GARDENING
DECEMBER ’ S
GARDENING TO-DO LIST
The holiday season is upon is , and with that comes the opportunity to spend some quality time in the garden – be it as a gardener or an entertainer .
Annette Willemse Communication Specialist
Avoid the crowds this year and pick up the rake and spade for a greener , convenient and more relaxed approach to the festive season .
It doesn ’ t matter if you fancy yourself a gardener or not , there is always something to do !
FOR THE PLANT ENTHUSIAST
• Keep an eye out at the nursery for new forms and colours of pretty perennials like achillea ( yarrow ), phygelius , cardinal flowers , lobelia hybrids , penstemon , daisies , diascias and scabious .
• Divide crowded bearded irises . Discard the portions that have flowered . Replant young , vigorous rhizomes in enriched soil so the top of the rhizome is just above soil level .
• Water deeply and less frequently in winter-rainfall areas , paying special attention to plants like azaleas , camellias and summer bulbs . Mulch your garden well .
• Feed roses with a special rose food , water regularly and deeply . Discourage red spider mite by spraying a sugar solution under the leaves ; use preventative sprays for powdery mildew and black spot .
• Collect seed of your favourite columbines , poppies and old-fashioned nicotianas .
• Jazz up shady areas for the festive season by combining shade lovers like solenostemon ( coleus ), which has colourful leaves , with flowering impatiens and begonias . Look out for the new , tall hybrid perennial begonias ‘ Angel wings ’ and ‘ Baby wings ’.
FOR THE KITCHEN GARDENER
• Plant heat-tolerant lettuces like the crisp , heart-forming Great Lakes , Commander and looser leafed Cos Green lettuce . Plant a new batch of beans each month ; pick them two to three times a week .
• Control pumpkin fly by splashing bait on the leaves of cucumbers , marrows , melons , squashes and pumpkins .
• Harvest baby potatoes once the plants have flowered .
• Sow seed now . In summer rainfall areas : beetroot , beans and radish . In the subtropics : sweet peppers and eggplants . In winter rainfall areas : seedlings of sweet peppers , chillies , aubergines and tomatoes ; the last batch of beans . In frost areas : seeds of beetroot , broccoli , cabbage , cauliflower , beans , leeks and Swiss chard .
FOR THE TIME-PRESSED GARDENER
• Remove faded flowers from daisy bushes and felicias ; the fastest way to do this is by shearing them back with a large pair of scissors or long bladed shears .
• Good buys for quick colour are heat-tolerant zinnias , gomphrena , celosia , marigolds , hollyhocks , lavatera and salvias .
• For low-maintenance colour in pots pick annuals that can tolerate short spells with less water like petunias , portulaca , zinnias , celosia and marigolds .
SENWES SCENARIO | SOMER � SUMMER 2021 55