CATEGORIES

Turn your cypress into Christmas

Compact, lush and evergreen, a potted cypress makes a beautiful decorated tree for the festive season.

Good BUGS

In a garden where creatures are free to prey on each other, the biological cycle plays out dramatically...

Heroines of HORTICULTURE

This year at the Chelsea Flower Show, women took centre stage in the Great Pavilion.

3 hasty shrubs

Most gardeners who plant new shrubs will tell you that they have a great impatience to see them grow fast and flower well. All plants need time to settle in before creating a performance, but some do it faster than others...

GOING VERTICAL

If you're not making use of the vertical space in your garden, you're missing out on a huge and essential part of not only design, but also space saving. Space is at a premium in all gardens, but particularly urban gardens where choice is limited. Going vertical is the best way to make use of 'empty' space and improve your design at the same time. It's a win-win.

Delights to DISCOVER

A horticultural masterpiece that just keeps on giving...

Purple Cone Flower

Echinacea purpurea is a flowering perennial herb that grows easily from seed and produces large pinkish purple daisy-like flowers with a reddish-brown central cone that attracts bees and other pollinators.

Васора spiller a beauty

Sifting through the many attractive trailing plants suitable for South African gardens, it’s impossible not to mention bacopa (Sutera cordata).

Divine combination

We trolled the streets, studying neighbourhood pavements and accessed gardens (with permission) to see what's growing and found red vygies and blue felicias in a late winter-colour-clinch with pretty rocks...

Electric blue and more

If you're looking for majestic blooms to fill your garden this year, Delphiniums are the answer.

Keep your Salvias Sizzling

Salvias may be tough and low-maintenance, but we've got some tips that will help you to unleash their superpowers in the garden.

Flamingo Darty

Also known as the flamingo flower or flamingo lily, anthuriums are known for their heart-shaped leaves and shiny flowers which are just the thing to brighten up the indoors.

Abloom with spring annuals

The colourful flowering perennials are an instant way to get bold and bright colour into a dappled shady area of a garden.

Spring masterclass

It's spring and gardens (as well as gardeners) are coming alive. Everything is sprouting, so enjoy the perfume, the new growth and start planning and planting your summer garden but beware of late frosts.

Why, what and when to prune

Like feeding your plants, pruning is one of the essential practises in gardening that plays a vital role in supporting healthy plants.

7 creative GARDEN TWEAKS

The sap has risen; blossoms abound and new leaves are unfurling. Enjoy the gentle beauty of spring and tackle the usual spring chores with renewed vigour but, also think of new ideas to tweak your outdoor spaces and to intensify the pleasure that your garden gives you.

Marguerite Daisies Sturdy and Stunning

I'm a firm believer that a garden is incomplete without at least one member of the daisy family in a bed or container.

Water Oak Farm

Nestled in the picturesque neighbourhood of Constantia, surrounded by vineyards and magnificent views, lies a sparkling gem of a garden, lovingly created by Wendy and Winston Floquet.

Green up your shade

A lush lawn in shade is possible with a box of lawn seeds blended specially to trump this condition.

Dotted magic

The magic mathematics of a good-looking pot, starts with a thriller, a filler and a spiller.

Veld to garden

We often see a gem of a plant growing in nature or in botanical gardens and wish we could grow them at home too.

Pink dragon scale combo

Some indoor plants are destined to be together, like this Alocasia 'Dragon Scale Pink' with its pink stem and this Fittonia sp with its pink spotty leaves.

HOW TO GROW Summer Cabbage

Cabbage is a cool season crop that does best before the full heat of summer. Choose a spring or summer variety that matures quickly like ‘Cape Spitz’ (sugarloaf type) ‘Copenhagen Market’, ‘Glory of Enkhuizen’ or Chinese cabbage ‘Michihili’.

Get your daisies in!

It's osteopermum time again.

Everblooming Begonias

Houseplant enthusiasts looking for flowering colour indoors can look no further than Begonia elatior.

Be your own lavender princess

Lavender brings life to the garden with its vibrant purple hues and a fragrance that puts perfumes to shame.

Become a lavender boss!

In South Africa, if your lavender has been in your garden for more than two years, well, you're a botanical boss! If not, we have some suggestions.

Pie in the sky? Why not grow your own?

The idea of window box farming sounds delightfully quixotic. Actually, it's an invitation to those who look longingly at other people's veggie patch and think, 'I wish I had the space.

Pelargoniums fit for a King

The indigenous Pelargonium grandiflorum (regal pelargonium) is a gardener's delight with so much visual interest, it can be hard to know where to look.

RHS Plant of the Year Agapanthus 'Black Jack'

After 18 years in development, all the hard work has paid off and Agapanthus 'Black Jack' has made it to the top of the heap by winning the prestigious Plant of the Year award from the Royal Horticultural Society.