It has become a tradition to plant trees on ‘International Day of the Forest’ (March 21) and, no doubt our politicians will queue up, shovels in hand, to be photographed planting a tree they have been allocated to honour the auspicious occasion.

However, it takes more than trees to make a forest, and this is where politicians leave the stage and we gardeners step in.

Organised by the United Nations, this year’s ‘International Day of the Forest’ focuses on ‘Forests and Biodiversity’. While planting a forest is way beyond most of us, creating biodiversity can be our forte.

Participate in the global celebrations to mark this important day by going in your garden and doing what you do best — sowing and growing, organically please, anything at all!

Seed sowing suggestions for this month:

The flower garden: It’s time to turn summer garden dreams in to reality by making a start on sowing the seeds of the flowers you have selected for this year’s summer show. Make bold use of the ridiculously flamboyant cockscomb amaranthus; their weird and wonderful flower heads can be incredibly startling to behold, and they do resemble the combs of gigantic, luridly coloured, cockerels. Their close cousin celosia, or plume flower, with feather-duster type heads are available in a variety of outrageous colours, and well worth growing for their stun factor alone. Then we have the gaudy zinnia family which thrives in stupendous summer heat ,yet is so easy to grow. Even against climatic odds, it seems to bloom and bloom for weeks on end. Tagetes and French marigolds are fairly tough customers too and their rich, glowing amber, bronze, deep claret, yellow and orange hues are an absolute delight. Rudbekia and gaillardia are surprisingly quick to grow from seed and the resultant plants will provide endless delight and food for the bees, year upon year. Petunias can be in bloom all summer long if kept in dappled shade. If petunias are not to your fancy, try the brash and beautiful portulaca instead. Tubs and pots of coreopsis are a bright and airy delight, gazanias a down-to-earth bounty, gomphrena an interesting oddity, cosmos a gentle dream and sunflowers always command a right royal performance. In addition to sowing seeds at home, a trawl through local nurseries to see which summer seedlings are on offer may bring some surprises worth investing in.

In the vegetable garden: Time to sow those summer salad ingredients. Some people are under the impression that soft-leafed vegetables — lettuce being a prime example — cannot be grown in hot weather but, I promise, they can. It’s simply a matter of sowing them in partial shade and then in full shade as temperatures climb and, of course, keeping them well-watered. They may flop a bit in the heat of the day but pick up and crisp up again by late evening.

Other salad greens to sow now include endive, radicchio, chicory, Swiss chard/leaf beet, summer cabbage and bok choy. Then there are round red radish — or multi-coloured radish if you can find the seed — and crisp, tangy, white mooli. No salad is complete without tomatoes and you can sow a wide variety of these versatile fruits now along with capsicums, pimentos, cucumbers, cucamelons and green onions. Chillies can be started off now as well, as can aubergines, salsify, bush beans, climbing beans and dwarf beans. Summer cauliflowers, both purple and white, can be sown as well. Towards the end of the month you can make a start on sowing courgettes/zucchini (do try the round ones as they are prolific), bottle gourds, tinda, loki, kakri, snake gourds, pumpkins and others members of the squash family. Potatoes and sweet potatoes can also be planted.

The herb garden: Basil — there are literally dozens of different flavours of this increasingly popular culinary herb, including lemon, cinnamon and spice. Seed can be started off in pots/trays, and the resultant seedlings transplanted either into larger pots or be planted directly in the garden itself. Coriander is an absolute must, as are chives and garlic chives too. Rocket/arugula is another essential. So too are borage, calendulas, nasturtiums, lemon balm, lemon grass, summer savoury, chamomile, plecanthrus/Cuban thyme, agastache, marjoram, thyme and oregano — the latter three in dappled shade. Ginger and turmeric (pre-sprouted is preferable) should be planted in light shade and in rich, well-drained and sandy soil.

The fruit garden: After the middle of the month, sow some melons and watermelons, sowing a few seeds every couple of weeks over the next three months to ensure a long supply of luscious fruit. Sown now, Chinese gooseberries should start fruiting towards summer’s end and on in to autumn. You can have a go at rooting fresh pineapple tops as well; providing they thrive, you may be rewarded with fruit in a couple of years’ time.

Herb of the month: Thymus vulgaris — thyme is a perennial herb which is easily grown from seed. In plains and coastal regions of the country, seed is sown from October through until the end of March and, in upland and mountainous areas, from April to the end of July. Sow the tiny seeds just under the surface of well-draining, humus-rich, seed compost in pots/trays. Germination is sporadic but generally takes from two to six weeks. These may be creeping and mat forming or small bushes, the habit varies from variety to variety. The plants enjoy tree shade in plains and coastal areas and full sun in upland and mountain territory. Once established, very little water is required. Thyme is widely used as a flavourful culinary herb. It is perfect for drying for long-term use and is well-known as a medicinal herb.

• Do not use any medicinal herb without first taking professional advice.

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, March 1st, 2020