For the novice gardener: a pair of secateurs, gardening gloves and a selection of seed packets are the perfect starter kit to get them going.

For the bird-loving gardener: a bird feeder and a packet of birdseed are just what they need to encourage birdlife to flock to their garden. If space (and budget) allows, throw in a birdbath too – it’s a lovely addition to any garden.

For the diligent weeder: a set of good-quality hand tools will go a long way in making a tough job a little easier.  

For the hands-on gardener: an elegant watering can will be a pleasing addition to their set of tools for pottering around the garden.

For the indoor gardener: pretty pot covers are always welcome to anyone who has a collection of indoor plants.  

For the organic gardener: a worm farm or bokashi bin is an essential tool in organic gardens.

For the wannabe gardener with no garden: indoor planters or countertop hydroponic herb gardens will add greenery to even the smallest (and darkest) of spaces.

For the aspiring child gardener: a pair of gumboots, a trowel, seed trays and fast-growing seeds such as nasturtiums, beans, marigolds or sunflowers make for the perfect gift package for their budding green fingers. Watch their love of gardening grow!

For the gardener who has everything: a Stodels Gift Card will allow them to pick and choose exactly what they need.

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Containers filled with herbs, vegetables and fruit trees anchor the garden in its Boland setting – an area well known for its fresh produce and world-class wine – while an inviting dark turquoise pool and generous outdoor terrace add a touch of glamour. 

Neatly clipped rosemary hedges and a manicured lawn stand in contrast to rows of lush olive trees, while the Mont Rochelle Nature Reserve in the background, and the magnificent mountain range that forms part of it, serves as a constant reminder of the plot’s enviable location.

Clean slate

When the Noyce family took ownership of the property three years ago, they had to plan and create an entirely new garden and home. Apart from an old tin shed and a few pear trees, there was very little else. “We demolished the tin shed and built the house from scratch,” Josephine recalls. “We also levelled out the lawn and created a raised platform by the new pool area to direct one’s gaze to the mountains.”

Over 30 olive trees were planted along the boundary to soften the walls, and old fruit crates were used to create a vegetable garden. The plant palette consists of grey, white and evergreen to mirror the gardens of the Mediterranean.

Room with a view

Putting every corner of the large garden to good use was a priority for the landscape designer and her family. As such, different sections were created to allow for privacy and to make a variety of outdoor activities possible. “Our goal was to create a garden with many ‘rooms’, all aimed at bringing the indoors out. We wanted to create lots of places in which to sit and enjoy a new view at different times of the day.”

One example of such a “room” is a simple bench under a willow tree overlooking the river that runs past the property. It makes for a quiet corner in which to read or enjoy a glass of wine while enjoying the view. In turn, the large lawn can be used for functions under the stars or to play croquet or boules on a warm summer’s day. 

Fresh produce for the family
As environmentally conscious consumers who understand the value of growing their own produce, creating a vegetable garden was another important addition for the Noyce family. “It’s incredibly satisfying to cook from the garden,” Josephine says. “My favourite part is giving delicious pesto or a basket with fresh organic vegetables as a gift to friends.”

Josephine and her family also derive much pleasure from the citrus, mint and rosemary in the garden – all of which are perfect ingredients for delicious G & Ts. The fresh produce is also an added luxury for guests who use the property when the Noyce family is away, giving them a chance to connect with nature and spend time outdoors.

“Overall, the garden is a huge part of our living experience and the main focus of the home,” Josephine adds. “The garden softens the contemporary architecture of the house and creates a sense of calm that compliments the surrounding beauty of Franschhoek.”

Inspired by this beautiful garden? Shop online for herbs & vegetables, and read our article on how to grow your own veggies from seeds.

For more information or to get in touch with Josephine Noyce Landscape Design, visit www.josephinenoyce.com, contact Josephine on +27 (0)82 303 5742 or follow @josephines_gardens on Instagram. Visit www.lagrangeriverhouse.com if you are interested in spending your next getaway at the house.

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Go for the following plant combinations and you’re all set for gardening success:

• If you’re planting cabbage or other brassica vegetables, add dill or rosemary to the same garden bed and your veg will flourish.
• Sage and rosemary make great garden companions, while thyme helps to keep your vegetable garden healthy by warding off common garden pests. 
• If you’re planting leeks, cauliflower or beans, throw in a celery seedling or two. This soup and salad superhero will help the other vegetables to grow better.
• Almost all vegetables fare better when a lavender bush is planted close by.
• Plant marigold in close proximity to tomatoes, brinjal and sweet chillies. These easy-to-grow plants help to keep soil diseases in check and act as a natural bug repellent. 
• Roses fare better when chives are planted close by. Try the same trick for apple trees.
• Nasturtiums are not only pretty and whimsical, they also help to protect broccoli and cabbage from aphids.
• Tomatoes favour growing close to parsley.
• Mint thwarts aphids on nearby vegetables and other plants, while peppermint gives the flavour and quality of cabbage a boost.
• Plant nettles to boost the growth of tomatoes and increase the aroma of origanum, sage and peppermint.

