘one’s perception is one’s reality’, and so each of us who is not affected lives on in his or her own world, where the weather is good, there is enough but not too much water available, and our gardens continue to thrive. I am currently one of these lucky gardeners, so let me stop and think of those for whom the reality is very different.

If you are a gardener who is facing challenges that are, or seem to be, overwhelming, where an end to the misery doesn’t appear to be anywhere in sight, and where the restoration of your garden is still a distant vision, I offer you my encouragement and a suggestion that you try to use the situation to your advantage. How on earth can I find some good in this, you may be wondering. Well, there was probably something in your garden that you didn’t like, that just never seemed right, so use this as an opportunity to dream and to plan, then begin the process of renewal in those areas. Perhaps it will be to make space for that amazing compost heap that you have read about (the one that us folks at The Gardener have begged you to get going for years). Perhaps it will be to make sure that, once restored, all your beds are treated to a good layer of organic mulch. In both cases, remember to collect the debris and leaves from all the dead and dying plants. It will be perfect for compost, or mulch if put through a shredder (so beg, borrow or buy one, if you can). In fact, when you are clearing up after a garden disaster of almost any sort there are few things handier than a shredder so maybe that’s the first purchase you’ll have to make to get your garden back on its feet (roots?). I have to confess that shredders are one of my favourite gadgets – so much so that family members warn visitors to stay away from me when I am operating one, because, in my enthusiasm, anything or anyone in close

proximity runs the risk of being fed through it.

And now, because people dealing with a garden crisis need to escape that reality for a while,

Tanya and Garthdressed by:

Green Champion

www.thegardener.co.za

on the coverSEDUM ‘Autumn Joy’Read about SEDUM ‘Autumn Joy’, the plant that produces this gloriously-coloured flower head, in ‘Tanya in the garden’, which starts on page 19.

welcome

PS: Do drop in and visit us at Hobby-X,

you’ll find the details in this issue.

and those who aren’t still need inspiration, we’ve packed this issue full of useful information. Along with all the other goodies, we showcase an inspiring farm garden near Bedford, and bring you an article by Ian Sharp on the many virtues of candelabra trees (Euphorbia species). Maligned because of their toxic latex, we forget how their spectacular form can contribute to a garden’s design and don’t realise what an amazing role they play in feeding insects and, in turn, the insectivorous birds that feed on those insects. And talking of feeding the birds, we also feature ‘Ten of the Best’ bird-attracting plants for small gardens by Malcolm Hepplewhite. If one of your ‘missions’ for 2011 is to encourage more feathered friends into your garden then Ian’s and Malcolm’s articles are right on target. And, if another of your ‘missions’ is to do more for the planet, and especially if you are a DIY enthusiast, then there’s a good looking recycling unit to build, to ensure your family recycles with style.

Enjoy the last of the long evenings,take care and happy gardening.

6 l www.thegardener.co.za

MARCH DIARY

Garden

GraftPlanting� Rose plants will be bursting with colourful blooms in March, so add to the list ofvarieties in your garden by planting some new ones. Why not give ‘The Gardener’ rose atry? Its beautiful peach, pink and yellow striped blooms are borne on a tall (2 to 3 m),vigorous shrub with lush, dark green foliage. It will work well in a rose garden, pluswhere a tall shrub will grow in a mixed border, and also as a security hedge and incontainers. It is bound to attract attention as it shows off its clusters of floribundablooms during this month. If your nursery doesn’t have it in stock then ask the managerto order it from Malanseuns Pleasure Plants.� Plan to have ornamental kale (BRASSICA oleracea) in the garden this winter. It will itbrighten up the flower beds with its many colour combinations and prove to be awinner when planted en masse and in containers. Seeds can be sown this month, butwait a bit longer to plant out seedlings and even later for the fully grown plantsavailable in nurseries. Keep the seed trays in a shady spot and keep watering them untilyou are ready to plant them out in a sunny spot in soil that has been well composted.

Your lawn� Strengthen the roots and stems of the lawn grass before winter comes by applyinga potassium rich fertiliser and watering it in well.� Keep mowing the lawn.

