Category: Annuals

What’s wrong with my pepper plant?

Post author By Barbara
Post date April 14, 2011
2 Comments on What’s wrong with my pepper plant?

Hi Chris, My Pepper plant in this photo is looking very sad and I don’t see any nasties on it. But I do notice that the growth tip looks all bunched up. What could this be? I have to say that I have planted at least 8 substantial seedlings in the past six months and they all are not flourishing. I took a photo of the only one that seems to have survived. The others are either dried up or on their way out. Even in the planter, they are not thriving. Perhaps it has been a very hot summer. But maybe it is something else! How are your peppers doing? I really want to get these growing because they are pricey and I would so prefer to grab one from the garden when I really want one!

They are better known as Bell Peppers – Capsicum annum – and they come in a variety of colours (red, yellow, green and purple) and the green version is the unripe fruit. They are full of vitamins, nutrients and anti-oxidants! So worthwhile having these growing in the garden. Help!

Tags bell pepper, Capsicum annuum, green pepper, pepper, sweet pepper

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The great big gardening makeover!

Post author By Barbara
Post date April 14, 2011
5 Comments on The great big gardening makeover!

Hi Chris, I have been so busy with work and stuff this past week, I hardly had a moment free! So now I have to catch up on all my posts I have been saving up! I am so inspired and excited to let you in on my BIG gardening makeover. After our trip to Elgin I have been reading and researching on grasses and paths and designs and permiculture. I am ready for a totally new garden. I have even inspired my wonderful hubby – when he took one look at the beautiful grasses I bought at Fairholme Nursery. I also wanted a tree for this area and remembered I saw this beautiful tree when we took that trip to the Cape Garden Centre and I fell in love with this one tree. I had to know what it was – asking the nursery staff for the name. I knew I had to have it. Then you told me about this place that sells big trees!!! Yes, I went to Trees-SA in Stellenbosch today to order my tree – the Leopard Tree/Brazillian Ironwood. Well, I am so in love with this tree I had to have TWO! So they are going to deliver them next week! Yey! You will love this place! We have to add this to our list of places to visit!

So here is PART 1 of the Grass Feature Project! We are removing the overgrown lavender bushes in the front of the garden. The next post will be on the grasses. This is going to be a beautiful feature! I can’t wait to show you the final look! Here you can already see the grasses all lined up on the deck and I’m giving them a watering! You can also see the dried river bed feature I added to this bed when the lavender was still small. You could not see it anymore, so just as well the lavender is now gone.

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Tags Design, grass feature, grasses

Annuals Barbie's garden Christine's garden Gardening Home page features Reviews

Best roses in town!

Hi Chris, I loved the post you did on the trip we did to Fairholme Nursery, in Elgin. I took so many photographs that day, it took me the best part of the week to download them all, colour correct, crop and file them! Here are the photos of trip we did to Duncan’s Roses – the most beautiful roses I have seen for sale! It is worth the trip out of town to just browse around these well-kept and beautifully maintained roses. You can definitely feel the love here and the care given to each and every rose bush.

Duncan’s Roses are well-known in the area and I can see that with the quality of plants and the love that goes into them. They even have ducks and chickens running around in the back garden. Very inspiring, indeed!

If you are in the Western Cape, do take a trip to Elgin, and visit this beautiful oasis!

Duncan’s Roses, PO Box 52, Grabouw 7160

Tel: 021 848 9949

e-mail info@duncansroses.co.za

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Tags Duncan's Roses, Elgin roses, roses

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Seeds sprouting

Hi Barbie – I promised I would tell you as soon as I see something happening … and my First Attempt at Planting Seeds appears to be successful! We have little seedlings coming up in the planter box – So far I have about ten coming up of the +/- 30 I planted. I’m moving the planter box to a sunnier position now that I am a little more confident in my abilities to take care of a few seeds :).

I’m strangely not as excited as I thought I would be. I think the whole Rare Bulbs undertaking has me more anxious than a couple of Nasturtium seeds!

Other than that we’ve had three beautiful days here weather wise – sunny days with no wind and pleasant temperates – ideal for spending time in the garden which I’ve managed to do by sneaking away from work for short periods. I’ve done a lot of planting and reorganising, tidying up and general maintenance.

Happy gardening
xxx

Tags Nasturtium seeds, nasturtiums, seed trays, seedlings

Annuals Christine's garden Gardening Home page features Perenniels

What’s flowering in my garden

Post author By Christine
Post date February 25, 2011
11 Comments on What’s flowering in my garden

Today I thought I’d share with you what is still flowering in my garden. As we are nearing the end of summer I didn’t expect to have that much to show you until I stepped outside and started clicking away. The usual suspects are still flowering (read: annuals) and a few summer bloomers are showing their last flowers. Some new kids on the block (planted out last weekend) surprised me with their new blooms but the biggest surprise is the tomato plant you gave me! It has two teeny little flowers. (You understand of course that this tomato plant is my very first attempt at growing a vegetable, so finding a flower on it was a huge surprise!).

