If your garden has seemed different in recent years, with that familiar buzz much quieter, the air less colourful and alive, it’s probably not your imagination. Bee and butterfly populations face alarming declines worldwide. That’s a scary thought, considering that most of the crops we eat rely on these (formerly) frequent visitors.
It’s true that no one person can single-handedly restore the monarch butterfly and reverse the honeybees’ downward spiral, but as we work on the larger issues at play, like climate change and widespread pesticide use, pollinators need safe spaces to feed and find mates. That’s where you come in: make your own yard a pollinator-friendly pit stop with a few simple fixes.
Why are bees so important?
Bees are such a precious part of our ecosystem, and there has been some concern about their well-being over the last few years. It is thought that certain pesticides as well as mass monoculture farming are playing a key role in weakening their immune systems, causing colony collapse, and declining numbers. Loss of habitat and urbanisation are also taking their toll. This problem is far more severe in the industrialised northern hemisphere but is starting to gain ground in South Africa too.
By making your garden a biodiverse haven, you can play your part in keeping the bees thriving as an indispensable part of our ecosystem.
Pesticides
It’s important to make sure that you are not using nasty pesticides in your garden that are known to contain bee-harming chemicals such as neonicotinoids. Read your labels – they usually contain acetamiprid, clothianidin, imidacloprid, and/or thiamethoxam as active ingredients. Explore greener, healthier pest control options.
Plants that bees love
The most important step you can take is to plant a pollinator-friendly garden. Choose nectar- and pollen-rich plants such as vygies, rosemary, sunflowers, thyme, lavender,agapanthus and fruit trees.
Some more bee-loving tips
Bees are especially attracted to purple, violet, blue, blue-green, yellow, ultraviolet, and white flowers, and they prefer scented flowers.
Plant flowers that bloom at different times of the year to keep the bees well fed year-round.
A bee bath needs to be shallower than a bird bath – a shallow tray-like bath of water is ideal. You can also put some marbles in a shallow pan and fill it with water – that way the bees will have somewhere to land and drink.
Care for our Butterflies
If you want the privilege of these floating jewels in your garden, you’ll need to make peace with a few munching caterpillars, because that’s how butterflies start off. To encourage butterflies in your garden means you must allow for the larval stage too – your garden should serve as a sanctuary to nurture and protect the butterfly throughout the stages of its life.
Pesticides
Go lightly on pesticides and only use them when necessary, to give caterpillars a fighting chance as they are already pitted against plenty of natural predators. especially if you are creating a diverse ecosystem in your garden. Toxic pesticides can also get into the plant nectar that adult butterflies drink.
Plants that butterflies love
Our top picks to include in your garden to attract butterflies are Cape plumbago, Cape honeysuckle, butterfly bush, lavender, daisies and impatiens.
Some more butterfly-loving tips
When it comes to flowers, butterflies like colours ranging from blue to mauve, red, pink or white.
Some butterflies like rotting fruit such as bananas or pineapple, so leave some fruit from your fruit trees to rot on the ground as food.
They like to get some minerals from pockets of mud too, so a little mud puddle or two will be appreciated.
Bringing insects back into our garden
Let’s aim to bring back all the beneficial insects back into our garden and appreciate them for all pollinating services they provide. They buzzing of the bees and the colourfulness of butterflies definitely puts a smile on our faces.
Hydrangeas are like the spring’s pompom, cheering on the season. Blooming from spring to autumn, this flower is so beloved that it even has its own holiday! Hydrangea Day is celebrated on January 5th, which is perfect since it is a time of year when the beautiful Hydrangea ‘Endless Summer‘ is in full bloom!
If you are looking at growing your own hydrangeas at home, read the following tips and tricks on how to plant and care for them, particularly the Hydrangea ‘Endless Summer’:
Appearance
Hydrangea ‘Endless Summer’ is a deciduous shrub growing in a rounded shape. Its glossy, dark green leaves range from 10 – 20cm long, and its stunning blooms are showy mopheads nearly 20 – 25cm in diameter.
