Honeysuckle
Lonicera —honeysuckle —is a lovely perennial climber/rambler which is evergreen in most parts of the country, the exception being upland areas with cold winters where it has a deciduous habit. Best known for the glorious perfume of its cream and yellow, pink and cream, or cream and reddish clusters of flowers, it enjoys having its roots in the shade and head in the sun. Happy in most soil types, as long as drainage is good, it is at its gorgeous best in spring but will flower on and off in summer and autumn too. Very simple to care for, it can take time to get established but once it does, growth is rapid. It benefits from reasonably heavy pruning in December/January when any dead, diseased or overcrowded wood should be cut out. A light mulch of well-rotted organic manure/compost at six-monthly intervals is highly beneficial.
One hopes that in the vegetable garden you continue to harvest mouth-wateringly excellent, organically-grown food. To keep it ‘growing’, this month you can add some, or all, of the following: sweetpotatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, aubergines, lettuce, capsicum, radish, green onions, chillies, ladies fingers, lead beet/Swiss chard, summer/autumn cauliflower, fast-maturing loose-leaf summer cabbage and, as long as you can get them in over the next 10-14 days, a final sowing of pumpkins, tindas, lauki, zucchini/courgette and marrows.
In the herb garden you can sow basil, coriander, borage, chives, garlic chives, ginger, nasturtiums, Calendula, summer savoury and aniseed.
As for fruit: more sweet melons, watermelons and pineapples can go in now too.
Other tasks this month
Continue transplanting pot/tray-grown flower, vegetable and herb seedlings into prepared garden beds and/or into prepared pots and other assorted containers. Transplanting is best done in the relative cool of the evening so that you can water the transplants immediately after that and they will then have all night long to drink their fill before sunrise the next day.
Do not forget to water young trees, climbers/ramblers, shrubs as, with temperatures on the rise, watering is now essential.
Work out an evening-watering regime, keeping water conservation in mind and understand that not all plants need to be watered each and every single day.
Keep your eyes open for aphid, mealy bug, spider mite and other pest attacks as these become more common as temperatures rise. Take action — preferably organic action — at the very first sign of a pest attack. It is much easier to deal with pests before they run rampant and multiply to the point where they can, and do, completely destroy your plants.
Pay strict attention to garden hygiene, clearing up and removing plant and other debris on a regular basis. A ‘clean’ garden and footpaths provides less places for pests/disease to hide.
Enjoy your garden to the full!
Please continue sending your gardening queries to zahrahnasir@hotmail.com. Remember to include your location.
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Published in Dawn, EOS, April 2nd, 2017