Kitchen gardening� It’s time to plant soup greens in the vegetable garden for hearty fresh fare in thewinter months. Sow carrots, cabbage, spinach, Swiss chard, celery, turnips, leeks, endives,and parsnips – all are good soup and stew ingredients.� Renew, or increase, the stock in the herb garden with new seedlings.� Try some of the many new varieties of lettuce. Plant them in containers or straightinto the vegetable garden for fresh leaves this season – you can even try lettuce soupwhen it gets colder (it’s actually quite delicious).� Don’t be tempted to harvest pumpkins too soon. Wait until they are ripe and thencut them off the plant, leaving some of the stalk behind on the fruit.� If you’re not already doing so, then make a commitment to ‘growing your own’. Inour Growing vegetables pages, starting from this issue and going forward, we’ll beshowing you how to plan and plant a vegetable and herb garden from scratch.

Rose Tour to Italyand Bulgaria

Be a rose picker for Damascene rose oilfor a day in Bulgaria and smell thenovelties of ItalyDates: 26 May – 7 June 2011See www.roseweb.co.za for details.

The Gardener Rose

BRASSICA oleracea

www.thegardener.co.za l 7

Bugs, pests and problems� The cypress aphid can be a serious pest in gardens, sometimes to the point where itcauses entire branches of infected conifers to die back. Infestations of these insects peakfrom March to August and not necessarily only on new growth, but also on the mainbranches and trunks. Keep an eye on conifers and catch any problems early. Meridian(Reg. No. L7824) from Protek, a single dose insecticide with the active ingredientthiamethoxam, has contact, stomach and systemic activity and is registered for control-ling cypress aphids. It is applied as a drench to the soil around the tree. If a conifer hassuffered severe dieback due to cypress aphids it will be best to replace it, because at thatstage applying insecticide is unlikely to save it.

Must do� The autumn planting season is nearly here,so use your time in March to add a layer ofcompost to all the garden beds to preparethem for the new plants.� Instead of waiting, plant new trees andshrubs now. They will have time to settle inwhile the mild weather is still here. Add a fewspades of compost plus plenty of bone mealor superphosphate to each planting hole.� If young trees or shrubs have been plantedin the wrong place, now is a good time tomove them.� Sow or plant seedlings of floweringannuals in March, this includes poppies, stocks,linaria, nemesia, violas, calendulas, snapdrag-ons, cornflowers, foxgloves, lupins, nasturti-ums, asters, larkspurs, dianthus and pansies.� Decide where you will plant your winter-flowering bulbs and then order them or buythem from the nursery. They must be plantedlater, in autumn; it will be too hot to plantthem now.� Divide and replant agapanthus.� Prepare strawberry beds by digging insome well rotted kraal manure, acidic compostand general fertiliser. Water the beds well andleave them to rest until April.� Feed fruit trees and grapevines this month.� Late summer shrubs can now be pruned orshaped to keep their neatness, and hedges canbe cut back and cleaned out.� When the autumn leaves begin to fall youwill need to ensure they don’t clog up yourwater features and fish pond.

Cypress aphid candevastate a garden likethis one - keep a sharplook out this month andreact immediately

Start sowing seed forthese beauties

Try some of the new varieties oflettuce in your kitchen garden

8 l www.thegardener.co.za

FEBRUARY DIARY

In yourregion

Summer rainfall temperate� Re-mulch all the flower beds after the summer rains.� Once the summer rains have gone it’s time to increase manual watering or changethe settings on irrigation systems to compensate for the decrease in rainfall.� Take cuttings of summer-flowering plants like fuchsias, pelargoniums and daisybushes.

Summer rainfall subtropical� Sow seed of winter flowering bedding plants, like pansies, violas and primulas, intrays. Keep the trays in a shady, cool area and water regularly – they must be kept moist.They need cool night temperatures to grow so don’t plant out the seedlings beforeconditions are favourable.� To avoid camellias and azaleas dropping their buds they need to be watered in dryspells. Keep a close eye on them.� Tropical fruit trees, like paw paws, mangoes and bananas, will benefit from a gooddose of fertilizer.

Winter rainfall� It’s time to prune summer-flowering perennials like lavenders, salvias and daisybushes. Take advantage of this process to take cuttings and propagate more plants forthe next season.� Visit local garden centres and invest in some endemic shrubs and bushes: look outfor ericas, buchus and proteas.� Stock up on fertilizer for the whole garden. As soon as it looks like it is going to rainrun out into the garden and spread it around.

