Life is a Garden | South Africa |

Bring instant beauty to your garden by planting a variety of different bedding begonias. They thrive in the shade where little else will grow, and they provide long-lasting colour throughout summer. These annuals are available with differently coloured blooms and foliage, allowing you to be creative with colour in your garden. Choose from the many green- and bronze-leafed varieties, all with flower colours ranging from white to pink to red and various shades in between.

Begonias - ideal choice

If you have a new garden, or are revamping a section of your garden, and looking for a quick but colourful solution, begonias are your ideal choice. Available in seedling trays, or pots, begonias are ideal plants for new gardens where they can be used to create an established and colourful display almost overnight. Use them as colour focal points among perennials and shrubs, or plant them in containers or hanging baskets plants for continuous cheerful colour.

Look out for begonia 'Dragon Wings', which is a showy plant with large, slightly pendulous blooms and glossy angel-wing leaves. It grows fast, up to 60cm high and 45cm wide. Try also some of the bronze-leafed varieties, such as 'Bronze Leaf Pink' and 'Bronze Leaf Scarlet', or the green-leafed 'Green Leaf Red' and 'Green Leaf Snow White'.

Growing to about 15cm tall, begonias are compact and bushy plants that flower generously throughout summer. Although they thrive in shade, they can also be grown in semi-shade and they do like a little morning sun.

Growing tips

Life is a garden, so get planting! Here are some tips:

• Prepare your soil by digging in generous amounts of compost. You can also add superphosphate to the soil – about 3 tablespoons per square metre.
• Try to plant in the morning so that the plant can settle before the evening, as warm, wet conditions encourage disease.
• Gently push the plant out of the tray and fluff the root plug a little before planting.
• Plant begonias 15cm apart in rich, well-drained soil. Avoid planting the seedling too deep in the planting hole.
• After planting, water well and apply a layer of mulch to curb moisture loss. Water every day for the first week or so and thereafter less frequently.
• Keep well watered throughout summer, watering every day if the weather is very hot and windy.
• Fertilise regularly, especially if your plants are competing with tree or shrub roots for nutrients. A good idea is to use a foliar fertiliser such as Multifeed P or Nitrosol every six weeks.
• Deadhead plants regularly to encourage more blooms.