Get your garden into shape

Get your garden into shape now. Yes, it’s a fabulous new year with so much to look forward to, especially in your garden.

Sow

What better way to get your garden and health back on track and into shape then by sowing delicious leafy greens for those summer day salads. The following greens can be sown now:

• Lettuce will always be a firm favourite.
• Rocket is a trendy addition to salads and many other hot meals too. Its peppery taste is delicious and mild in the young leaves.
• The baby leaves of both Spinach and Swiss Chard are increasingly being used in salads.
• Baby beetroot leaves are a chic new addition to contemporary salads and cooking. They are just as yummy as they look on the plate.
• Kale is a prized ingredient in many healthy smoothie recipes.

Leafy greens are very easy to grow and will reward you best if you pick the leaves regularly and pinch out flower buds later in the season. Be on the lookout for cutworm, snail & slug damage to plants. Aphids love the hot summer months as much as we do. While you are shopping for “table greens” grab a few “tiny leafy greens” like Mint, Basil and Parsley plants to complement the other leafy greens.

Tip: Last chance: Whilst, not a “green” you can still sow tomato seeds in the first two weeks of January – so rush out and sow.

Did you know that Basil and Tomatoes are great companion plants? This means that when planted next to one another, they both improve each other’s flavour. We also know that they are great companions in food too.

Plant

January is always a good time to plant up areas with colourful seedling annuals. The “heat is on” so what better way to brighten up the garden and get it into shape than by planting these sun-worshippers. Some great choices to beat the heat will be:

• Salvias will flower throughout the summer and autumn months. Their upward-pointing sword-like flowers range from fire engine red for an eye-catching display, through to purple and deep blue to a powdery blue and more. They are waterwise and easy to grow in pots too.
• With their botox-looking pouty lips, from which the Snapdragons get their name, Snapdragons have become fashionable again. Striking colours and multiple blooms that seemingly stand to attention are simply charming. Dwarf varieties are great as pot or hanging basket fillers too. Keep moist while young. Snaps can reward you by continuing to flower into winter.
• Petunias are one of those plants that you may pass over in the nursery since they are sometimes sold with only a flower or two on the seeding plants. However, without special treatment and not too much water, they will flower more and more as they grow and put on a spectacular show of colour when mature. Tip: Petunias love the mild winter months too and will carry on growing in winter.

Bedding besties

More colour, colour, colour!

• Vinca plants which are as tough as nails when mature are what some people term the Impatiens for sun due to their similar-looking flowers. Don’t be fooled into thinking that these are the same as the Vinca’s of old – these new hybrids, flower profusely and easily.
• The new age Zinnias are also a sight for sore eyes when they flower. They create a tremendous meadow-like profusion of blooms. The dwarf variety is a charming cutie.

If you like strong, bright colours, then you need to plant Celosia which are commonly known as Cock’s Comb. The flowers may have a flattish crested plume or an upright feathery plume. They deliver on rich, bright, almost neon colour.

Be on the lookout for yellow patches appearing suddenly in your lawn from early January. This is a sure sign of the night-time foraging Lawn Caterpillar, (also known as Army Worm). To be sure place a moist bag or cloth on the patch in the evening and check underneath in the morning. If it is caused by Army Worms, they would still be crawling under the cloth thinking it is still night.   Ask your local GCA Garden Centre for the correct treatment method.

Power up the plants

We may have slimming on our minds in January but our garden needs nutrients to boost our plants and get the garden into shape. A good option is Bio Ocean as it contains fishmeal and kelp which give your plants an extra boost. Your garden and pots will benefit, but remember to fertilise between the plants on moist soil and to water over the fertiliser afterwards.

Pruning & Rose Care

A light summer pruning is recommended for roses in January. We know that it feels difficult to prune a plant that may still be flowering but it will help to extend quality flowering into winter. Cut back stems by up to one-third of their length.

Continue using a cocktail rose spray i.e. a combination of a fungicide and insecticide every two weeks to avoid leaf drop. Fertilise monthly and add mulch or top up the existing mulch. Now all that is left to do is to continue good, deep watering … and you will be so happy with your “blooming success” over the coming months.

Blooming Babes

The popular indigenous Cape Leadwort, better known by its scientific name Plumbago, (Plumbago auriculata), is a great filler plant to cover large open spaces. It is an extremely tough, fast growing rambling, shrub. It grows in any soil and is drought tolerant. It gets covered with trusses of pale blue or white flowers which are a favourite nectar source for butterflies, it also makes a great hedge. The flowers of the cultivar ‘Royal Cape’ are of a considerably deeper blue.

Another indigenous beauty is our very own Cape Forget-me-not, (Anchusa capensis). It’s tall stems that rise above the lower growing foliage have clusters of petite blue flowers with a white centre. They also attract butterflies with their nectar-rich flowers as well as other beneficial pollinating insects like bees. The pretty blue flowers are edible and a fab addition to salads or desserts. A well-drained soil is favoured by these drought resistant plants.

‘Bougs” or “Bougies” are our affectionate nicknames for the spectacular Bougainvillea plants that can put on an unrivalled explosion of colour for months in our gardens. They are fast-growing and drought tolerant. Bougs are happiest in full sun whether they are spread-eagled over a pergola, wall or in a large pot, (smaller varieties are preferred for pots). Guess what? They also attract butterflies!

Water-wise

Due to the popularity of succulent plants in recent years, we are spoiled for choice in our local garden centres. They are just so easy to grow and lots of fun to combine in the garden, or even in a potted patio garden since many of them have gorgeous tinges of yellow, orange and red on their green, grey or blue-grey leaves. You can’t go wrong with Sedums or Crassulas which are mostly indigenous and all water-wise and sun-lovers. There are many different shapes and sizes of plants in these two groups of plants that both go by the common name of Stonecrops. A popular sedum with tall dusty pink flowers is the Autumn Joy Stonecrop, (Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’), and among the Crassula’s, the Jade Plant, (Crassula ovata), is a medium-sized shrub with tiny white or pink flowers.

Indoor Plants

Peace, especially in our homes can be a good New year’s resolution – so it may be time to try a Peace Lily or a Peace in the home plant.

The Peace Lily, (Spathiphyllum wallesii), can grow in low-light conditions – which effectively means that it can thrive almost anywhere in the home. It has large, glossy green leaves, is very forgiving when not pampered and has large, flag-like white blooms that brighten any room with an air of sophistication.

Peace in the home plant, (Soleirolia), requires bright light and regular watering and can be combined with other plants in a mixed bowl, happy in a terrarium or simply in a pot on its own. It is said to bring peace into the home, so why not give it a try?

Inland Gardening

• Mulch, mulch, mulch to beat the heat, to save water and to give the plants a cooler root run. A good, thick layer around the plants will do wonders for them.
• Keep a lookout for fungus diseases encouraged by several rainy days in a row. Take samples of leaves from any affected plants, (in a zip-lock bag), to your local GCA Garden Centre, and get a remedy to spray with.
• The rainy season is upon us. Try to harvest as much rainwater as possible and even consider joining a pipe from a roof gutter outlet into the pool when it requires a top-up.

Coastal Gardening

• Plant more Chives, Oregano, Marjoram, Thyme, Sage, Coriander and remember to plant your first crop of seed potatoes for an early winter harvest.
• Remove or prune back low branches of trees if more sunlight is required for lawn or bedding plants below the trees.