Gardening in Africa: 03/30/15

Monday, 30 March 2015

Monday - what a day!

I had quite an impressive "to do" list for today and was able to mark off quite a few off; do the filing, buy some compost, paint a little slatted table white, sort out my walk-in dressing room, clean and pack all the kitchen utensils and cutlery, replant some sword ferns and taking pics for this post. What a day and a great start to this week, it feels like Wednesday already and it's only Monday!

March is when the first sign of autumn arrives in the garden. Leaves start falling and your garden starts readying itself in anticipation of the colder months. My Tree Fuchsia (Halleria lucida) has already lost almost all her leaves, a sure sign for me that we're going to have a cold winter.

A little extra help and encouragement such as a layer of mulch and fertiliser will not go amiss and is a perfect way to prepare your garden for the cold that will shortly follow. Just hope the frost is not going to be as severe as last winter...

Indigenous plants are always in fashion because they save water, grow well in our environment, are fast growing and colourful, especially the Aloes, which should be flowering shortly, providing bursts of colour during the cold months. These are just a few indigenous plants that you can get from your local garden centre:

Vygies (Lampranthus)
Various Aloes, in particular Aloe ferox and Aloe marlothii
Agapanthus
Agathosma ovata 'Kluitjieskraal
Babiana hirsuta
Buddleja auriculata
Carpobrotus quadrifidus
Celtis africana
Chlorophytum comosum
Dioscorea elephantipes
Ekebergia capensis
Elegia equisetacea
Encephalartos transvenosus
Faucaria tigrina
Felicia amelloides
Gasteria armstrongii
Gazania krebsiana
Hermannia
Juncus kraussii
Kalanchoe thyrsiflora
Kiggelaria africana
Melinis nerviglumis
Mentha longifolia
Nymphaea nouchali var. caerulea
Olea europaea subsp.africana
Olinia ventosa
Pachypodium namaquanum
Pelargonium inquinans
Podocarpus henkelii
Portulacaria afra
Restio festuciformis
Rhus lancea = Searsia lancea
Rhus pendulina = Searsia pendulina
Scabiosa africana
Sorghum bicolor
Syzygium cordatum
Thamnochortus insignis
Tricholaena monachne
Urochloa mosambicensis
Viscum crassulae
Welwitschia mirabilis
Ximenia caffra
Zantedeschia aethiopica

Hope your Monday was just as good as mine!

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Tool tip

Properly maintained quality garden tools are a joy to use and can last for generations. And, like most things, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Regularly cleaning and oiling your garden tools will prevent rust, keep them sharper, and allow the handles to stay strong. Start by giving your tools a good scrubbing to remove any mud and grit from the blades and handles. Dry with old towels, then set them aside overnight so they dry completely to avoid trapping moisture. Using a clean rag, apply lubricating oil to both the wooden handle and the metal blade. Rub the oil into the surface then wipe off any excess. The oil will help prevent rust and condition the wood to keep it from absorbing water and prevent cracking. After the handle has dried, apply a second coat of oil to the wood if needed. Tools with fiberglass or composite handles will only need a good cleaning.

Wildlife Tips

PUT UP AN OWL BOX : Owls aren't common garden visitors for most, but if you know they are around, it's worth providing extra nesting sites. General Owl boxes are bigger than ordinary bird boxes. They're shaped according to the needs of the species. Barn owl boxes are large and square, or sometimes triangular, with a ledge outside the entrance for young owls to stand on. Barn owls like to nest in a solitary tree on the edge of woodland, between 3 and 5m above the ground. Keep out cold drafts by facing all owl boxes away from prevailing winds. It also makes it easier for parents to fly to the entrance. If you fix the owl box to a tree, use a strap to keep it in place so you don’t damage the trunk. As with all nest boxes, do not disturb the box for cleaning until you are sure that the young have left. Tawny owls in particular can be aggressive when protecting their young. Don’t be disappointed if your box stays empty for the first year. Birds often choose a nesting site during the autumn, winter or early spring. Leave the box where it is for the winter and it could be a nice dry place for birds to roost when the weather’s bad. Please do not unnecessarily disturb the birds and never remove any eggs from the nest.

Leave those leaves! I know many gardeners don't like the 'messy' look of fallen leaves, but they have a lot of benefit to wildlife and your garden. Many wildlife species live in or rely on the leaf layer to find food and other habitat, including toads, shrews, earthworms and many insect species. From a gardening perspective, fallen leaves offer a double benefit. Leaves form a natural mulch that helps suppress weeds and at the same time fertilize the soil as they break down. Why spend money on mulch and fertilizer when you can make your own?

More about me

I've been gardening ever since a child, when I spent time with my father in his vegetable garden. But my fascination with Echeverias started in the 1980's, when my father gave me a pot with five Echeverias, which turned out to be E. imbricata. At first I wasn't much interested in them and planted them in some obscure corner of the garden and completely forgot about them. How great was my surprise when, a couple of months later, I noticed that they had spread and made a beautiful display - I was hooked!

It is utterly forbidden to be half-hearted about gardening. You have got to love your garden whether you like it or not.

- W.C. Sellar

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Monday, 30 March 2015

Monday - what a day!