Life is a Garden is calling on all the fairies, princesses, queens and creatures of the garden to come out and DIY with us. We’ve got a little something special for the girls this October - drum roll, please… enter the flower crown! In celebration of October rose month as well as Garden Day on the 9th October, we are blushing shades of pink and green to bring you these lovely flower crown ideas using succulents and roses.

Here’s a step by step to creating your up-cycle can masterpiece.

You will need:

• An Alice-band and/or pliable craft wire
• A few glorious succulents, roses, and some viney plant strands (Ivy may work nicely)
• Green insulation tape, twine or ribbon
• Superglue
• Scissors and maybe some pliers
• Bits and bobs of pretty arts and crafts goodies like shells and beads if you like

Getting started

The first thing our DIY fairies need to decide on is whether they would like to decorate an existing Alice-band or if they would like to create a crown from scratch. Secondly, have a look in the garden at what kind of succulents, roses, and other vine-type plants are available. Head off to your local GCA Garden Centre for those special flowers and vinery you may want to add. Gather your arts and crafts goodies and prep your creation station.

Preparing your headband

If you are using an existing Alice-band, we recommend you choose one that is a little wider to give you more of a surface on which to stick and wrap your goodies. Alternately, if you’re creating a headband from craft wire, we recommend using at least two strands of wire together for more stability and also for more surface area to work with.

Breathing life into your creation

• Step 1: Single out your centrepiece succulents and roses.

With the 9^th of October being ‘Garden Day’ and October being ‘Rose month’ – what an opportune month to celebrate gardening!

Rose month

Your roses should be producing their first flush of perfect blooms and the sun is still not too scorching – allowing the blooms to last longer. Spring is also the ideal time to select and plant new rose bushes in your garden. These are some of our favourites:

• Ingrid Bergman POULman unfading red
• Memoire KORfuri   unspoilt white, fragrant
• Zulu Royal DORient mauve, fragrant
• King David TANmarsal bronze
• South Africa KORberbeni golden

Pop in to your nearest GCA Garden Centre for more inspiration and supplies.

What to Sow

As soon as the soil warms up in mid spring, you can start to sow all your summer veggies, including beans, sweetcorn and tomatoes. Two of your main “must haves” for your summer salads are cucumber and celery.

• Cucumber seeds should be sown in composed enriched soil in a sunny site. When flowers start forming, feed with potassium-rich organic fertiliser. Support plants well so they can climb upwards, even when the cucumbers get large. This also protects the cucumbers from slugs. Harvest /cut the cucumbers off the plant when they are still quite young, avoiding the skin becoming hard. Regular harvesting encourages a more continuous production of
• Celery needs rich, moisture-retentive soil which is achieved by digging in plenty of compost. Sow in shade or semi-shade. Feed weekly liquid feed in mid to late summer. Plants should be spaced 20cm apart and kept moist. You can cut stems frequently as required.

What to Plant

Amaryllis (Hippeastrum) - one of the easiest and most rewarding bulbs to grow, amaryllis produce showy, trumpet-shaped blooms that add a flamboyant touch to your garden or home. Often referred to as the Christmas flower because they typically bloom around five weeks after being planted (during the warmer months).

Rose Month

Celebrate rose month by planting some of these sweet fragranced garden essentials to add colour and charm to your landscape.

With so many options to choose from, here are few varieties to consider planting this rose month:

• If you’re looking for an abundant spray of eye catching large golden blooms to brighten up any garden for the most part of the summer, look no further than the South Africa KORberbeni.
• For those looking for the more traditional red rose, Ingrid Bergman POULman unfading red will not disappoint. The deep, velvety red of these bold roses will add a burst of intense colour to your garden.
• If you’re after the lingering fragrance of a beautiful rose, the Zulu Royal DORient mauve fragranr boasts a lavish show of mauve coloured roses on the tip of the stems to release its strong fragrance into the air.

Plant your rose bushes in a sunny area in your garden and water every second day with approximately 20 litres of water per week. However, be careful not to overwater. Feed your roses monthly to maximise growth and improve the quality of the blooms.

So stop and smell the roses this rose month at your nearest GCA Garden Centre.

Celebrate your garden this summer. For more gardening tips and information, check out whats trending in the garden or join the conversation on our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/lifeisagardensa.