Dry continental� While you are harvesting the last of the summer herbs (see Alice’s article on harvest-ing and preserving herbs in this issue), also spend some time taking cuttings of rose-mary.� Marguerite daisies bring brightness to the garden and to containers – they shouldbe looking good in the garden centres and it’s definitely worth handing over somemoney to take a few home.� Divide irises, daylilies and agapanthus this month. �

Rare Plants for SaleWestern CapeThe 2011 Rare Plant Fair in the WesternCape will be held in the idyllic setting ofRustenberg Wines, in Ida’s Valley,Stellenbosch, on Saturday 26 March, from9:30 to 16:30. Twenty-five specialistgrowers will be selling plants. There willbe special discounts on Rustenbergwines, plus you can enjoy tea under theoaks. For directions, see the map atwww.rustenberg.co.za. Entry R10. Enquir-ies: 078 021 2101.

PretoriaThe annual Autumn Rare Plant Sale at Petal Faire Nursery will take place from Friday 4March to Sunday 6 March at 131 Allcock Street, Colbyn, Pretoria. Specialist growerswill share their passion with other collectors and gardeners, and sell a variety ofplants that are not readily available at garden centres. Tea and scones will be servedin the tea garden.Times: 10:00 to 17:00 (Fri and Sat), 9:00 to 14:00 (Sun)Entrance fee: R5Contact: Leoné Williams on 082 482 0257, e-mail: [email protected] or visitwww.petalfaire.co.za. �

RHODODENDRON vireya

PLANT PROFILE

ALOYSIA triphylla Lemon verbena

By Gerald Schofield

Lemon verbena is a popular shrub that was introduced into Western horticulture from Chile and Argentina

as long ago as 1794. It is still cultivated extensively as a garden shrub and as a medicinal and culinary herb. Botanical names that have been accorded to the plant include Aloysia citriodora and Lippia citriodora, but ALOYSIA triphylla is the preferred name at present.

ALOYSIA triphylla is quick growing and has strongly aromatic, lemon-scented foliage – it is grown largely for these aromatic properties. It has a rather scraggly growth habit and can grow to 3 metres tall and equally as wide if left to grow unchecked. The leaves are slender and grow to 10 cm long; they are borne in whorls of three or four along the lengths of the stems. Flowers are produced in terminal panicles from late spring through into summer. The tiny flowers are white, lavender or lilac, and are not particularly attractive.

Lemon verbena is deciduous and during winter the plants go into complete dormancy. The new spring growth emerges when temperatures and day length increase in spring. In extremely cold climates new growth can be delayed by spring cold and it then only bursts forth in early summer.

This useful garden shrub is easy to grow, preferring full sun and well drained soil conditions. Regular pinching and pruning of new growth tips will help to keep shrubs compact and bushy through the growing season. Old, woody plants can be pruned back hard in spring to encourage healthy new growth from the base. Regular applications of a balanced garden fertiliser from spring to autumn will help maintain lush foliage.

Grow lemon verbena in shrubberies and herb gardens, and in pots and containers on patios and other high profile areas where the aromatic foliage can be touched and harvested regularly. Sprigs of foliage are effective as a natural air freshener, so keep them in vases indoors to enhance the air quality. The foliage is used extensively in potpourris, and lemon verbena oil was popular in perfumery. The leaves are also used in herbal teas, poultry stuffing and

salads, and to flavour jellies and summer drinks.

Lemon verbena is a most useful and versatile shrub that grows easily in most parts of South Africa. It is well worth having in every garden, even if only to touch and stroke whilst wandering about at home after a hard day at work – the rich and distinctive aroma of the leaves is so soothing and relaxing.

TemperATe, Summer rAInfALL / HIgHveLd regIOnS

Ideally suited for this region, where plants grow somewhat slower than

in the warmer climates. May be damaged by cold during severe winters.

Sub-TrOpIcAL, Summer rAInfALL regIOnS Grows well in this part of the country. Rapid growth may

necessitate regular pinching and pruning to keep the shrub reasonably neat.

