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February 2, 2006
Disguising eyesores
This week Zahrah Nasir guides her readers on growing crotons near the sea and covering open drains with beautiful ramblers
Q I live in a housing scheme in Karachi and the road in front of our house is a dual carriageway. The problem here is that in the centre of the road is an open storm drain. It is dry most of the time but there is water in it during the rainy season. I would like some ideas as to how to make this pleasing for the eyes. The dual carriageway is about three fourth kilometre long and is totally paved so we cannot do any digging to plant trees. We really need to cover this eyesore yet we cannot permanently cover the storm drain. Ideas please?
A The only major problem I envisage in dealing with this is that of cost as three fourth kilometre is a lot of storm drain to disguise! Unfortunately you haven’t mentioned the width of the drain but I will make the following suggestions:
Place concrete slabs over the drain at intervals of ten feet or so, and these must be very strong, load bearing in nature. Place very large, deep planting containers on them with a wooden, not metal, trellis work running from container to container. Plant a selection of ramblers/climbing plants in these pots and have them trained along the trellis so that they eventually inter-twine.
A simple trellis of heavy bamboo would probably be the cheapest. The height of this trellis must be given some thought as you do not want to interfere with the vision of drivers as this could result in accidents. Perhaps a few slabs could be designed as bridges to facilitate pedestrian movement.
As the trellis would be suspended over the storm drain then labourers should not have a problem in cleaning it when necessary.
Suitable ramblers/climbers could include bougainvillaea, but not too many, as they shed a lot of leaves which could affect the storm drain; allamanda which is also evergreen; antigon which loses its leaves during the winter but bears gorgeous pink, white or rose coloured flowers throughout the summer; bignonia varieties such as golden shower and the ipomea species. Keep in mind that some annuals; passion flowers, quisqualis indica or Rangoon creeper, varieties of the national flower of Pakistan — jasmine and tecoma grandiflora which grows at a tremendous rate and has dark orange blossoms during the monsoons, are also suitable.
If you want to add a small growing, flowering tree here and there I strongly suggest Persian lilac — melia azadarach with pale blue flowers in spring, followed by long lasting orange berries. I hope this information will be of some help.
Q I planted a croton in my garden two to three years ago but it has been shedding leaves. I spray insecticides regularly. I live near the sea in Karachi.
A Forget the insecticide please! Crotons are surprisingly delicate plants and do not do well if exposed to strong winds, especially sea- breeze which can cause them to shed leaves. They are also extremely sensitive to soil conditions and require a humus rich soil which must not be allowed to completely dry out at any time. Once a croton decides to give up and die, it is very difficult to convince it otherwise.
Q Is it possible to grow ixzora near the sea.
A As long as they are sheltered from the salt laden breeze they should be fine. These are very attractive, slow growing shrubs which take some time to flower but are worth the wait. They are evergreen and do well in either full sun or partial shade. Flowers can be orange, yellow, red or pink and the shrubs should be pruned back immediately after flowering has finished.
Q Can you tell me a way, without digging up and replacing the sand of my garden, how to get the garden in shape as it is infected by worms which dig up the sand and eat the grass. I tried spraying insecticide but this did not fully work
and the lawn is totally bald in places?
A Earthworms do make tunnels through the ground but they most certainly do not eat your grass! The pile of sand and the resultant lawn damage may well be due to the presence of ants which are quite difficult to control. Insecticide only lies on top of the lawn which is why it is not successful.
As I do not advocate the use of harmful chemicals at any time, I suggest you water your lawn, early in the morning, with a solution of less harmful ‘pinky’ as this may help with the ants. Finally, spread a fine mixture of sweet earth and well rotted manure or organic compost on the bald spots in your lawn, keep this watered and grass will soon begin to reappear.
Q I planted an araucaria tree in my garden and it is very healthy and growing well but the plants near it are now in shade and not very happy at all. Should I have them removed?
A The answer is definitely yes. Obviously your other plants are not enjoying the shade. I suggest that you replace them with shade loving varieties of which there should be a wide choice in your local nursery.
Q My plants often get infected with worms, particularly my double hibiscus and motia. These worms are usually found on the back of the leaves and leave a white powdery residue. What can I do about this?
A The problem is not with worms but either with aphids or powdery mildew or a combination of both. I would suggest carefully sponging off all of the insects with warm soapy water on a regular basis. Do not do this during full sun or if there is a cool wind blowing as such conditions could then harm the leaves further.
Q Can you tell me the name of any flowering trees which grow well near the seaside?
A The popular badam –– terminalia catappa withstands both wind and high salinity and, although the flowers are small the nuts are highly edible and quite nutritious although they are not the almonds which are generally found in the market here. Almonds, also known as badams are a totally separate species requiring a very different climate indeed.
Q How often should manure be added to the garden?
A Well rotted, organic manure can be fed to your garden every three to four months although some people prefer to add it at a six monthly interval. The choice is yours!
Please send your gardening queries at zahrahnasir@hotmail.com Answers will appear in a future issue of The Review.
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