Green fingers itching? Shop online for your seeds, seedlings and garden accessories. 

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Create a pet-friendly herb corner in your garden
Here are some ideas for what to include:

• Health-boosting herbs
• Herbs that give your pets pleasure
• Herbs that provide shelter and shade 
• Memory-boosting herbs

Herbs for healthy pets

• Tonic herbs such as parsley, comfrey and borage are good for the general health and wellbeing of your pets.
• Fennel and mint help to promote healthy digestion.
• For arthritis and inflammation in older pets, try feverfew, comfrey, celery, parsley and yarrow.
• To help ward off problems with worms and parasites, try adding chopped yarrow, thyme or oreganum leaves to your pet’s food once a week.
• Calendula, thyme, chamomile or lavender can give your pet’s skin a boost. These herbs can be added to their food or made into a tea and sprayed directly onto your pet’s skin using a plant mister.

Herbs for pleasure

• Cats love cat grass (Dactylis glomerata), which is high in nutrients and good for their digestive systems.
• Catmint (Nepeta mussinii) and catnip (Nepeta cataria) are popular with our feline friends. Both will boost your cat’s mood and put a spring in their step.

Shade and shelter

• Large, bushy perennials like lavender and rosemary can be used to add shady spots to your garden, which your pets can use to seek shelter from the sun. Both these shrubs also repel fleas.

Herbs to boost memory

Nervines are herbs that can help to support your pet’s nervous system. These can be divided into relaxants and stimulants.

• Relaxants promote calmness and relaxation, which can help your pet to memorise things better. An example is lemon balm.
• Stimulants such as ginkgo and rosemary can also aid your pet’s memory by improving circulation to the brain. 

A note on dosages: If you’re not sure what sort of dosage to give your pets when it comes to herbs, it’s generally safe to follow this rule: use 1 teaspoon of fresh herbs per 10kg of your pet’s body weight.

Read more: Hassle-free gardening with herbs

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Both of these summer-flowering plants can be introduced to your garden with ready-grown seedlings that are available in punnets of six and punnets of four (stronger plants). Many brightly coloured varieties are available, which makes planting them even more rewarding, as you can mix and match colours to your heart’s content.

Marigolds

These reliable, long-lasting, heat-tolerant annuals range in height from 15cm to a metre tall, with cream, lemon, gold, orange or copper flowers. Many of the modern cultivars don’t have the same pungent scent as older varieties and they can flower so profusely that you can hardly see the foliage.

Uses: Dwarf marigolds are useful for edging paths, while tall varieties are best used for borders. They brighten rockery pockets, containers and hanging baskets, and can be grown between rows in the vegetable garden, where they’re a deterrent to nematodes in the soil.

Needs: Plant marigolds in a sunny spot, in well-drained soil. Add compost.

Tip: Pinching off the first three or four buds will encourage bushier growth.

Our favourite: ‘Vanilla’, an unusual, cream-coloured hybrid.

Gazanias

These indigenous bedding plants have grey-green leaves and are incredibly easy to grow. Gardeners can take their pick from numerous hybrids with large blooms and beautiful colours, which range from red, orange and pink to yellow, cream, white and bicoloured.

Gazanias are perennials that flower continuously during spring, summer and autumn.

Uses: Borders, decorative edges, groundcover, in rockeries and in containers. They’re particularly beautiful in indigenous gardens, where they provide pops of colour.

Needs: Plant them where they’ll get full sun most of the day. Although gazanias have low water needs and are tolerant of poor soils, they perform best in well-composted soil that drains well. Watering them regularly means they’ll produce more flowers.

Tip: Plant gazanias close together, as they don’t grow very tall (10cm) and tend to spread in low, even clusters.

Look out for: The large-bloomed ‘daybreak’ gazania hybrids.

Tips for success

• Mix masses of compost and a controlled-release fertiliser into the soil when you’re planting. Add planting fertiliser or bonemeal to allow for strong root development.
• Fertilise the plants every two weeks with a liquid fertiliser.
• Remove faded flowers to allow for growth.

