Like the calm before the cool, winter preparations are smooth sailing this month with Life is a Garden’s crisp April checklist. Gardening during the cooler months definitely has its own challenges, but also so many exciting flowers and veggies to look forward to. Did someone say spring bulbs already? Head over to your GCA Garden Centre and let’s plant right in!

Chillax with flowers

• Bulba-licious beauties: You can plant all spring-flowering bulbs now, hooray! Bulbs with fingers or claws, like ranunculi, should be planted with their fingers pointing downwards. Try plating small bulbs like anemone, leucojum, muscari, lachenalia, tritonia, and ranunculus, or larger bulbs such as hyacinth, freesia, and Dutch iris.
• Pretty and pleasing: April is the perfect time to buy and plant out pretty primula, poppy, pansy, and gazania seedlings.
• Indoor inspiration: Spathiphyllum, known also as Peace lily, is an easy-care, low-light houseplant with majestic, long-lasting white blooms.

• Colourful corners: Try planting a corner of ericas, restios, leucadendrons, and Proteas – they provide stunning autumn and winter colour.
• Balmy blooms: Plant cool-season annuals at the base of bare-stemmed bushes. Choose sun lovers like alyssum, calendulas, dwarf snapdragons, lobelias, Namaqualand daisies, phlox, and pansies.
• Bedding babe: Available in many bright hues, Cineraria enjoy moist soil in semi-shade beds.
• Pot of purple: Lavender is waiting to perk up your patio pots with an easy-going purple flush.

Feeding and frost

• Feed aloes and flowering succulents for a glorious winter show.
• If you’re living in a frost-prone area, be sure to purchase some frost protection from your GCA Garden Centre before winter arrives in full force.
• Continue feeding your evergreen cool-season lawn to ensure it remains lush during winter.

In the grow-zone

• Grow garlic bulbs, which you can purchase from your GCA Garden Centre. Pick a sunny spot with well-drained soil and plant the cloves about 15cm apart in drills of about 7cm deep.

Companion planting means growing certain plants close together for their mutually beneficial effects, such as pest protection or growth enhancement. Bedding besties allow you to have your cake AND eat it – your desired harvest flourishing gogo-free and eco-friendly with little other effort required from you. Mother Nature is clever like that – she knows what’s up. Here’s what to plant and reasons why your veggie needs a bestie. Life is a Garden, let’s optimise yours!

Reinventing the veggie patch

We often think of a veggie garden as produce sown in neat rows, exposed soil, and clear of any other plants not on the menu. Well, it might just be the time to revise this idea. There is so much to benefit from including other herbs and flowers to the veggie garden, which take care of pest control, weeds, water evaporation, poor soil conditions, composting, barren spaces and of course, pollination. Consider the idea of a starting a “mixed masala patch”, if you will, and let’s venture beyond the concept of a “vegetables-only” party.

Friends with benefits

Although we’re going for a “mixed masala patch”, it should be mentioned that not all plants like each other, and some can be pretty picky about who they bunk with. Your GCA Garden Centre guy will be able to advise you on the best buddy for your baby, but for now, here are some general friends of the veg with no-strings-attached benefits:

• Natural pest controllers: Plants such as lavender (for fleas), basil (for flies), citronella grass and rosemary (for mozzies), as well as chrysanthemum (for spider mites), repel a variety of insects owing to their essential oil compounds and deterring scent. You can sporadically plant these in and around the veggie garden as long as they are in close range of the greens.

The new year is always a great time to start afresh and get back into the garden. Remove any tired or spent annuals and fill the gaps with new babies that will flower into autumn. Planting fresh herbs and veggies will also help you stick to those healthy New Year’s resolutions. Happy 2021, dear green fingers, and please do remember that your Life is A Garden!

What to do in the January garden

• There is still enough time to sow Eschsholzia, Lobelia, and Phlox for an abundance of summer and autumn colour.
• Water regularly during dry spells.
• Put out snail bait after rainfall or after watering in the evening.
• If yellow patches appear on the lawn, this is an almost sure sign of lawn caterpillar, also known as armyworm.

Tip: Use a thick, moist towel placed over a patch at night. If lawn caterpillars are the culprit, they will still be foraging on the lawn in the morning when you lift the towel. Consult your local GCA Garden Centre for a remedy.

