EVA'S GARDEN DESIGN

Soft landscaping of commercial and industrial projects and residences

WATERWISE GARDENING

If you want a colourful garden in spring and summer now (March - May) is the time to plant your shrubs, perennials and annuals.

* Planting in autumn will allow your plant to establish a good root system over the winter. The winter rains will quench their thirst when they most need it, leaving you with strong mature plants, with good root systems that will withstand the dry summer onslaught.

* The Western Cape has a Mediterranean climate which means hot dry summers and (hopefully) mild wet winters. Therefore, especially at the moment with chronic water restrictions, you should select plants that suit this climate. You don't have to limit yourself to indigenous plants; there are plenty of plants you can plant that originate from other parts of the world with similar climatic conditions to ours.

* Remember water restrictions don't mean that you have to give up gardening or that you can only use waterwise/drought tolerant plants. You can still use annuals to brighten up your garden in small patches. Prepare your ground well with compost, use mulch and it won't take up too much of your time to keep your plants strong and healthy.

SIMPLY BEAUTIFUL, BEAUTIFUL GARDENS MADE SIMPLE Bedding plants form the backbone of a garden, but they can be pricey. Under the new "Simply Beautiful' label, a range of new and popular perennials as well as other selected bedding plants will be produced in smaller, more affordable packs of four. Why Simply Beautiful Varieties? You need a broad selection of plants to cover a wide set of gardening needs. Simply Beautiful selections offer you plants for sun & shade, varying heights & spread, colour & use. Among the selected varieties will be All-American award winners, bred for their bigger, brighter colours, season long blooming ability, better heat and disease tolerance and healthier, lusher foliage. What makes a product Simply Beautiful? It's earned its name! It's tested & it works in the garden.

My compost heap is not doing well. What could the problem be? Damp and warm only in the middle of the pile? Pile could be too small, or cold weather might have slowed composting. If you are only composting in piles, make sure your pile is at least 3 feet high and 3 feet wide. With a bin, the pile doesn't need to be so large. Nothing is happening. Pile doesn't seem to be heating up at all? Not enough nitrogen, oxygen, moisture. Cold weather perhaps or the compost is finished. Make sure you have enough nitrogen rich sources like manure, grass clippings or food scraps. Mix up the pile so it can breathe. Mix up the pile and water it with the hose so that there is some moisture in the pile. A completely dry pile doesn't compost. Wait for spring, cover the pile, or use a bin. Matted leaves or grass clippings aren't decomposing? Poor aeration, or lack of moisture. Avoid thick layers of just one material. Too much of something like leaves, paper or grass clippings don't break down well. Break up the layers and mix up the pile so that there is a good mix of materials. Shred any big material that isn't breaking down well. Stinks like rancid butter, vinegar or rotten eggs? Not enough oxygen, or the pile is too wet, or compacted. Mix up the pile so that it gets some aeration and can breathe. Add course dry materials like straw, hay or leaves to soak up excess moisture. If smell is too bad, add dry materials on top and wait until it dries out a bit before you mix the pile. Smells like ammonia? Not enough carbon. Add brown materials like leaves, straw, hay, shredded newspaper, etc. Attracts rodents, flies, or other animals? Inappropriate materials (like meat, oil, bones), or the food-like material is too close to the surface of the pile. Bury kitchen scraps near the center of the pile. Don't add inappropriate materials to compost. Switch to a rodent-proof closed bin. Attracts insects, millipedes, slugs, etc? This is normal composting, and part of the natural process. Not a problem.

What can I do to avoid spending my whole summer weeding? While all gardeners need to do some weeding, steps can be taken to minimize the task. Begin by covering the entire garden with black plastic or large tarps for a few weeks in early Spring. This helps kill sprouting weed seeds. When you remove the plastic, till the soil, wait a week or so for more seeds to sprout, then till again. Mulch around plants. One easy, effective way to minimize weeds is to use a layer of newspapers covered with a thin layer of decorative mulch. Organic mulches such as wood chips or grass clippings will add nutrients to the soil as they decompose. Keep mulch a few centimeters away from plant stems to minimize disease problems. To keep the surrounding lawn from encroaching, dig a deep (15 to 20 cm) trench around the entire bed. All these things take a little time in Spring, but are well worth the effort and will save a lot of time later on in the season. Also, with each year you will decrease the weediness of your garden.

Eva Gayllo CC. P.O. Box 783509, Sandton, 2146, South Africa
Tel:+27 11 884 2370 Fax: +27 11 884 5992 Email: evasgarden@mweb.co.za