WInTer rAInfALL regIOnS Grows well in this area. Requires additional watering during

the dry summers. Protect from excessive winds as the branches can be brittle.

drY, ArId regIOnS Can be grown in protected positions in this region. Needs to be watered on

a regular basis. Protect from extreme winter cold.

28 I www.thegardener.co.za

The intriguing working garden on Norwood Farm, just fourteen kilometres

outside Bedford in the Eastern Cape, made its debut on the Bedford Gardens Festival in October last year. Farmer and co-owner, Anne Knox, is adamant that hers is not a show garden. “Our garden is very much part of a working

farm,” she says. “The garden is divided into different areas that suit our farming and our family’s needs.”

Anne and her civil engineer husband, Brian, moved to Norwood eight years ago. Anne was born in the area on one of the original 1820 Settler farms, just the other side of Adelaide and, over the years, she developed a keen interest in farming. While she and Brian had lived in other parts of the country, when their home tragically burnt down, they took this as an omen to move back to familiar territory so that Anne could pursue her farming interest.

The 3 000 hectare property supports a herd of beef cattle as well as a herd of boer goats, which is an enterprise Anne shares with her staff.

“I don’t have much time to garden,” she states. “When I have some time to spare, I pull in my staff and we do what needs to be done.”

The site of the Norwood farm was once a military outpost, used by British soldiers to guard the Cowie Valley in the Fifth Frontier War in 1852. What is now Anne’s guest

cottage and the stable block, still sporting the original shooting holes, was then the officers’ quarters. The home’s beautiful stonework was salvaged from a massive wall that surrounded the outpost.

An avenue of olive trees (OLEA europaea subs. africana), culminating in a circular water feature with a spekboom (CRASSULA ovata) hedge, greets visitors to Norwood. In summer, the front of the house is a spectacular show of roses in the palest of pinks and ruby-red, contributed by Pearl of Bedfordview and Red Simplicity roses. The adjacent spread of lush lawn and manicured beds nods to the colonial architecture of the house before disappearing into the surrounding veld. This was once the domain of a tennis court, derelict when they arrived, Anne explains. She restored the original stone wall flanking the path that led from the back of the house to this area and today it hosts a magnificent show of standard Iceberg roses.

The garden behind the house has a gravel surface and is planted with indigenous shrubs and aloes. This is Anne’s ‘working garden’ where there is constant movement of staff, vehicles, and the horses, whose stable block is directly across from the house. A delightful vegetable garden, flanked by a water rill that doubles as a drinking trough for the horses, separates home from stables. “Again, I required a no-fuss vegetable garden,” Anne maintains, “so I grow mainly greens such as spinach, lettuce, rocket and other herbs.”

The formal garden leads one through

By Lindsay Gray

A practical farm garden near Bedford

www.thegardener.co.za I 29

GARDEN DESIGN


a rose-festooned stone arch into a tranquil informal area where the grass grows long under the trees and wild flowers emerge in the summer. This is where the family decided to position their swimming pool and gazebo, fondly named the ‘Nguni Lounge’ by Anne’s two sons, because of the Nguni skins on the floor.

“I wanted a long sliver of a pool in which I could swim lengths,” confides Anne. But her husband had other ideas and so today they enjoy a rock pool that is planted up with grasses and trees found on their farm, which allow it to blend with the surrounding landscape. Anne’s pride is the ancient jacket plum (PAPPEA capensis) that she and her staff transplanted from the veld, and which is thriving in its new position.

A statement piece beyond the pool is the beautiful oriental-style gate, which stands on a central axis from the stone arch. To break the monotony of the fence that keeps out the ever-hungry kudu, Anne chose what she calls ‘an outrageous’ design for the gate, which is painted the same rich red as their roof to give interest to the area, “It was never meant to look oriental,” she laughs.

With her no-nonsense approach, and a few simple principles, Anne has managed to keep the gardening easy. In spring, all the roses are given a generous feed of aged goat manure, superphosphate, bone meal and an organic fertiliser. Early in December she gives them a second generous helping of manure. The roses are sprayed at the start of the season with a combined contact insecticide and systematic fungicide. Anne maintains that if one keeps the roses clean as they come away in spring, the plants seem disease-resistant for the rest of the summer. The roses are dead headed regularly.