You can choose from a range of colours, depending on the alkalinity or acidity (pH) of your soil. Starke AyresAcid Loving Plant Food is a good fertiliser to help you regulate the pH levels. Shades range from deep blue to vivid lavender and from soft mauve to rose pink, depending on the .
Hydrangea ‘Endless Summer’ is compact, growing 1.5m tall and 80cm wide.
Planting
Autumn or early spring are the best times to plant Hydrangeas ‘Endless Summer’, since you want to give them time to establish a healthy root system before the blooming season begins.
Choose a sheltered planting site that receives partial shade – ideally, sun in the mornings and shade in the afternoon. Before planting, decide what colour Hydrangea ‘Endless Summer’ blossoms you want.
Dig a hole twice the width of your ‘Endless Summer’ root ball and roughly its depth. You want your plant to be just slightly higher than the level of the surrounding soil.
Begin to backfill the hole with soil. Stop halfway and pour water into the hole until it rises to the top. Once it drains away, finish filling in the rest of the soil.
If you’re planting your Hydrangea ‘Endless Summer’ plants as foundation plants, space them 2.5m apart from each other, measured from the centre of the plants. For a garden border, space them out 1m apart.
Growing conditions
‘Endless Summer’ actually enjoys partial shade to full sun and is able to bloom on both old and new growth from spring through summer or early summer to autumn, depending on the climate of your area.
Sun and shade:
‘Endless Summer’ thrives in partial shade, or roughly four hours of direct, unfiltered sunlight per day. It’s best if it receives sun in the morning and shade in the afternoon.
Soil:
‘Endless Summer’ can grow in a range of soils but needs moisture to flourish. The key thing to remember about soil is that the level of acidity or alkalinity will determine the colour – from blue to purple to pink. For a bluer shade, make sure your soil is acidic. For pinker, amend it to more alkaline, as needed. For bluer blossoms, you can adjust your soil with sulphur. If you’re more interested in bold pinks, adjust it with lime.
Watering:
You should water your ‘Endless Summer’ routinely each week, up to twice a week during the hotter months.
Fertilising:
Fertilise your ‘Endless Summer’ once in spring or summer with a specially formulated fertiliser, such as Starke Ayres’ Hydrangea Food or Acid Loving Plant Food.
Pruning:
You do not have to prune your ‘Endless Summer’, because they can bloom on both old and new growth. However, you should trim any dead, dying or diseased branches when you notice them.
Happy hydrangeas makes for a happy gardener
Be sure to follow these easy steps for happy Hydrangea ‘Endless Summer’ plants. They will keep blooming for you to enjoy! Buy your ‘Endless Summer’ hydrangeas in all the colours at Plantland.
While your garden is peaking and is filled with vibrantly coloured flowers during spring, it is precisely the right time to create a stunning bouquet from the fruits of your labour, so that you can enjoy the sights and smells of the garden inside your home. It only takes one gusty wind or heavy summer rain to destroy your beloved blooms anyway, and cutting guarantees that at least some of your flowers will be spared that cruel fate! Another reason to cut your flowers is that it encourages more flowering on your plants throughout the summer months and even into early autumn.
Read and follow the following tips and tricks on how to cut your garden flowers and use them inside your home:
When to cut
Early morning is the ideal time to cut fresh flowers, when the flowers have had the benefit of cool night air and morning dew. Their stems are filled with water and carbohydrates, meaning that they are firm to the touch. When harvesting, have a bucket of water on hand to immediately put the flowers into. We suggest using a plastic bucket rather than a metal one because metal can affect the pH balance of the water.
Different types of flowers must be harvested at different stages in their development. Cluster flowers with multiple buds on each stem, such as an Agapanthus, should have at least one bud showing colour and one bud starting to open before being cut. If gathered too early (while they’re still tightly budded) these flowers will not open in a vase of water. By contrast, flowers that grow on individual stems, such as roses, should be cut when fully open.
Cutting tools and techniques
Always use clean, sharp utensils when cutting flowers. Knives, clippers or shears can be employed, but never use ordinary household scissors! The gauge on scissors is set for paper or fabric, not for flower stems, which are bulkier. Using scissors will crush their vascular systems and prevent proper water uptake.
