Streets in cities throughout the country are sadly and unforgivably losing trees like never before. While a certain segment of society does raise its voice to object, people in general simply accept ever-diminishing greenery and go with the flow towards a dull and dusty, cement and concrete future in which temperatures continue to rise, making life absolute hell.

Surprisingly, a shockingly-high percentage of gardeners too simply stand by in silence. Having created some beautiful gardens in their ‘home space’, they ignore the world outside their houses, although planting over their garden walls, no matter how restricted the space can make an incredible — even ‘breathable’ — difference.

While it may be neither possible or feasible to plant trees, it doesn’t take or cost much to put in a few hard climbers, tough shrubs or hard-as-nails perennials which, once established, need little care beyond an occasional drink of water with the ensuing greenness ‘softening’ the environment for all.

Planting trees can help deal with global warming

It is sadly true that in some city localities, ‘unprotected’ plants are routinely and thoughtlessly vandalised but street planting is still worth a try, especially if thorny species — bougainvillea being a prime example — are selected.

It is also true that attractive pot plants are routinely stolen from outside apartments. This is enough to break a plant-lover’s heart, but this doesn’t mean that people should stop trying to make their surroundings attractive. Simply replace with ‘common’, as low-cost-as-possible plants and keep on trying until the baddies give up and fade away.

Greening up the environment is an essential task, a task in which every single one of us must contribute if the climate change battle is to be won and us gardeners have a duty to lead the way.

Seed sowing guide for May

Vegetables: With the temperature soaring upwards, this month is the perfect time to sow even more of those edibles which thrive in the heat: Chillies are on top of the list as the hotter the weather, the hotter the chilli crops will be. As they are simple to grow in pots/containers as well as directly in prepared garden ground, make a point of sowing as many different varieties as you can get your hands on — big ones, small ones, long ones, round ones, green, red, orange, yellow and even purple ones. Those that don’t get eaten fresh can always be dried, stored in oil or vinegar or — even better — pickled into delicious achaar. The same goes for capsicums and their close cousin pimento.

Then there are aubergines of all shapes and sizes, tiny green ones, egg-shaped and medium-sized white ones, brilliant orange ones and the purple-black ones we all adore. Cucumbers, climbing or trailing, are another variety that is a must to sow more of this month and do, if you can, try ‘lemon cucumbers’ for a rather different twist. Ladies’ finger, green or pretty purple-podded, is another hot weather must and its hibiscus-like, pale lemon flowers make it ideal for inclusion in the flower garden as well as in the regular vegetable patch.

Other vegetables to grow are: sharp and pungent mooli, red round radish, tomatoes of every size and hue and, in partial shade, Swiss chard/leaf beet with rainbow coloured veins and ribs. An assortment of unusual lettuce varieties, summer cabbage and summer cauliflower are also essential if you want to maintain a steady flow of cooling, preferably organically-grown salads. French beans will, surprisingly, perform well in partial summer shade too as will the culinary essentials chickpeas and fenugreek.

Herbs: They have always been widely used in our traditional cuisine and with increasing popularity of ethnic dishes around the world, they are now in larger demand than ever. This month you can sow seeds of as many different kinds of basil as you can find. Make things like basil pesto, basil vinegar, and basil and tomato sauce with some of the excess. You can either freeze or dry the rest.

Another herb to grow is Arugula. Better known as rocket, it grows well in partial shade as long as it is watered regularly. The same goes for borage, dill, coriander, calendula and nasturtiums.

Fruit: A few last minute sweet melons and watermelons will extend the garden fruit season. Adding some ‘Cucamelons’ — cucumbers crossed with melons — that produce bunches of grape-sized, miniature, watermelon-like fruits with a tangy lime flavour will definitely provide a delicious talking point.

Flowers: There are lots of summer-into-autumn flowers that can still be sown this month too: Nicotiana, portulaca, gerberas, matricaria, rudbeckia, tagetes, amaranthus, gompherena, tithonia, sunflowers, cosmos, marigolds, gaillardia, zinnias, coleus, petunias and annual chrysanthemums being just a few of them.

Flower of the month: Nerine, a genus of the autumn flowering bulbs, are also sometimes referred to as ‘naked ladies.’ After the late spring through to the end of summer the strappy leaves die and the bulbs send up a 12-inch to 36-inch (depending on the variety) thick stem which, in autumn, wears a stunning crown of largish flowers.

The flowers can be pale pink, shocking pink, white, cream, red or bi-coloured and — especially when bulbs have multiplied — create a dramatic effect. Bulbs should be planted, with the neck of the bulb remaining above soil level, from April to the end of May. They cannot stand to be waterlogged so excellent drainage is important. Soil with both plenty of organic material/compost and some rough gravel — to aid drainage — is recommended. In our climate, bulbs grow the best if they have morning sun and afternoon shade.

Please continue sending your gardening queries to zahrahnasir@hotmail.com. Remember to include your location. The writer does not respond directly by email. Emails with attachments will not be opened.

Published in Dawn, EOS, May 7th, 2017