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Here’s what you need to know to gain the upper hand when pests strike. 

Snails and slugs 
These guys love the youngest, tender leaves on new plants, so remember to scatter a few snail-bait pellets around when sowing seeds or planting new seedlings.

Alternatively, place cardboard collars (made from “slices” of toilet-roll inners) around your new seedlings to prevent snails and slugs from getting close to the new leaves. 

Ants 

These insects tend to become a problem during the autumn months, as they’re far more active in preparation for hibernation during the winter period.

Spray ant nests in the garden with ant killer and use ant dust for dealing with these insects in paved areas or between stepping stones. 

Deal with ants inside your home by placing a few ant traps in strategic places (for example on windowsills or under/behind furniture or appliances).

Aphids 

Aphids usually attack plants between April and July. These small bugs attack a variety of plants, from roses to tomatoes and sweetcorn, but they’re probably best known for their attacks on conifers. Aphids slowly destroy conifer trees by injecting their contaminated saliva into the trees and eventually causing total dieback of the affected branches.

Ward off aphid attacks by sprinkling insecticide granules at the base of the tree and watering well. The tree will absorb the insecticide through its roots and, when the aphids attempt to infiltrate the tree, they’ll ingest the insecticide and die.

If you prefer to tackle aphid infestations by using a spray-on insecticide, take care to choose an organic spray that isn’t harmful to ladybirds. (These friendly bugs are aphid predators in the natural ecosystem.)

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Byron’s green fingers can be traced back to his grandmother, who loved to potter around in the garden on their family estate in Johannesburg. As a young boy, he watched her at work and, decades later, discovered that he enjoyed gardening as much as she did. 

The seed for Byron’s vertical garden structure was planted about a year ago when he started investigating ideas to block his view of his neighbour’s unsightly roof. “I knew I wanted to create something vertical, so I spent some time on Pinterest looking at different ideas.” 

Small-space gardening on balconies, in courtyards, and in pots and containers has become a worldwide trend, so Byron was able to find lots of inspirational pictures and ideas online. 

While browsing, images of spekboom grabbed his attention and Byron decided to use this pocket-friendly “eco-warrior” to form the base of his vertical garden – a grid-like steel structure that provides support for rows and rows of terracotta pots. 

In selecting other plants, Byron focused on choosing varieties that would not only survive in pots, but also thrive in this windy part of the Western Cape. “Going the indigenous route was also important,” he says. “I spend time with the dogs on the mountain twice a day and wanted to bring the fynbos of the region into my backyard.”

The structure took Byron a week to design and measure up. “I met an amazing guy who does steelwork down at the Cape Town docks. I showed him my drawings and, surprisingly, he understood my madness. It took him a month to create all three panels for me.”

Byron chose to work with a steel frame for aesthetic reasons. “I thought that, once the structure starts to rust, it would provide this rustic, aged look filled with personality. Also, rust, terracotta and interesting plants pretty much go with any colour. I love the blue of my walls, but that could easily change.”

Byron’s vertical gardening tips:

In creating his vertical garden, Byron discovered a few clever tricks that he’s willing to share: 

• Invest in a solid structure, but save money by propagating succulent cuttings and planting them out into different pots.
• Allow your vertical garden to evolve over time. If something doesn’t work, get professional advice from your local Stodels garden expert.
• Reuse grey water from your household to water the plants in your vertical garden.
• Use the bottom row of pots as an oasis for your pets. For example, add real grass to give your dogs and cats something to chew on.

Looking to create your own vertical garden? Call one of our experts for a personal garden consultation to discuss plants and styles suited to your space.

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Easy Peasy has been created to make your life a little less complicated. With this initiative, Stodels Garden Centres get to supply 24-pack organic seedlings to households that want to try growing their own food. 

The lovingly cultivated seedlings are disease- and drought-resistant, and open-pollinated. Each month’s selection is perfectly timed for the season and includes an online support service that “tray farmers” can subscribe to for hints and tips on planting, maintenance and harvesting. Online support is offered via Instagram and Facebook (@easypeasyseedlings), as well as a monthly newsletter.

Anyone can grow these seedlings anywhere. Plant them in pots if you live in an apartment, or dedicate a patch to them in your garden if you’re a serious backyard farmer. All they require is approximately one small watering can of water every two days.

Great for the environment, high in nutrients

Growing your own vegetables is good for the environment and won’t leave you out of pocket, says Easy Peasy founder Leigh Brown. “The amount of water* used in industrial farming is far greater than that used in a home garden because you’re able to be very specific about where the water ends up. You can also reuse general household water. You’ll be amazed at how much your little garden provides and it will inspire you to eat well and share with others.” 