Cut all flowers about 3cm from the bottom of a main stem. Make the slice at an angle of about 45° as it will provide a larger exposed area for the uptake of water.
Water temperature
Use lukewarm water (between 37°C and 43°C) for your cut flowers to get the best results. Warm water molecules move faster than cold water molecules and so can be absorbed by flowers with greater ease. The objective is to get water and nutrients as quickly as possible to the head of the flower.
Preservatives
Using a preservative increases the longevity of cut flowers. To survive, flowers need three ingredients: carbohydrates, biocides and acidifiers. Carbohydrates are necessary for cell metabolism; biocides combat bacteria and are necessary for maintaining plant health, and acidifiers adjust the pH of water to facilitate and increase water uptake.
To make your own, use 1 teaspoon of sugar, 1 teaspoon of household bleach and 2 teaspoons of lemon or lime juice.
Care of cut flowers in an arrangement
Here are some general rules that will help you make your cut-flower arrangements last:
Don’t overcrowd the flowers in the container;
Check the water level in the vase and replenish it frequently;
Flowers that go limp are not drinking well and need to be recut;
Always discard wilted blooms;
Keep flowers away from drafts, direct sunlight and ripening fruits.
There are few things nicer than walking in your garden, soaking up the sun, smelling all the different fragrances of the flowers and hearing the bees humming away. One specific plants comes to mind when picturing this image, and it is the lovely Lavandula dentata ‘Elegans‘.
As they dance in the wind with their long dainty stems topped with a vibrant purple, we now understand why bees absolutely love these shrubs!
Lavendula dentata ‘Elegans’
A bushy shrub with fragrant dark green leaves and dark purple flowers from spring to summer, they love to be planted in the sun where they can cope with all the shine in your garden! The Lavendula dentata ‘Elegans’ grown by Malanseuns is excellent to use for cut flowers and can be used as pot-pouri as well.
When you think of planting lavender, don’t limit its use to garden beds bedding – use the lavender as a fragrant hedge in your driveway or try it in a beautiful pot on your patio to enjoy.
What benefits would you enjoy from this delicate perennial?
Lavendula dentata ‘Elegans’ is a very versatile plant that can be used for cooking, for decorating and for aromatherapy apart from using it in your garden. We would say yes to choosing this plant for all these wonderful reasons!
Bringing the lavender fragrance indoors
Savouring the Lavendula dentata ‘Elegans’ in your food is a treat, from baking with lavender to savoury dishes or making a soft lavender ice-cream – lavender brings a floral-earthiness-minty type of flavour and aroma to food. How delicious!
If you’re not sure how to use lavender in your food, always choose to use it sparingly because its scent can be a little overwhelming, like vanilla. We suggest to rather start mixing a little bit with your dish, along with other great pairing herbs such as thyme and rosemary, and as you get used to the taste explore with different combinations. You can use freshly picked lavender or ground dry buds that you can keep as spice in your cabinet, for you to explore with in the kitchen.
Easy chicken and lavender recipe:
We found this easy and delicious chicken recipe for you to try. Thank you www.sumptuousspoonfuls.com for this recipe! Enjoy readers.
Ingredients:
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
3 – 4 chicken leg quarters (or other chicken pieces)
1/2 cup white wine
1 tablespoon honey
10 cloves of garlic, peeled and halved
Several sprigs of fresh lavender leaves
1 lemon, cut into slices, rind and seeds (mostly) removed
Seasoning of your choice, including freshly ground pepper
Instructions
Preheat oven to 200°C.
Heat an oven-proof pan over medium heat, then add the olive oil and swirl around to coat the bottom of the pan.
Fry the chicken till the skin is golden brown on both sides (not to cook the chicken, just to brown it).
Remove the chicken from the pan, drain the excess fat, add the wine and honey, and swirl around to deglaze the pan.
Arrange the chicken pieces in the pan, sprinkle with pepper and other seasoning, then sprinkle with lots of lavender leaves and add the lemon slices on top.
Set the pan in the oven and set a sheet of aluminium foil on top for 20 minutes.