• Colourful Begonias are available in trays to liven up semi-shade and shady areas.
• Deadhead hydrangeas and use the beautiful blooms in dry arrangements.
• A light summer pruning of your roses will help to extend quality flowering into late autumn.
• Gently prune lavender plants that have stopped flowering to encourage an autumn flush.
• Mulch, mulch, mulch to beat the heat and save water.

What to do in the January veggie garden

• Most veggies need 60 to 90 days to harvest so if we are sowing in January, we need to think about what we will eat fresh from the garden in March and April. Never sow the whole seed packet at once as it literally contains from around 50 to several hundred seeds, so rather sow in 14-day intervals to achieve a continuous harvest.

The garden in November is usually filled with a rich colour palette of late spring blooms. The bold and beautiful Hydrangeas are part of this glorious mix and never fail to wow us, year after year. Their local name is Krismisroos and they remind many people of the coming holiday season. Conveniently, Friday 27 November is Black Friday - a day where many shoppers look forward to buying bargains as Christmas gifts. Look out for specials at your local GCA Garden Centre and enjoy getting ready for the festive season. Life is a Garden, so go ahead and decorate yours!

Edible - Planting beetroot

Here are some planting tips for your beetroot seedlings:

• Since beetroot mature underground, they do not like to compete with a heavy clay soil. If you have clay soil, dig compost into the top 15cm layer.
• For almost continuous harvesting, plant every 14 days.

Tip: Fertilise lightly with a 2:3:2 or equivalent organic fertilizer i.e. that is not high in nitrogen as too much nitrogen will encourage mostly leafy growth. Water sparingly since overwatering encourages leafy growth and bolting (flowering and not producing a vegetable). Beetroot also grows well in combination with blood sorrel Rubus sanguineus.

What to Sow in November

• Bright, flirty and fun - marigolds are one of the easiest seeds to sow. Find a sunny place to scatter the seeds. Cover them with a fine layer of soil and water gently for the first week to two, making sure that the soil does not dry out. If you have planted the seeds too closely, thin the seedling out when they are about 4 to 6cm high. Marigolds are great companion plants in veggie gardens.
• Chrysanthemums are fresh and cheerful. Chrysanthemum paludosum, or creeping daisy, has beautiful white petaled flowers with a bright yellow centre which are loved by butterflies and bees.

Although spring only officially starts on the 1^st of September, we don’t need a calendar to see that spring has sprung! For most of the country there is a delightful springiness in the air. For the Free State and Western Cape, your time is soon to come. Although August is warm to even hot in various parts of the country, always apply the following rules when planting or sowing plants that are sensitive to frost damage:

• In frost-free areas, start planting at the beginning of August.
• In areas of light to moderate frost that lasts until about the end of August, plant in early September.
• In areas with late frosts or winter rainfall, wait until late September.

With pruning behind us, there is so much to do in the garden, so push aside the winter chills and spring into action. Your spring bulbs and annuals should be a riot of colour by now, inviting you out onto the patio with family and friends during our balmy, warm August days. The beauty of spring may only be rivalled by the stunning women that surround us. The 9^th of August is National Women’s Day and the perfect opportunity to celebrate both Mother Nature and all of womankind!

An African appetite

Have you considered growing an edible local fruit? The following shrubs, trees and ground covers can form an aesthetic part of your garden and become a valuable, unusual food source:

• The kei-apple (Dovyalis caffra) is an evergreen large shrub, or small tree, that creates an impenetrable hedge with its spiny thorns. The yellowish-orange fruits are delicious and mostly used for jam, jelly, and syrup-making. The flowers feed honey-bees and attract butterflies whilst the fruit is a delicacy for several birds.
• The shrub num-num (Carissa macrocarpa) and the ground cover num-num (Carissa macrocarpa ‘Green Carpet’) both have beautiful glossy leaves with compact, thorny growth.

Gardening naturally stimulates our senses: the smell of wet soil, the sound of a cooing dove in the distance, the feeling of warm sun kisses on our skin, and early morning dew drops so fresh we can almost taste it! Children, however, may need a little more encouragement to engage with nature in this way. Luckily, Life is a Garden is bringing you some inspiration this August to create an indulging sensory experience for your kids, filled with adventure and exploration.  We’re talking all about stimulating your child’s senses through a natural playscape environment in your own backyard or school playground.