So here is my gallery of “A Friday of Flowers” …

[one_half]Dietes bicolour[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Sweet William [/one_half_last]

[one_half]Vinca[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Tulbaghia Violacea[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Predictable Petunias[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Alyssum[/one_half_last]

[one_half]New kid on the block*[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Mandevilla Splenens[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Impatiens [/one_half]

[one_half_last]Newly planted Begonias [/one_half_last]

[one_half]Scaevola Aussie Salute[/one_half]

[one_half_last]My flowering Tomato![/one_half_last]

[one_half]More Sweet William[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Potato Vine[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Last flowering Agapanthus[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Azalea[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Hibiscus[/one_half]

[one_half_last]New indigenous ground cover[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Star Jasmine[/one_half]

[one_half_last]I don’t know the name**[/one_half_last]

My favourite flower at the moment is the Mandevilla Splenens, I love the Scaevola and Hibiscus … but the biggest thrill today was the Tomato!

I hope you like my “Friday Flower Post” – What’s flowering in yours?

Happy Gardening
xxx

* Duranta Sapphire Showers™
** Lobelia (thanks Alistair!)

Tags Annuals, flowers

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Sweet Alyssum

Post author By Christine
Post date February 13, 2011

When we had the “new” garden planted I was left with lots of bare patches to contend with whilst we wait for the plants to establish themselves. Although we put down bark-mulch (which is more attractive than bare soil), I still wanted to see some more colour, especially over the the December / summer months. So I decided to plant fast growing annuals, just for a few splashes of colour whilst we wait … waiting for the garden to grow is not quite like watching paint dry, but I’m not the most patient of people so some instant colour was called for.

This is the bed just above the pool from which we had to remove the Banana Tree. It looked really ugly after everything had been removed and in December we had the new plants planted there. Its a fairly shady area so Camellias and Star Jasmine and Carex “evergold” were chosen. And I was left with lots of bare patches! So I planted some petunias for instant colour. They’ve done ok, but the area is pretty shaded so the petunias have not done as well as the ones in the pots out back. Pretty, but nothing great. At the same time I planted Alyssum. They are such an unassuming little plant aren’t they? Hardly noticeable until they actually start growing. Today I was quite surprised to see how sweetly they are filling in the blank spaces without detracting from the other plants around them. And I have to add … they must be the easiest thing in the world to grow! I’ve done nothing to them. In fact, I’d forgotten all about them.

Here they are …

[one_half]With the Petunias & Carex evergold[/one_half]

[one_half_last]More Petunias[/one_half_last]

Tags alyssum, Annuals, petunias

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Front Garden

I’m enjoying one of the beds in my front garden a lot. To a seasoned gardener I’m sure its nothing special, and I know it needs work in terms of the Gardenias not performing at their best (and my newly planted “Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow” still underperforming), but I’m loving the little dianthus annuals I planted because they’ve added some colour to the blanks spaces while we wait for the new plants to establish themselves. The Plectranthus madagacariens is absolutely thriving and I have to keep cutting it back so it doesn’t take over completely. The wild iris plants are coming along beautifully.

Hercules loves this spot in the garden too … He likes to sit on the bench and watch me when I’m busy in the front garden. He loves to sniff the plants and is so light of foot that he doesn’t damage anything … the perfect little garden companion!

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Dianthus and bunny

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Gardening companion

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Tags Annuals, dianthus, hercules

Annuals Christine's garden Gardening Home page features

Nasturtiums for our Lemon Trees

Post author By Christine
Post date January 23, 2011
3 Comments on Nasturtiums for our Lemon Trees

Hey Barbs, I found an amazing tip in this months issue of The Gardener which will help protect our Lemon Trees from aphids and scale. Here’s what they say … Sow Nasturtium or rue seeds at the base of fruit trees. Their presence appears to act as a deterrent to sap-sucking insects like aphids and scale. Concoctions brewed from the leaves of these plants are also used as organic sprays to deter these pests!

So I am going to buy Nasturtium seeds … they used to flourish in my garden, like a weed,along with the Ivy. We ripped them all out and I’m not mad about the idea of having a Nasturtium invasion again, but if I control their growth and just have them growing around the base of the lemon tree I think it could actually look quite attractive. What do you think? Worth a try if it keeps the nasties away!

And I know that some people put Nasturtiums in salads and use them in food preparation … so that fits in with you “edible” theme! I’ll get you some seeds when I go seed shopping this week.

Tags aphids, lemon tree, Nasturtium seeds, nasturtiums, scale

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Alyssum in little pots

Just before Christmas, Stefani (my daughter for those who don’t know) talked me into buying this crate with the little pots in it for the garden. It’s been sitting around for a month now “waiting” for me to plant something in the pots. I was going to plant herbs in it, but then decided it would look pretty straight away with something that’s flowering, so yesterday I planted some of the Alyssum seedlings that were meant for a border into the pots. And I think it looks cute!

What I love about gardening is that things are always changing and can be changed. If a plant is not thriving somewhere it can be moved to a better position. If a patch is not enchanting, one can add to it, subtract from it, move things around, heck, maybe even add a garden gnome for effect! (I don’t have any yet but I do have a metal frog!). And whilst there is so much for me to learn about plants and taking good care of then to get them to thrive, gardening allows me to be a bit creative with colour and form.

Hope you are having a great week!

xxx

Tags alyssum, Annuals, pots