Remove the foil and let cook for another 20 – 25 minutes or until the juices of the chicken run clear when poked with a knife.
Add some fragrance to your garden
Next time you visit Plantland, remember to add the Lavendula dentata ‘Elegans’ to your trolley: you will be amazed as to all the astounding things you can do with this perfect lavender.
Absolutely anyone can master patio or container gardening. These are words that will make beginner gardeners dance with joy, especially if you know nothing about gardening!
Most plants aren’t finicky about the type of pots you plant them in; you must simply remember to give them space to spread their roots.
Container or patio gardening is a benefit for everyone – those with enough land to grow a beautiful garden with pot plants placed in a shaded area as well as balcony gardening for those who have limited space but would like to create a beautiful quaint plant-filled portion.
Benefits of patio gardening:
Versatile gardening
One of the biggest reasons why patio gardening is popular is that the pot can be moved around. Just imagine placing a pot of rosemary right outside your kitchen – culinary convenience at your doorstep. When you’d like to move it, it’s as simple as picking up the pot and moving it to its new space.
Low maintenance
Plants in containers require less maintenance, as there is a smaller area to tend to attention than a garden bed. Patio gardening is great for beginners because it requires also less care and attention, as it is easy to control the quality of the soil in the pot, which helps to control disease and insect pests.
Be creative
Container planting allows for maximum creativity. There are all sorts of pots you can buy, with different colours, patterns and textures for you to choose from. If you really feel creative, you could take it a step further and paint an old terracotta pot to look like a face and then plant a carex so that it has ‘hair’.
Patio gardening does require a little work
It is true that a patio garden is much easier to care for than a garden, but it requires more watering as the plants dry out faster. Luckily, Starke Ayres new Hydrocache water-retaining gel offers a great solution to get around this problem.
Also remember to fertilise your planted pots for them to get all the nutrients they need to grow strong and healthy.
Get started with patio gardening
First, you will need to assess the amount of space you have for the plants you plan to grow. This will help you visualise your garden and make your trip to a Plantland garden Centre much easier.
Also consider choosing plants that pair well together; this will benefit plant growth as time goes by. We say it is best to pair plants with similar needs to make the care process so much easier– pack them together!
How many times have you walked past a house in a lovely neighbourhood, and all you could smell was the aroma of the food being cooked that almost makes you feel like asking for a seat at that dinner table. It is as if the herbs and spices they’ve used are calling you, and your stomach begins to growl.
We don’t know about you, but we always aim to fill our homes with the comforting smell of food, and we also know for sure that fresh herbs add extra love and delight to any meal.
Benefits of growing your own herbs
Fresher tastes
Fresh herbs in your garden mean meals packed with much more flavour. There is nothing that can beat the fresh taste in your infused water or the stew you plan to make for Sunday lunch.
Adds variety to your meals
Having a broad variety of fresh herbs allows you to experiment with different flavours. When you are looking at doing a leg of lamb, the best herbs would be thyme, rosemary and even a little basil. We bet you can smell it already!
Antioxidants
Herbs are a good option when looking at living a healthier lifestyle. Most herbs are packed with antioxidants that help to clean your liver.
Relieves stress
Tending to your own herb garden will help you get rid of the stress built up during the week, being one with nature and learning about the benefits the different herbs have to offer.
Start Simple
Growing herbs from Starke Ayres seeds is good for intermediate gardeners who know a little more about sowing seeds and the requirements, and there is the wide variety on offer by Starke Ayres. There is also an option to choose from Plantland’s seedling varieties, which enables you to plant a seedling that has gone through all the growing pains and is ready for you to enjoy. Herb seedlings are good to start off with if you are a beginner gardener.
Choosing the perfect pot
It helps to know where you want to plant your herbs; by your kitchen windowsill or in pots outside your kitchen, or wherever would work best for your needs and setting. Once you have the perfect spot for your herbs, you will need to pick the perfect pot. We absolutely love the Tuscan style a terracotta pit gives, or if you are more a herb-crate type of gardener, Plantland has all the styles you could dream of! If you are creative, you could always create or paint your own pots. There are endless possibilities.
