Our Clivia is flowering again

Our Clivia is flowering again.  It seems to like to flower when the roots are crammed into the pot.

Finding Room For a Few Edibles

Norma Evans


Garden styles are changing. Edibles are in! Fortunately, it is easy to add a few herbs, onion sets or a tomato or two somewhere in your garden. Perennials such as hostas and grasses have joined foundation evergreens and this season it looks like edibles will turn up in beds and containers.

An added bonus to growing many edibles and aromatic herbs is that they attract beneficial insects and pollinators. It is important, however, to watch that you combine plants that have similar watering needs, sun and food requirements. Herbs that are invasive such as mint can be grown in containers either above ground or sunk into the ground.

Where should we look for room? Space can often be found around early and late blooming perennials. The early bloomers will be cut back and offer room for an expanding tomato or pepper plant. The late bloomers such as rudbeckias are slower to shoot out and won't mind sharing space with lettuce, green onions or radishes or garlic.

Pruning Grapevines

Here is an excellent video on pruning grapevines by Jason Kerr. The video is from New Zealand but the principles are the same the world over.

Methods of Growing Fruits and Vegetables Efficiently in Small Spaces

Raised Beds

In a small garden, it is practical to grow vegetables in raised beds. Normally, this involves building a wood frame to hold the soil up to 10 inches above level ground but it also can involve just mounding the soil. These raised beds need to be narrow enough so that all parts of them can be reached from outside the bed since, once built, they should never be walked on. There are well tested and successful schemes for growing in raised beds such as "No-Till Gardening" and "Square Foot Gardening" which are described next but just using a raised bed with a lot of compost and staying off it goes a long way to success. Here is an article on managing garden soils and another on creating a new garden.Sources of Information

There are some great sources of information on vegetable gardening on the web such as the videos listed on our video links page or this series of videos by Claire Burgess.Weeds

Advice for New Gardeners

Perhaps you have just moved into a new home, or you have inherited an established garden. You may be finding the prospects of taking care of your place daunting. Here are a few basic tips to help you get started.

It is not Possible to Outsource the Design of Your Garden

A garden designer can listen to your requirements and come up with plans but only provide you with choices and ideas. It is your garden and you have to decide what you like and don't like, and what you are prepared to look after.