The garden is irrigated from a dam behind the farm that collects surface run-off water from the Norwood Mountain. Furrows from the dam lead the water into a reservoir on the farm, and the irrigation system works off this reservoir. Anne is adamant that she is philosophically opposed to using underground water to irrigate her garden.

A variety of table and chair sets are dotted underneath the trees in the garden so that Anne and Brian can sit out in the late afternoon in the tranquil surrounds and enjoy a sundowner. “I love our landscape,” she says. “Landscapes and spaces are the things that best influence my mood.”

Thank you to Anne and Brian Knox for their hospitality and for allowing Lindsay Gray and photographer Geoff Redman to share the Norwood Farm garden with The Gardener readers.

www.thegardener.co.za I 31

38 I www.dietuinier.co.za

Mainly flowering during the dry winter periods,

candelabra trees are a rich source of food for insects at a time when other

supplies are limited.

Euphorbias: Natural Garden Assets By Ian Sharp

www.dietuinier.co.za I 39

I work as an ecologist and am attuned to happenings in the natural environment. Sometimes an event occurs that I find quite amazing and would like to share with others. One of these events

is the flowering of several indigenous Euphorbia species in early winter, a period when food resources for insects are generally in short supply in gardens. Let me reveal the story of the fascinating bounty of the Euphorbias to you.

What initially drew my attention to the Euphorbias was my participation in the South African Butterfly Conservation Assessment. Finding butterflies in winter is difficult as food sources are scarce and most species are in a state of dormancy, but the irresistible blooms of the Euphorbias attract butterflies and numerous other insects. Indeed, the contribution that these trees make to sustaining a variety of insect groups is quite astounding. Obviously this would be more apparent in the warmer climates of our country such as the Lowveld area.

The tree known as the candelabra tree, and also by the folk name of ‘naboom’, is rarely considered for planting in gardens due to toxicity of the latex that readily oozes from it when it is damaged. It is stated that this latex may cause damage to eyes and intense irritation and inflammation to the skin. Honey made from its flowers is called ‘noors’ honey, and causes burning in the mouth, which is aggravated by drinking water. Toxicity notwithstanding, when a plant can provide food, such as nectar for insects, or fruit for birds, or foliage that is eaten by larvae (as may be the case in a butterfly or moth lifecycle), then we must surely make every attempt to include it in our gardens. Of course, when this is a plant with toxic latex then caution should always be exercised by wearing gloves and safety glasses when handling it or working near it, and those who will be using the garden or working in it must be educated regarding the properties of the plant.

Candelabra trees, particularly when planted in combination with aloes and other succulents, can make an impressive contribution to

the structure of a garden. Options include EUPHORBIA ingens, the statuesque common candelabra tree; E. cooperi, the stately small candelabra tree; and E. grandialata, the rugged spiny candelabra tree. They may also be used in combination with other trees, such as cabbage trees and thorn trees or early spring flowering species such as the coral tree, ERYTHRINA lysistemon, and the white pear, DOMBEYA rotundifolia.

On approaching a flowering candelabra tree one becomes aware of a range of sounds that are not unlike those generated by

a bustling city street and the effect of this, combined with the sight of hordes of insects, is quite spectacular. The sweet fragrance of the flowers drifts along on the wind, adding to the sensory stimulus. A variety of insect groups vie for the winter bounty presented by the flowering trees. From wasps, flies and ants, to butterflies, moths and beetles, all arrive in their numbers, with buzzing large spider wasps the first to be heard and flitting butterflies the first to be seen.

Butterflies such as the African monarch and the blue and yellow pansies may be present in large numbers. Other visitors of the butterfly kind may include the dancing acraea, black pie, apricot playboy, Trimen’s sapphire, common diadem, bush scarlet and spotted joker. Day flying moths also add to the colour,

but towards dusk the hovering hawk moth appears and probes the flowers for nectar with its long proboscis.

The clacking wing beats of the many spider wasps draw one’s attention, but they are not the only wasps to be found. Parasitic ichneumon wasps, with their elongated ovipositors, and the effervescent green cuckoo wasps are easily spotted. The strikingly yellow-patterned potter’s wasps and other varieties of paper and mud wasps busily feed on one flower after another.