Sight: A great attention grabber is through striking visual stimuli. A garden that looks visibly interesting with a variety of colours, textures, and a few intriguing items should get their curiosity going. Create an obstacle course by incorporating different sized tree stumps or rocks as stepping stones over some dangerous lava looking succulents and spikey grass. An outdoor dollhouse or treasure chest under a tree may further inspire imaginative play.

Plant picks: Rooiblaarplakkie (Kalanchoe sexangularis) is a hardy succulent, perfect as a lava substitute.  Sunflowers (Helianthus annuus) are big, bold, and beautiful cut-flowers. Starlight grass (Anthericum) brings in strong texture and contrast for the rugged garden warrior.

Sound: Incorporating both natural and man-made sound stimulation is easier than you may think. A DIY hand shaker project with some dried seeds or stones inside empty spice bottles may motivate the kinesthetically inclined child to engage their sense of sound. Wind chimes will become an ambient focal point during the August winds too.  A water feature may help to encourage more gentle playtime and promote an awareness of subtle and calming sounds. Alternatively, you could even start a buzzing bee hotel for the gogo-loving garden explorer!

These floral popsicles fresh from the freezer treats are almost too pretty to eat. Keep your sweet tooth cool this summer with this easy to make popsicle recipe.

Edible flowers

Edible flowers will turn your popsicles into a tropical conversation with their beautiful reflection in the ice. It is important to note that not all flowers are edible so please be careful when selecting the flowers.

A few popular options to consider are:

Chrysanthemums (Chrysanthemum coronarium) – these bright coloured flowers have a tangy, slightly bitter flavour. Wash thoroughly and best only to use the petals.

Nasturtiums (Tropaeolum majus) - these brilliant coloured flowers will add pops of colour to your icy pop. These flowers will also look delightful when garnishing platters and sandwiches.

Fuchsia (Fuchsia X hybrida) – the vivid colours and unusual shape of this flower make it an eye-catching garnish.

Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) – the therapeutic benefits of lavender are no secret, but did you know you can use the soft, coloured lavender flowers to brighten up your popsicle.

What you will need:

• Popsicle mould
• Popsicle sticks
• Any juice or sweet tea. Coconut water is yummy too.
• Rinsed edible flowers

Directions:

1. Pour your chosen liquid into the mould
2. Add flowers to each mould
3. Add one stick to each mould
4. Place in the freezer for 2 hours
5. Remove from the freezer and place on the counter for 2 minutes
6. Remove from the mould
7. Enjoy

So as you celebrate the New Year, join the conversation on our Facebook page for some inspiration for improving your garden and your health in 2020.

One tell-tale sign that summer is in full swing is the arrival of Mosquitos. These annoying little guys transmit diseases, buzz around your ear, suck your blood and if that’s not enough – they leave an itchy bite. A good form of natural mosquito control is to grow certain plants with strong natural fragrances. Grow or place these plants in your entertainment and living areas:

Lavender

Lavender has a distinct, soothing fragrance which hinders a mosquito’s ability to smell. It endures many climates and grows beautifully in South African soil.

Citronella Grass

You’ve probably heard of or even used citronella candles before, but little did you know…it’s actually a plant! It produces a strong aroma which masks surrounding scents, preventing mosquitos to be attracted to things close by. You can either plant it in pots or in a garden bed. You can even crush the plant and put it on your skin to fend away the mosquitos.

Lemon Balm

A member of the mint family which has a strong lemon scent when leaves are crushed. Use the crushed leaves on your skin to repel mosquitos. It can also be used in teas, sauces, and desserts.

Basil

Not only used in yummy, fresh food dishes but it makes a great and easy insect repellent. Crushed or not, it gives off an aroma that mosquitos cannot bear. Keep multiple pots outside.

Marigolds

Marigolds contain Pyrethrum (natural insecticide) which is found in many insect repellents due to its distinctive aroma. Mosquitos and other bugs and insects find it to be repulsive.

Visit your nearest GCA Garden Centre to grow or place these plants in your entertainment and living areas. Remember to join the conversation on our Facebook page.