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Grow your own Christmas gifts
Do you have family or friends who love to cook? Spoil them with a hanging basket of herbs or micro-greens … planted by you. We all know the saying, ‘It’s the thought that counts’ when it comes to...
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Tropical beauties
We love flowering tropical plants for their exotic beauty, and queen among them are dipladenia. They are also super versatile for gardens, patios, balconies and even indoors. Hailing from Brazil,...
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Sweet success with sweet peppers
Sweet red and yellow peppers are gorgeous to look at, delicious to eat but can be difficult to grow. Unlike chilli peppers, they have a weaker root system and that makes them sensitive to a whole host...
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Indoor plants for the lock-up-and-go-lifestyle
If you love plants but like to get away, especially for that spur of the moment week’s break, keeping your indoor plants going can be a bit of a challenge. Fortunately, there are indoor plants that are...
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Spreading cheer
A jolly garden … masses of vivid leaves, gorgeous Christmas roses (which make great gifts) and a herb that packs in flavour Indoor plant of the month Don’t be surprised to see hydrangeas standing in as...
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No more feast or famine in the veggie garden
The idea behind succession planting is to stagger the sowing of your crops to avoid the feast or famine scenario, that soften occurs in food gardens. In other words, don’t just plant one crop in...
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How to get the best rose blooms for Christmas
Like everything else in South Africa, the December rose garden fits in quite happily with the holiday spirit. The second flush of rose blooms usually occurs just before Christmas says rose grower...
View ArticleWhere there’s a wilt there’s a way
Planning an end-of-year getaway is exciting, but for many plant parents, the excitement of going away is tinged with worry at the thought of leaving their plants home alone. While some plants can...
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We’re planting …Kangaroo Paw
We might be fiercely competitive with Australia on the sports field, but when it comes to plants it’s easy to acknowledge their winners, like the all-round toughie ‘Kangaroo Paw’ (Anigozanthos). Bush...
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Best festive plants for every occasion
Indoor plants come into their own during the festive season. It’s a lovely way to say ‘thank you’ when invited out and will look good for a lot longer than a bunch of flowers. For instant festive décor...
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Beating the heat
There is no doubt that climate change has pushed up the daily temperatures and and gardens are visibly suffering. All one can do when temperatures are consistently in the mid to upper 30⁰C is to be...
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Garden trends for 2024
Climate change is having a sobering effect on gardening. We are looking for plants that survive feast or famine, strategies for making every drop of water count and natural habitats that provide...
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Survival strategies for heat-stressed gardens
Its been a hot summer. By November last year, temperatures were exceeding 30⁰C in many areas, and it can only get hotter as we enter the hottest months of summer. To curb the higher demand for water...
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House plants with staying power
The holiday feeling quickly evaporates when you arrive home to drooping houseplants. Not to worry because here are some simple steps that will perk them up again. Give them a good soak. Put them into...
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Coleus for high impact garden colour
As foliage plants go, nothing beats easy growing Coleus for its exotic and brilliantly coloured leaves. Just like people, plants can re-invent themselves, and none more dramatically than coleus. Once...
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Growing trends
Resilience is the word that seems to crop up in most garden trend predictions for 2024. But the mood is one of eco-optimism, and the desire to respond creatively to climate change. Climate change is...
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Cannas call the shots
Tropical gardens are generally low maintenance gardens, and cannas fit right in. They love the heat, and need it to flower well, like regular watering but can cope with drought, and grow easily and...
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Roses that stand up to the midday sun
During hot summer days, roses that hold their shape and colour have firm, even stiff petals that last much longer than the softer petalled perfumed roses. The downside is that most stiff petalled...
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From garden to table
Edimentals can be herbs, annual or perennial vegetables, shrubs, climbers or trees that are decorative as well as edible. It is a more holistic approach to edible gardening, choosing plants with a...
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Get set for a productive winter veggie garden
Any veggie patch that receives at least six hours of sun a day, or more, and is fairly sheltered from the cold can yield as much as a summer garden, if not more so. The range of winter veggies include...
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