Food that’s ready to be harvested as needed also eliminates the waste associated with shop-bought food and delivers the best possible concentration of nutrients – nutrients that would be lost in the food-chain process.

The initiative was conceived and is driven by the award-winning public benefit organisation SEED. The organisation has been working with food security and climate adaption in under-resourced areas, particularly on the Cape Flats, for the past 20 years. During this time, SEED has perfected their potting mixes and organic-seed propagation to produce highly reliable plants. 

 “This project has gone out of the gates employing four previously unemployed people from the Cape Flats. As we grow, we hope to provide more employment in an area that’s under extreme social and economic pressure,” says Brown. “Growing your own food is the ultimate resilience.” 

Get your tray from your local Stodels Garden Centre

Easy Peasy is available at Stodels Garden Centres in the Western Cape. The Veg Out trays (including 24 seedlings) are designed to get you eating from your garden, and they are available for only R99.95 per tray.  

*Virtual water is the water that’s used in farming processes. It’s the hidden water footprint in food that isn’t seen in the end product. Beef farming is a big virtual water consumer, with 15,000 litres of water going into the production of just 1kg of beef while industrially grown lettuce uses 130 litres per kilogram. Home-grown vegetables require much less water than any industrial crop-growing system. With the certainty of ever-increasing food prices, it’s a lifestyle move that makes perfect sense. 

The post It’s “Easy Peasy” to grow your own veggies at home appeared first on Stodels.

Most flowering plants, such as honeysuckle and lavender, release their scent during the day, when light and temperature are at their peak. They do this in order to attract daytime pollinators like butterflies. Other flowering plants, such as evening primrose and angel’s trumpet (brugmansia), release their scent at night, as they’re pollinated by insects that are active after sunset.

Leaf-scented plants, such as rosemary, lavender, thyme and basil, release their scent when their leaves are touched or crushed. To experience their aromas to the full, plant them along pathways or as ground cover between paving stones.

A few tips for using fragrant plants in your garden

• In South Africa, summer holidays are synonymous with long, lazy lunches and dinners enjoyed outside on the patio or in the garden. Add to the experience by planting sweetly scented flowering plants where you’ll be entertaining your guests or spending time as a family.
  
• Plant scented trees and shrubs in various prominent areas of your garden. Popular options include the false olive, gardenia, cheesewood, bride’s bush, frangipani, yesterday-today-and-tomorrow and Mexican orange blossom.
  
• Lavender is aromatic, easy to grow and incredibly versatile – the flowers can be used in summer cocktails and home-made body products, and even in shortbread cookies and other sweet treats. Plant lavender in the sun and enjoy its scent throughout the season.
• Another good choice is McConnell’s Blue rosemary. This hardy, drought-tolerant herb smells divine and looks beautiful, too. Plant the rosemary close to your kitchen so that it’s easy to pick the herb for use in roast lamb and other dishes. 
• Put window boxes and pots on the patio to good use by filling them with scented plants. The closer the plants are to the rooms you spend most of your time in, the more you’ll be able to enjoy them.
• Use sweet-smelling climbing roses and jasmine to create scented canopies throughout your garden. Choose white night-blooming flowers such as moonflowers to add a touch of magic to balmy summer evenings.
• Avoid placing too many scented plants too close to each other, as it may become hard to distinguish the different smells from each other. You want to be able to enjoy each scented plant’s unique aroma when you spend time outdoors.
• Scented leaf pelargoniums offer a variety of scents that are released when the leaves are brushed or touched. Plant Pelargonium citrosum if you tend to be bothered by mosquitoes when you spend time outside – this plant smells of citronella oil, which repels mozzies and other insects.
• Plant scented climbers such as white mandevilla or Chinese wisteria, which has sweet-scented lilac blooms. Star jasmine, with its masses of scented white blooms, is easy to grow and looks beautiful, too. Grow it as a climber, a sprawling shrub or as clipped ground cover. Indigenous wild Jasminum multipartitum can be used either as a climber or as a loose shrub. 

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If you’re planning on adding indigenous, waterwise plants to your garden this summer, consider planting proteas and pincushions (Leucospermums) – the heroes of our fynbos floral kingdom.

A wide range of hybrid varieties that work particularly well in South African gardens are available for purchase countrywide. They all fare well in poor, acidic soils and their magnificent blooms are a favourite among nectar-loving birds and insects.

If you prefer having a low-maintenance garden, proteas and pincushions are also an excellent choice – once established, they require little effort while rewarding you with beautiful blooms at different times of the year.