Introduce herbs to your everyday lifestyle
Whether you are a beginner herb lover or an expert herb gardener, we encourage you to explore with herbs. Use them in your teas or when you cook, and you will have a whole new culinary world to escape to.
When you’re ready to buy herb plants, check Plantland’s online store where you can shop for your favourite herbs from convenience of your own home.
It’s that time of the year again where the green industry plays an important role in reminding people about the importance of planting trees.
Arbour Week has been celebrated since 1800, founded by two lovers of nature, husband and wife team Julius and Carrie Sterling Morton. They were distressed by the lack of trees in Nebraska and quickly planted trees, shrubs and flowers in their own garden to start out with. Soon the trend followed.
“Trees were needed as windbreaks to keep soil in place, for fuel and for building materials, as well as for shade from the hot sun,” says daff.gov.za
Plant a tree
It is the year 2021, and we are still encouraged to plant trees for reasons that will remain pertinent forever. It is said that you do not plant a tree for yourself to enjoy, but for the enjoyment of future generations. Therefore, it is important to make sure that we have trees standing and providing us with shade for generations to come.
Trees are important to us for the following reasons:
Trees help to hold soil in place and prevent soil erosion.
Trees are an important habitat for wildlife; some animals spend their entire life living in trees and others depend on the forest for survival.
Trees feed us – just think of all the nutritious fruit and nuts we pick from trees.
Trees help increase property value by 5% ,or even higher depending on the size of the tree.
Trees help with saving energy by providing shade in summer and blocking strong winds in winter, therefore saving us energy we spend trying to cool and heat our spaces.
Trees help reduce loud noises in urban areas when planted strategically.
Some trees provide medicine for our use, such as tea tree and moringa trees.
The list of benefits from trees is much longer than these 10 point, such as how they help to regulate local water cycles by holding the water, therefore preventing flooding and maintaining water vapour in the air!
How to plant a tree
Plantland has a wide selection of trees available to choose from. You can choose indigenous trees or deciduous trees, flowering or evergreen. Just make sure you choose a tree you will enjoy looking at for years to come.
Tree planting procedure:
Dig a hole twice the height and width of the container of the tree. Fill the hole with water.
Mix the soil with a nutritious soil (like Malanseuns Compost) and add some bonemeal to the mixture to ensure healthy root growth.
Remove the tree from all packaging and place it in the hole, then fill up with soil to the top of the tree roots.
Press down firmly to ensure the tree is stable. Build a dam around the hole, to make sure the water will drain to the roots when watering.
Water your tree thoroughly twice a week until the tree can sustain itself.
Fertilise with 2:3:2 fertiliser when needed.
Trees are good.
Planting trees, even just one or two, can make a huge difference. Trees are our lifeline to cleaner air and a healthier environment as trees improve air quality by producing oxygen. We need trees now more than ever! Teaching our children from little to appreciate trees will do the world good. View our wide range of trees on plantland.co.za or in store
We are complicated beings that experience all sorts of complex emotions, from the ones we enjoy, like feeling love or contentment, to the emotions we wish we never experienced, like anxiety and sadness.
From the green we see to the peace we feel
Most of us live in a fast-paced work environment and have also been dealing with a pandemic for 2 years now. Many of us are working from home, some have lost their jobs, and there are so many other stresses that came along with this pandemic.
Many of the activities we used to enjoy to help us relax have been put on pause, like enjoying fun nights out with friends and attending a public event.
Luckily we still have plants. We have learnt that plants help us to relax and are good for our wellbeing, but what we would like to fully understand is what goes on in our brains and bodies when we are around them.
How do plants help us relax?
We experience wonder, a feeling of mysteriousness, curiosity and abundant love. It could even be called oneness.
The Merriam Webster dictionary defines awe as, ‘an emotion variously combining dread, veneration and wonder that is inspired by authority or by sacred or sublime.’
Would you not want to be in state of constant sublimity?
What we know for sure is that being in a garden helps our immune system. Unconsciously, without noticing, we become quiet and hear the buzzing of the bees and the singing of birds.
