Autumn Edition MARCH - MAY 2015

3excitingautumnplants

2015 gardening trends, forecasts and facts

fashion colour – MARSALAroses are back

flowers & informality return mixed planting with little

or no formal linesminiature gardens &

terrariums are populartrees of the year: combretum

kraussii (forest bushwillow) & heteromorpha trifoliata

(parsley tree)

@ BLACKWOOD’S we dig planting in autumn, ‘cos.......

Blackwood’s Home of Gardening | 97 Chatterton Road, PMB | Tel: 033-342 2191 | Trading hours: Mon-Fri: 8:00am-5:00pm Sat, Sun & Public Holidays: 8:00am-4:00pm | www.blackwoods.co.za | /Blackwoods.HoG

AUTUMN INSPIRATION

the weather’s more stable

it’s a great time to be outdoors

all the experts recommend it

transplanting yields little trauma

best time to plant for spring colour & harvestsit makes spring gardens bloom brighter & better

GET YOUR FREE

Cordyline banksii hybrids – ‘Electric Pink’, ‘Electric Star’ &‘Electric Flash’. Fabulous in pots or containers. Sun or light shade.

Leucanthemum maximum -‘Daisy Mae’ A new shasta daisy - a picture of white daisies for months on end. Grows 50 to 60 cm tall in full sun. Great for herbaceous borders. Attracts butterflies.

Chlorophytum saundersiae ‘Starlight’ A lovely indigenous grass which grows into

stately clumps of narrow strap-shaped leaves, green with a prominent white central stripe.

Grows in sun or shade.

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MARCHin the garden This month is officially the beginning of autumn, although

sometimes day temperatures might suggest otherwise. March is the ideal time to prepare for the busy autumn planting season that lies ahead when it cools down significantly. It’s important that all gardeners are patient and wait for these signs from Mother Nature before embarking on serious planting. The early autumn heat can wreck havoc on seeds, seedlings and bulbs that have been planted too early.

All you need to know about establishing and growing perennials into a colourful herbaceous border. They’re the basic component of all English

Cottage style gardens and they’re back in garden fashion in 2015. Entrance fee R20-00, donated to Msunduzi Hospice.

MARCH GARDEN CLUB TALK – HOW TO PLANT HERBACEOUS BORDERS : Tues 10th March 9:30am for 10:00am

MARCH TO DO.......Plant sweet pea seeds this month. Apparently the 17th is the day. Select the best seeds for your needs from the vast array in store this autumn. Prepare flower and vegetable beds for planting when the weather cools. Compost, bone meal and superphosphate are all important additives to ensure top notch results. Scatter seeds of African daisies, Virginianstocks, sweet alyssum, Bokbaaivygies, linaria

also known as toadflax and many other flowers directly into prepared soil in the garden. They germinate readily and make a splendid winter and spring display. Blackwood’s have a huge range right now. Sow pea and broad bean seeds into the vegetable garden. Vegetable seedlings are beginning to improve as it gets cooler. Plant out lettuce and all the cabbage family. They love the cooler months.

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HINTS& TIPS

Winter and spring flowering bulbs are in stock now. “Buy early and plant late” is the motto to good bulb growing. Store the bulbs in a cool, dark cupboard or in the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator. Plant out in mid to late April.

Get rid of all old and scraggly herbs. Replace them with fresh, new stock.

Check watering and irrigation equipment before the rains stop.

MARCH GARDEN CLUB TALK – HOW TO PLANT HERBACEOUS BORDERS : Tues 10th March 9:30am for 10:00am

Pinch back and stake young sweet pea seedlings. Edible peas can be treated in the same manner.

Prune back straggly perennial plants in the herbaceous border. Mulch after pruning with a layer of compost or

well rotted manure.

Apply cutworm bait to all young seedlings immediately after planting to prevent losses.

APRILin the garden

Learn about growing vegetables, herbs and fruit trees. Home grown and organic are popular words in the modern day vocabulary. Come and learn what to grow when and how to make

the most of your very own vegetable garden. In fact, the whole garden can be productive.

Entrance fee R20-00, donated to Msunduzi Hospice.

APRIL GARDEN CLUB TALK – THE KITCHEN GARDEN Tues 14th April >> 9:30am for 10:00am

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TThis is the heart of autumn. Leaves start to turn colour and begin to fall. Raking and collecting leaves

becomes an integral part of gardening. Keep them and turn them into compost or simply scatter the leaves as a surface mulch under and around larger trees and shrubs. It’s now serious planting time for bulbs, flower and vegetable seedlings, trees and shrubs too. All the public holidays and long weekends in April are ideal for spending time in the garden.

APRIL TO DO.......Plant out new strawberry plants or break off runners from existing plants and set them out into a well prepared bed. They also grow well in pots or large hanging baskets. Rhubarb plants are also good for planting now. Alternatively, divide large clumps in the garden. Plant out all the winter and spring flowering bulbs that you purchased last month.

Flower and vegetable seedlings are good for planting now. Perennial flower seedlings that need time to grow before flowering like aquilegias, delphiniums and foxgloves need planting.

HINTS& TIPS

MAYin the garden Day length decreases significantly and temperatures plummet.

Tender and cold sensitive plants need to be protected from the weather. Get the frost cloth out and watch the weather forecasts carefully in the climates where plants are ravaged by the winter weather. May is the best time for planting many flower seedlings with pansies, violas, poppies and primulas amongst the most important. They do not perform if planted too early in the warmer climates. Make merry this May.

MAY TO DO.......Plant masses of flower seedlings including pansies, petunias, calendulas, dianthus, primulas, poppies, violas, snapdragons, alyssum and many more. The store is brim full of seedlings throughout May. Tulip and lily bulbs are in season and ready for planting now.

Plant out vegetable seedlings. Frilly lettuce

and bright lights spinach look stunning planted amongst flowers in the ornamental garden. Artichoke seedlings are ready for planting. They really are bold, sculptural plants in the garden. Delicious too.

Aloes are starting to come into bloom this month. Pop in and see what new hybrids are in stock this eason.

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MAY GARDEN CLUB TALK – THE COOL OF AUTUMN HERALDS PLANTING TIME Tues 12th May >> 9:30am for 10:00am

This is the most important planting period in the garden calendar. The month of May is the busiest and most important to get the garden looking spectacular in spring. Find out what to

plant, where to plant and how to plant. Entrance fee R20-00 donated to Msunduzi Hospice.

Blackwood’s Home of Gardening | 97 Chatterton Road, PMB Tel: 033-342 2191 | Trading hours: Mon-Fri: 8:00am-5:00pm

Sat, Sun & Public Holidays: 8:00am-4:00pm www.blackwoods.co.za | /Blackwoods.HoG

HINTS& TIPS

May is the best time to plant up mixed hanging baskets. There is a wonderful range of plants for baskets in stock right now.

Mulch as much of the garden as possible to help reduce water consumption. Any dry organic plant matter works; compost, pine bark, pine needles, eucalyptus bark, leaf mould, fallen leaves.

Put wooden frames up around plants that need to be covered against frost damage. This keeps the material off the plants.