The Gardener Magazine

The Gardener is a monthly, national magazine dedicated to inspiring gardeners, providing practical advice and showing step-by-step garden projects. Our monthly features include garden design, in-depth plant features, growing vegetables and herbs, water gardening, garden wildlife and pets, specialist plant articles and much more. We have an extensive database on our website that is growing daily.

WELCOME

Quick cover anywhere! • In every garden there are problem expanses to fill, like deep shade under trees or nooks, crannies or cracks, or maybe even a rooftop where many plants will sulk. In every garden there is also an impatient gardener looking for plants that will grow quickly in no particular soil type and with no other demands except medium water needs. Our trio will maybe be too friendly towards challenging growth conditions and will have to be kept in check, but they sure are nice!

Marvellous May

A sunsational GARDEN • When life gives you lemons, make lemonade!.

PHOTO GALLERY

Afro Zen • Fusing the mediative Zen school with the vibrant pulse of Africa.

6 flowering low hedges • Low hedges, where a number of the same plants are used repeatedly in a row to form a pattern or barrier, are strong design elements, but do they have to be the traditional and formally clipped green box or golden duranta hedges? The answer is no!

A new style of border • Over the years, the very ornamental herbaceous border drifted away from the functional cottage-garden-style borders, where edibles like fruit, herbs and vegetables were mixed with garden flowers in no particular order. It became instead a symbol of prestige in English country gardens, and was designed and planted up by master gardeners flaunting their ultimate gardening skill in creating masterpieces of shapes, colours and textures on a large scale.

Variegation explained • Any plant lovers who have spent time on the internet recently will have come across swathes of variegated plants on their social media feeds. Whether it’s the incredibly popular variegated Monstera, the collectable cultivars of the Epipremnum aureum species, or even outdoor ornamental foliage plants, variegation is taking centre stage this year.

Growing fynbos at Madibri • Many gardeners are apprehensive about growing fynbos outside of its natural habitat, believing it to be difficult and too much effort. Nico Thuynsma has proven otherwise, spending the last 25 years illustrating just how easy it is to grow these wonderful plants both in South Africa and around the world.

SIZE DOESN’T MATTER

5 space-saving ideas

1 000-flower violas

Plant up with fierce colour! • Create a hotbed of indigenous succulents in pots on your balcony or in your small urban garden. This month’s choices spotlight some of the best botanicals South Africa has to offer…

Local white-flowering shrubs • This selection of white-flowering shrubs includes some of our best local plants you can get. Many have scented flowers, they are versatile in the garden and are all suitable for small gardens.

Treat your plants to a spa day

Perfect patio tree

Song of India

Cups of gold stoic and tenacious!

‘Frauenverein’

Eat your Veggies

Mustard greens

Pure and simple apple cider

‘Setsugekka’ is smart! • Amongst the many Camellia sasanqua hybrids, the extremely gracious ‘Setsugekka’ is just itching to flower spectacularly for you…

‘Stream’ balls of blooms

Get more kalanchoes • Many (or most) succulents can be swiftly propagated via stem cuttings, including all the prettiest kalanchoes, so in just a few steps you can have a lot of new plants for free. Regularly taking cuttings is also a form of pruning that curbs the natural etiolated growth they tend to produce after a few...