Romancing the patio and balcony

Why settle for one short-lived, long-stemmed red rose when you can rather go for intense gardening pleasure in a small space filled with ravishing potted roses? Miniature rose varieties collectively known as ‘patio roses’ are freely available in warm seasons. They flower profusely if kept in a sunny spot for a few hours and are protected at root level with a layer of organic mulch to keep their roots cool and moist. There are also top selling garden roses like ‘Little Red Hedge’ which one can plant in large containers to add a splash of bright colour on a patio.

Protect delicate plants with a loving embrace

Protect delicate plants from the prevalent summer and winter winds by planting a barrier of wind-resistant plants around the perimeter of your garden. Once established, these plants will help to keep your garden sheltered, while adding to your privacy as well.

Here’s a rough guide to identifying wind-resistant plants:

• Soft structure:Look for tall grasses and reed-like plants. Their soft structure means that they filter the wind easily, without getting damaged. Try Cape thatching reed (Elegia tectorum) or common thatching reed (Thamnochortus insignis).
• Thick, glossy leaves:Plants with leaves like this are generally tough and fairly wind-resistant. Try coastal silver oak (Brachylaena discolor), bush tick berry (Chrysanthemoides monilifera), water berry (Syzygium), wild olive, milk wood or dune crow-berry (Searsia crenata).
• Grey, hairy plants:These plants cope well in dry, windy weather. Try lavender, lamb’s ear and woolly thyme.

Love your lawn

Follow these water wise tips to keep your lawn healthy under the hot sun:

• Raise the height of your mower blades to about 5cm. Longer grass shades the soil and encourages root development.
• Water early in the mornings and you won’t lose precious drops to evaporation or wind.
• Water deeply (about 30 minutes per sprinkler setting) twice a week, rather than watering for shorter periods more frequently. Deep watering encourages the development of deep, healthy roots.
• Make sure that your hosepipe as well as its fittings and nozzles are all in good shape, so that you don’t lose water through leakages.

Love is in the air

Air plants have fascinating forms and they grow without soil, attached to virtually anything from pieces of wood to fishing line to suspend them from the air – you can even glue them onto different objects. Air plants are members of the genus Tillandsia which descends from the pineapple family. Many of them grow naturally on trees where they attach themselves on branches and can often be seen hanging from trees, like the mystical old man’s beard (Tillandsia usneoides). Contrary to popular belief, air plants actually do need moisture and nutrients to grow properly, and do not live on air alone. Buy some of these beautiful and collectable plants and care for them by using a mist sprayer. You can even soak the whole plant for a few minutes, but allow it to dry off well before displaying it again. Do this regularly in very hot weather as air plants like humidity in the atmosphere. Place them in a sheltered spot away from direct sunlight and ensure that there is good air circulation around them.

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