Tips for planting proteas and pincushions

• Plant proteas and pincushions where they’ll be exposed to lots of bright sunlight as well as wind and circulating air.
• Proteas prefer well-draining, nutrient-poor, sandy loam or open, acidic soil. Ask your garden expert to suggest a potting mix that’s suitable.
• If you’re using fertiliser, go the organic route (chemical fertilisers with a high phosphorous content can damage proteas and pincushions). Avoid fertilisers completely if you’re planting your fynbos in rich, fertile soils. 
• Make sure your proteas and pincushions have enough room to grow. Plant them in holes about twice the size of the containers in which you’ve purchased them. 
• Note that some varieties are better suited to containers than others. If you’re planting in pots, make sure they have plenty of drainage holes. Also consider lifting the pots off the ground to allow for sufficient drainage.  
• Cover the roots with a coarse mulch. This will thwart weed growth, keep the soil moist and cool, and slowly fertilise the plants. Consider adding pine bark and pine needles to lower the pH of the soil.
• Water your proteas deeply every week, especially during the first two years after planting them. Once established, they’re drought-resistant. 
• Never disturb the soil around your proteas and pincushions by digging, as this makes the roots susceptible to infection. When removing the plants from their containers, try not to disturb the roots.
• Prune your proteas in spring or summer – they’ll reward you with more, better-quality flowers and the plants will be healthier overall.
  
• Look out for protea hybrids such as Madiba (Protea cynaroides variety), Pink ice (Protea compacta x susannae), Red repens (Protea repens variety), and Sylvia (Protea eximia x susannae) – all of which produce spectacular blooms. 
• Beautiful pincushion hybrids include Goldie (Leucospermum cuneiforme variety), High gold (Leucospermum cordifolium x L. patersonii) and Soleil (Leucospermum cordifolium x L. glabrum). 

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Bring this bright colour into the garden with a joyful range of spring annuals, perennials and bulbs (found at your nearest Stodels Garden Centre) in borders, on banks, and in rockery pockets and containers. Our garden experts have a few bright ideas to add colour to your spring garden with indigenous flowering plants:

1. Fill bigger gaps with indigenous flowering trees. Pretty trees to colour your spring garden include the tree wisteria (Bolusanthus speciosus) which grows to a height and spread of 4–7m and has a slender form and slightly weeping branches, with mauve pea-shaped flower trusses. The purple broom (Polygala myrtifolia) has beautiful clusters of mauve flowers and can be grown as a small tree or shrub, as it reaches a height of only 2m.
2. Play with scent as well as colour. It is not only the colours of spring that delight, but also the scents found in the butterfly bush (Buddleja auriculata) and the creamy-white, bell-shaped flowers of September bells (Rothmannia globosa).
3. Brighten up a water-wise rockery. Orange-red kalanchoe, gerbera and ursinia in sparkling orange, and the glistening flowers of magenta mesembryanthemum all thrive on rockeries. 
4. Plant every angle with colour. A sunny slope is ideal for aloe, lion’s ear (Leonotis leonurus), plumbago (Plumbago auriculata), protea and leucospermum. Even a slight slope is perfect for arctotis, felicia, gazania and mesembryanthemum, which need good drainage.
5. Decorate stairways, windows and terraces with bright pot plants. Emphasise a flight of steps with pots of showy pelargonium zonale. Place a pot or two in empty spaces in the border, or combine them with their scented-leaf relatives. Ivy-leafed geraniums (Pelargonium peltatum) with shiny foliage and flowers in pink, red, amethyst, purple, salmon and yellow will burst into life if planted in window boxes and hanging baskets. 
6. Plant in blocks of colour. Compact plants such as Cape daisies, vygies and nemesia look spectacular when planted in clumps of colour. The colours of gazanias include cream, lemon, gold, bronze, russet and maroon-red. Many are bicoloured; whilst others display a contrasting colour around the central disc. The ursinia’s daisy-like flowers come in shades of yellow and orange with red and black centres.
7. Give your shady areas the colourful treatment as well. The dusty-pink forest lily (Veltheimia bracteata), bush lily (Clivia miniata) with trumpet-shaped blooms in shades of orange and yellow, and Clivia nobilis with pendulous dark orange flowers and green tips will colour shady areas in your spring garden. The forest bell bush (Mackaya bella) is a dense shrub with glossy green leaves and bell-shaped white flowers with mauve veins that thrives in semi-shade.

Looking for something specific? Book one of our garden experts for a consultation to discuss design ideas unique to your space and style. 

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