Having a plant or two in your bedroom purifies the air your breathe, making it easy for your body to rejuvenate and sleep better. Some say that paying attention to the symmetry, fractals and patterns of leaves or flowers is also what helps to reduce stress and direct our attention outside of ourselves.
To summarise, you need plants to help you relax!
Greenery is good for the brain, body, and soul
When you do not have the opportunity to go outside often, bring plants to your workspace and home to help decrease your blood pressure.
Helps remove toxins from the body
Plants are natural air purifies and remove toxins from the air.
Plants are therapeutic
Looking after plants is a natural form of therapy.
Helps reduce background noise
Big leafy plants help with creating a tranquil mood.
Plants help sharpen our attention
If we pay attention to plants, it will help with concentration.
Plants help us recover from illnesses
Plants can help speed up your recovery.
Plants can help with productivity
Studies have shown that people in workspaces with plants take fewer sick days off work.
Plants could help with your outlook on life
Just pay attention to plants, their textures and colours, and experience a feeling of being both a big and a small part of the ecosystem.
Plants provide us with a sense of companionship
You can talk to them, tell them private things and give them names, all of which help a lot.
Get the ‘in’ on plant relaxers
Having plants can be a source of pleasure! Sharing your space with living breathing beings can make your environment feel happier and healthier.
While this was just a small collection of relaxing benefits, there is so much to explore on the importance of plants. To get more info visit Thanks Plants!
Imagine trying to teach a child about the laws of nature and how the ecosystem is one big cycle of giving, and then you’re suddenly inspired to grow some plants that attract insects. This would be great! These insects will help pollinate plants, and the child can actually see the entire process happening in many ways, bringing them closer to nature and how it works – all right in front of their eyes.
Teach them to enjoy gardening
When you plan and tend to your garden with your children, they will grow to understand that they exist as one with every living, breathing species they interact with, and plants are a big part of the process. For this we should be thankful for plants. This is a much better and more affordable way of educating our children than trying to educate them with toys.
Gardening from a young age teaches our children a sense of responsibility, caring for their first plant and tending to its needs. They will love the feeling of accomplishment when their plants start flowering, and they can show it off to their friends.
Let’s teach our children to garden, to grow their own food and to appreciate everything plants do for us and help them by bringing them closer to nature!
Urban structures turn green
Many of us live in urban areas with tall cement buildings, and we constantly find ourselves seeking out a little nature to surround and comfort us. Imagine the benefits if we all planted a tree or filled our homes and balconies with at least two plants – how much more hospitable we would find our concrete jungle as the plants softened our hard buildings and purified the air we breathe. Our productivity would increase as plants helped us to relax, making it easier to enjoy the space we live in.
It has also been said that patients in hospitals that integrate plants as part of their furnishing recover quicker. Yay for plants!
Enjoy being closer to nature
Just think of how relaxed you feel when you’re out with friends in nature, camping or taking a walk in a nature reserve. Or when you fill your home with indoor plants, or while you are outside gardening – you naturally feel at one with yourself! You interact with nature, which is alive and healthy, your spirit gets recharged because humans are nature themselves.
Once we have a mutual respect for plants, we will understand that they are here to assist us. We will go out into the wild to be surrounded by tall trees, we will listen to the gentle waves of the ocean, we will admire the sun shimmering on us, we will hike and camp more often. Our plates will be filled with more vegetables, and we will even create mini natural spaces in our offices. We will start noticing that the places we visit, such as restaurants, are bringing in more natural greenery for our goodness. We will keep our plants alive for sure!
We all need to get closer to nature
‘Eco-therapy’ is a great word to describe the effects of nature on our mental state, because we definitely experience a feeling of higher life satisfaction when surrounded by nature. We need to realise that we shouldn’t take nature for granted just because we experience it for free when we step outside every day. We all need to learn to love and respect nature, and to impart this love and respect to our children too.
Visit Plantland for more information, tips and ideas.
Our Team is ready to answer any questions or concerns that you may have. Feel free to get in touch!
Office Hours: 8:00am – 16:00pm
If we are not available then email us and we will get back to you as soon as possible. hello@tanyavisser.com
