The Gardener Magazine

Cheers to the power of communities! It warms my heart to see people working together and building their own 'tribes'. I'm sure that you have also noticed various events, markets or just gatherings of people with similar interests, like mushrooms foraging, ferns or even frog spotting. It’s enough to give us hope that the worst of Covid is behind us and we are now able to engage with each other and be 'normal' again. Well, whatever normal is these days! It certainly isn't a R22 million flag pole! But let’s not dwell on problems and negativity! This is a gardening magazine, after all, and we pride ourselves on oozing positivity, green inspiration, love for plants and love for fellow man. I'm sure that as you leaf through this magazine, you will…

Some ferns can be surprisingly hardy and easy to grow if you give them the right conditions, which happily are those shady spots that are always challenging to fill. Success means picking the tougher species, but also in good preparation before planting. The right spot can have a little gentle sunlight in the morning but should be mostly shaded (although not pitch-black) and a bit protected during the day. Dig over the soil to about 30cm deep and work in lots of organic matter like leaf mould, compost, palm peat and fine bark chips, while also adding a generous dusting of bonemeal. The ideal is to create a rich but light, well-draining medium since these ferns love moist, rather than waterlogged, soil. Apart from regular (but not too heavy) watering and…

Nourish Buds, Flowers and Fruit For the best possible flowers and fruit, you need a product rich in potassium. Nourish for Buds, Flowers and Fruit from Talborne Organics is just the thing to improve fruit quality and flavour for edibles, as well as ornamental flowers like orchids, aloes and roses, and plants in container gardens and hanging baskets. This 100% natural product is made from potato and sugar beet extracts, making it totally plant based, and it helps plants increase resistance to stress and pests and diseases. Dilute in water and apply every 14 days. www.talborne.co.za The new Kreg 90-degree driver This new compact drill attachment allows you to drive screws in places you couldn’t normally be able reach with your drill. The magnetic tip locks into the head of a pocket-hole screw and…

IN BRIEF Where: Kyalami Gauteng Size: 6000m² Climate: Highveld Owners: MartieandDanBarwick Soil: Originallyclay, nowhighlyfortified with compost and worm casting Style: Mix of exotics, indigenous and edible plants Pockets of lush flower beds merge effortlessly within rural surroundings When Dan and Martie moved to Kyalami a little over three years ago, they knew that they had their work cut out for them. “I knew that transforming the 1½-acre plot into a garden that we could both enjoy was going to be a challenge, but we both love gardening and relished the task ahead,” says Dan. To be fair, as the owner of landscaping company Turfnet, Dan had the equipment and manpower at his disposal. The machinery was put through its paces as the soil was heavy clay – they excavated around 30cm of it and imported about 400m³ of compost,…

In the Cape Dutch style, this patio has the iconic pergola that doubles up as a support for a climbing granadilla vine. The entertainment is focussed around the pizza oven, which produces wood-fired dishes flavoured with herbs picked fresh from the surrounding garden. The floor is right on trend with herringbone paving. This is a space you want to visit, take a seat and enjoy. PLANT LIST 1. Origanum vulgare ‘Humile’ (creeping oregano) 2. Mixed planting of: Mentha piperita ‘Chocolate Mint’, Mentha spicata (garden mint), Ocimum basilicum ‘Dark Lady’ (basil ‘Dark Lady’), Origanum vulgare, Tropaeolum majus ‘Globe of Fire’ (nasturtium), Eruca sativa (rocket), Solanum lycopersicum ‘Mars Red’ (cherry tomato), Rheum rhabarbarum (rhubarb), Beta vulgaris ‘Fordhook Giant’ (Swiss chard), and Salvia rosmarinus (rosemary) 3. Citrus jambhiri ‘Cape Rough’ (Cape rough skin lemon) 4. Mixed planting of:…

Even though there are numerous books dedicated to the various styles of bonsai, I prefer to avoid identifying specific styles of tree. As novices, we can easily become discouraged by all the seemingly conflicting descriptions of styles: upright, cascading, slanting, windswept… My best advice is to just grow your trees. Don’t worry about what style category they may or may not belong to, just enjoy the beauty of your bonsai for what they are. Many of the stunning trees you see in books are created by masters of the art. They work with material that is superb quality to begin with, the sort of material that you and I may never get the chance to work with. The most commonly used species for bonsai in Japan, Europe and the USA are…