Avid gardeners will tell you that their lifelong love of gardening and plants probably originated from the gift of a cool plant such as a cactus, bonsai tree, fly catcher, or a little love palm when still only a child. So, as June 16th, is officially Youth Day and a public holiday to boot, bring your teenagers to Tuingenoot and spend quality family time in the peaceful company of plants and flowers, rather than indoors. While you there, buy them a living gift to love and to nurture, the same way as they deserve to be loved and cared for.
Look at Planting an indigenous garden, attracting birds and other wildlife, and neatening up your garden should be at the top of your list this month.
Creating an indigenous garden:
Low-maintenance and water-wise, aloes and other indigenous shrubs and trees come to life this season with spectacular flowers and dramatic foliage. This is why you should invest in an indigenous garden or section of your garden:
- Because indigenous plants are grown in their preferred conditions, they are generally hardy and practical plants that require less maintenance.
- Although not all indigenous plants are water-wise, many of them are. As gardeners, we need to be more aware of environmental responsibilities and recognise the value of water conservation.
- Indigenous trees and shrubs are known to attract birds to your garden that help to manage insect infestations naturally. Look at having a bird feeder and water station to encourage visits from our feathery friends, you can find a wide selection at our nursery.
YOUR TO-DO LIST FOR JUNE
Planting & Sowing
- Look at adding colour to your garden with winter-flowering plants such as pansies, stocks, dianthus, petunia and daffodils.
- Plant things like lobelia, primula and foxgloves in shady areas of your garden.
- Why not plant fruit trees such as flowering peaches, plums and apples. They will settle their roots in the ground ahead of the growing season, giving them a head start to the season.
- Now is the time to harvest winter veggies such as leeks, carrots, Brussels sprouts, parsnips, cabbage and peas. Tip: When harvesting Brussels sprouts, remove the lower sprouts first while you wait for the top sprouts to mature.
- Once you’ve harvested, look at refreshing your garden by planting cabbage, cauliflower, leeks, onions, celery and globe artichokes in your vegetable garden. All of these and more can be found at Tuingenoot.
- Add fynbos to your indigenous garden. Popular varieties include Leucospermum (pincushion), ericas and Leucadendrons. We have a wide range waiting for you.
- Also look at planting camellia varieties, Azaleas and gardenia in semi-shaded areas.
Pruning & Trimming
- Prune your vines, plum, peach, apple, pear and apricot trees at the end of June and spray with Efekto Oleum. Use only on plants that have become completely dormant.
- Remove those old flower stalks and stringy stems from your focal plants such as flax (phormium), cordylines, penstemons and aloes.
Neatening up
- Take your time in June to clean and repair garden tools, especially pruning tools such as secateurs, hedging shears, clippers, saws and mowing blades. So that they are ready for use come the season.
- Neaten up your pathways and paving, remove all the weeds, amd lift those steeping stones that have sunken.
- Why not take this time to refurbish your old pots with a new coat of paint and water features that could use a clean.
- Give your wooden garden furniture such as benches, bridges and trellises a new coat of varnish, bringing them back to life and allowing them to last longer.
- Check on your staked plants and ensure their ties are not too tight, and that the stakes are still secure.
- Mulch, mulch, mulch those garden beds with compost or mulch, the benefits of doing this are incredibly, and your plants will thank you for it.
Feeding
- Look at feeding your citrus trees with an organic fertiliser such as Flower power, or gwano pellets.
- A general feed to the garden beds with an organic 3:1:5 fertiliser will help strengthen the cell walls and control evaporation.
- Evergreen lawns require a 5:1:5 feeding you can find a selection of this feed on our selves.
Pests amd treatments
- If you are noticing your conifers dying from the inside, look at treating those cypress aphids every four weeks with Efekto insecticide granules, or koinor.
- Be on the look out for mealy bugs in sheltered areas of the garden and treat with Efekto Malasol insecticide.
- Australian bugs are also hiding in sheltered areas of the garden and treat with complete, or plant protector.
- Treat those annoying aphids often found on our cabbages at this time of the year with organiced.
Some Other Fresh Ideas
Looking at planting hanging baskets? Why not add colour to your patio or balcony by planting a hanging basket with mixed winter annuals such as pansies, violas, petunia and dianthus. These are our top tips:
- Add water-retention granules to your potting soil or use vermiculite and add it in with your potting medium to prevent your hanging basket from drying out too fast.
- Since hanging baskets are watered more regularly, they lose nutrients in the soil faster than usual. You can overcome this by adding a slow-release fertiliser such as Atlantic All-Purpose or flower power to the soil when you plant, and feed plants with a liquid fertiliser such as Multifeed Flower Grow once a week.
