May is a big bright month
|Published
Durban — May is the month for moms, Africa, bees and biodiversity.
We celebrate Mother’s Day on Sunday, May 12; World Bee Day on May 20; International Day for Biodiversity on May 22 and Africa Day on May 25. It’s a perfect time to spoil mom with gifts for (or from) the garden, and for gardeners to go big on bees, biodiversity, revel in our African sunshine and plant some of our spectacular indigenous seeds and bulbs.
Garden gift ideas
For kids of all ages: Moms love flowers, especially the hand-picked kind. If you have any of these good cut-flowers blooming in your garden, they would be perfect as your Mother’s Day gift bouquet: tall flowering dianthus, carnations, snapdragons, larkspur, alstroemeria or sunflowers. If you don’t have these in the garden, you could always buy a few plants from your local GCA Garden Centre. They will last for a long time – even until next year when they’ll be ready for picking again.
Hot Tip: Pittosporum branches, leather leaf ferns, aspidistra leaves and a variety of other plants, like those in berry, such as the pyracantha, can be added to your bunch of flowers too.
For the big kids and dads: Our indigenous bird of paradise flowers (strelitzia reginae) are trendy additions to the new leafy look, ideal in high light areas indoors, or as pretty patio plants.
Hot tip: There are many beautiful orchids, cyclamen and other stunning plants available at your local GCA Garden Centre, just waiting to delight your mom this Mother’s Day.
EDIBLES
What would sausage and mash be without peas? Peas are also one of the few veggies that kids enjoy eating, especially when combined with corn. If you love peas, you will love fresh, home-grown peas even more. They are easy to grow from seed or seedling. Offer the climbing peas support to climb up, plant with a little compost, feed regularly, and hey presto, there you have your own homegrown peas.
Hot Tip: Peas are full of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory nutrients, including vitamin C and vitamin E, and more.
WHAT TO SOW
Some of the best seeds that can still be sown are indigenous beauties, which honour our African heritage. These are: gazanias, Livingstone daisies (Mesembryanthemum), scabious africana (the indigenous cape scabious or pincushion), and Namaqualand daisies (also called African daisies).
May is also a good time to sow calendulas. Their perky orange and yellow flowers are great in plant borders, their edible flowers make them a winner in the herb and veggie garden and they attract pollinators.
Plant African bulbs
These are some of the beautiful indigenous bulbs:
Sparaxis or harlequin flowers which prefer well-drained, composted soil in the sun or partial shade. These plants do well in the garden but are also excellent container plants.
Tritonia, also called blazing stars, offer a lovely range of spring-flowering colours – from bright orange to salmon, cream and white, and are also great cut-flowers. Plant them in very well-drained soil in the sun or in semi-shade.
Lachenalias have cheeky and brightly colourful hyacinth-like flowers. Most hybrids have sweetly scented flowers that start flowering in winter. Good drainage is essential, so add some sand to poorly drained soil to increase the drainage. Their flowers are also great in vases.
Hot Tip: Don’t complete your bulb shopping before you’ve bought bulb food.
Take a peek at these indigenous bulbs that are really special: Babiana, or baboon flowers, are cute little plants with attractive hairy leaves and fragrant flowers.
Freesias, fragrant and colourful, are great in containers.
Ornithogalum, or chincherinchees, have attractive white or green-white fragrant flowers, which are exceedingly long-lasting cut-flowers.
Ixia’s star-shaped flowers produce a riot of colour in spring, flourishing in a sunny or semi-shaded bed or container, especially when mass planted.
The four Ps
It’s time to plant in the cool season with the 4 Ps. P is for princess and poppies, pansies, petunias and primulas – the royalty of our winter and spring annuals, now available as seedlings: Iceland poppies are gorgeous and available in mostly mixed packs of pastel or brighter colours.
Pansies and their smaller cousins, violas (which have edible flowers), are world-wide favourites and available in striking colours and combinations.
Petunias are also available in an array of colours and have cascading or bushy shapes. Water according to the natural winter rainfall in your area and be careful not to overwater.
Primula malacoides, or fairy primulas, put on a superb show and are shade-loving favourites for the cool season.
Hot Tip: Tie sweet peas to their supports and remove tendrils or side shoots to encourage the nutrients in the plant to be used on necessary growth and, later, flowering.
Pick/prune
Clean up perennials or summerblooming plants by removing any brown or dead leaves. Mulch them up with a little compost and water regularly.
Blooming African star
Have you planted water-loving starlet (spiloxene aquatica) in your water-feature? If you have, you would notice that, from May, this indigenous “star” is peppered with little white, twinkly star-like flowers with bright yellow centres. Its spiky dark green, needle-shaped leaves grow up to 30cm long, making it a dazzling plant for a sunny spot in the pond, or a water feature.
Tip: If you have limited outdoor space, any waterproof pot can be turned into an exciting water feature for the patio, balcony or garden.
Independent on Saturday