Johannesburg - Three gardening festivals will launch next week across Gauteng.
Friday March 14 sees the launch of The Gardener Live Expo at the Pretoria Botanical Gardens.
Margaret Roberts is the guest of honour at the launch of the Garden World Autumn Fair in Muldersdrift next Saturday (March 15), while Keith Kirsten is to be found among the roses next weekend at the Autumn Rose Festival to the north of Pretoria.
Now is the time to plan a trip northwards to get the best of late summer garden fun.
Here is an overview of what is happening at the three festivals:
Autumn Harvest Fair
The annual Autumn Harvest Fair is hosted by Garden World in Muldersdrift. While the fair showcases gourmet food and wine, it is also a great place to take a look at all the winter herbs and vegetables available for planting this weekend.
March is a great time to plant seedlings, or sow your own vegetables so that your family will have a supply of warm vegetable soup this winter.
With no road transport required to get them from the “field” to your table, they also have a low- to zero- carbon footprint, making home-grown food environmentally friendly as well as tasty.
There is also less waste, as you only need to harvest on the same day as you plan to cook.
There are a number of special talks at the show:
* “Tissue Salts for Healthy Living” by Margaret and Sandy Roberts, Friday, 9.30am for 10am. Cost: R80.
* Children’s workshop. Learn to make your own bird feeder and go on a train ride. March 29, 10am. Cost: R40, includes materials for bird feeder.
The Autumn Harvest Fair is from Friday to March 30 at Garden World, Beyers Naudé Drive, Muldersdrift. Contact 011 957 2046 or visit www.gardenworld.co.za.
Weekend of roses
The Autumn Rose Festival takes place at Ludwig’s Rose Farm next weekend. The programme includes the naming of a new rose, a talk on English roses by Keith Kirsten and rosy activities for young rose lovers.
A beauty pageant to select the Prince and Princess Rosebud starts at 8.30am on Saturday. After the crowning, by Miss Earth South Africa, Ashanti Mbanga, will take part in a procession among the roses, followed by a building of the rose castle.
Other activities include flower arranging, learning how to plant your own rosy pot, how to make a rose crown, a rose quiz and painting your own rose picture. Paper, paints and brushes supplied.
Ludwig Taschner will name the new “Madams’ Rose” (10.30am) in honour of Margaret and Chris Dams, stalwarts of the Northern Rose Society for more than 30 years. “Margaret and Chris are living proof that rose growing is fun,” says Taschner. “The rose’s quirky name is a combination of Margaret and Chris Dams, and is the couple’s e-mail nom de plume,” he says.
Madams Rose is an eco chic rose which produces clusters of perfect little blooms, which go from peach-orange to pink and when fully open create a pretty “petticoat” look.
“It is disease-resistant and blooms last well in the vase,” says Taschner.
Keith Kirsten will give a talk on English roses at 11am. (Cost R50). Keith has been associated with the David Austin English roses for many years and will be sharing his experience of growing and using these magnificent roses in the garden.
David Austin’s roses revived the interest in old-fashioned, intensely fragrant roses and range of these English roses, suitable for South Africa conditions, will be launched at the show.
Visit the Autumn Rose Festival at Ludwig’s Rose Farm, north of Pretoria next Saturday and Sunday ( March 15 & 16). Fun programme for the children, talks, rose displays and tractor train rides through the rose fields. Contact 012 5440144 or www.ludwigsroses.co.za.
The Gardener Live Expo
Launching on Friday at the Pretoria National Botanical Gardens, The Gardener Live Expo is a three-day show packed with a plethora of gardening goodies from specialist plants to lawnmowers and chainsaws.
See landscaped display gardens, visit the Mad Hatter’s tea garden, revel in the Garden Gourmet area and enjoy food and wine.
A new rose, “Naughty Nude” will be named and launched on Saturday afternoon.
The gardening gurus will gather on the hour, every hour, to entertain with free talks on gardening – look out for TV personalities Tanya Visser and Anna Cilliers.
Highlights at the show include the “Origami for Africa” display, a display of floral art by the Gauteng Floral Union, sugar art displays and the Royal Canin charity dog walk next Sunday.
The walk starts at 8.30am. Entry to The Gardener Live is R40 a person and R20 for each dog on the walk, all of which will be donated to animal welfare. Each family will get a water bottle for their dog.
To register your dog for the walk visit www.thegardenerlive.co.za or www.royalcanin.co.za, call 0860 630 063 or e-mail info@royal-canin.co.za.
Visit The Gardener Live Expo. Friday to Sunday (14-16 March), 9-5pm daily. Pretoria National Botanical Gardens, Cussonia Rd, Brummaria, Pretoria. Entrance: R40 a person, children under 12 free. www.thegardenerlive.co.za
GENERAL GARDENING TIPS
Learn from the experts. Repeating a particular plant at regular intervals gives greater impact and helps to unify a garden. Plant boldly in groups, rather than singly.
If you want to attract sunbirds to the garden, grow Tecoma capensis (Cape honeysuckle). The large sprays of tubular flowers are filled with nectar. If the orange variety is too bright for you, try Tecoma “Apricot” or yellow Tecoma “Aurea”.
Lavenders are ideal for containers in hot spots. Bear in mind that lavenders become woody with age and deteriorate. Take tip cuttings, remove leaves from the lower two thirds, then dip in hormone powder. Place several cuttings around the edges of a pot filled with coarse sand, and as soon as roots form, transplant into individual pots containing potting soil.
Petunias begin to flower while still small, so if you need quick colour in borders, containers and hanging baskets, plant petunias. They require sun and very well drained soil. Flowers can be single or double, plain or ruffled, in white, pink, red, lilac, purple and lemon. Try purple petunias with deep red dianthus, lemon petunias with lime-green nicotiana, and hot pink petunias with lavender lobelia.
- Saturday Star