Flies abound, especially the regal blowfly and its relative the European green blowfly, both normally expected to be found at a carcass and not supping on the nectar of flowers. Common houseflies are visitors too, as are the large grey flesh flies. Bee-

Euphorbias: Natural Garden Assets By Ian Sharp

Southern pied woolly legs feeding on the latex exuded by the fruit.

40 I www.dietuinier.co.za

mimicking hover flies and the mottled drone flies also buzz about.Honey bees busily collect pollen and nectar to produce the

infamous ‘noors’ honey. Solitary bees, such as the diminutive sweat bee and the large carpenter bee, add to the variety of beneficiaries that the flowering candelabra trees support.

As can be expected, predators will also be lurking somewhere. Well camouflaged spiders lie in wait at the sweet-smelling flowers, while stalking praying mantises patrol the tops of flowering branches. Careful observation may reveal an assassin bug or two also scouring the flowering branches for potential prey. Small ants swarm from nests below the candelabra tree, hunting down unsuspecting quarry. In ever-increasing numbers they attach

themselves to large insects systematically subduing them before carrying them to the nest.

The insect activity slowly dissipates as the nectar-producing flowers move into the next phase of the reproductive cycle. Slowly the flowers are replaced by the characteristic triangular fruits. All those that have been feeding will have to wait for the next winter season to again partake in the bounty of the flowers. But there is a twist in the tail. The developing fruits ooze specks of latex before ripening, attracting a solitary benefactor. The diminutive southern pied woolly legs butterflies are now seen feeding on the latex throughout the day, only to move along when the dehiscent fruit start exploding, scattering the seed.

Candelabra trees, particularly when planted in combination with aloes and other succulents, can make an impressive contribution to the structure of a garden.

www.dietuinier.co.za I 41www.thegardener.co.za I 41


Home Organic Garden PlanterThe garden planters come with four large growing containers that are raised off the ground and supported by a natural looking timber structure. The timber has been treated to prevent bugs eating the wood. Because the unit is raised, moles and other burrowing animals cannot get to the veggies and it also means less bending and dirty knees. The

planting containers have drainage holes to allow excess water to seep out, while still maintaining a slight

reservoir of water. These garden planters are ideal for growing a wide variety of veggies and

herbs, ranging from lettuce to basil, beans, brinjals, tomatoes and lots more.

Once you have your Home Organic Garden Planter, just add a good mix of potting soil and compost to each container, pop in your seeds and seedlings, and you’re up and away. Home Organic has a range of products that can be delivered throughout the country and to neighbouring states. Visit www.homeorganic.co.za or phone 079 048 4232 for more details.

Phone (011) 473 8700 between 8:00 and 16:00 on weekdays with your

credit card details.

Post a cheque with your details (name, surname,

postal address & contact number) to RNA Distribution

SUBS, PO Box 725, Maraisburg, 1700

For a debit order phone (011) 473 8700 between

8:00 and 16:00 on weekdays with your bank account

details and pay only R48 every 3 months.

Deposit into FNB Corporate Jhb, Code 25 50 05 00, Acc no. 62104927259

using your surname asa reference, then fax

details to 086 713 3344.

Subscribe to The Gardener and nominate one

Afrikaans-speaking friend to receive three consecutive

issues of Die Tuinier, absolutely FRee.

Within SA, an annual subscription (12 issues) costs only R220, and a renewal R207. Senior Citizens (63 years and older) pay only R193 for new subscriptions and renewals, saving 30% on the cover price. Please allow four weeks for processing of orders. All local prices include VAT. An

annual subscription to overseas subscribers costs R678 and to subscribers in the rest of Africa R578. All prices are valid to 14 March 2011.76 I www.thegardener.co.za

Home Organic’s raised container garden planters make growing vegetables and herbs practical, easy, exciting and fun for the whole family. Subscribe, or renew your subscription to The Gardener or Die Tuinier by 14 March 2011, and you'll go into the draw to win a Home Organic garden planter.

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CRI

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WIN

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.

Congratulations to Ahmed and Selma Dinat who won the prize advertised in the November 2010 Subscribe and Win. From now on they will be mowing their lawn with

a fantastic MTD175 Lawn Tractor valued at over R22 000, supplied by Creative Equipment.

The Gardener March

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Transcript of The Gardener March