GARDENING Keeping it fresh at Christmas
PLANTS ARE STYLISH AND HEALTHY Colour coordinate, plus add candles and ribbons for a festive flair.
The Christmas decorations are up in the shops, Christmas carols and jingles are everywhere and only Scrooge could fail to be infected by the holiday spirit.
As attention moves away from work and towards home and holidays, why not decorate your home for the festive season with flowering plants for indoor and outdoor containers?
Plants are natural, fresh and stylish, and they last a lot longer than cut flowers. They add texture and colour to outdoor living areas and, if research is to be believed, make us feel happier.
You don’t need to be confined to the traditional festive colours of red and green, either. Make the most of our summer flowering plants, especially for outdoor living areas.
Choose flowering plants that match your colour scheme and add festive flair with candles and ribbons.
Indoor plants are still hugely popular and the more you use, the “greener” you are. Not to mention that they purify the air by removing all sorts of toxins. The new EveryDaylily “Punch Yellow” could easily be an early Christmas present for yourself. This is a variety that flowers repeatedly throughout the season. One plant can produce up to 400 blooms. It should receive plenty of morning sun. Plant it in a large container in good quality potting soil. Feed twice a month with a liquid fertiliser for flower. This will encourage it to keep on flowering.
Vinca “Tattoo Black Cherry” has deep red flowers with swirls of black in the petals. It just needs a decorative container to be a centrepiece. As a patio plant it needs plenty of sun, to bring out the intensity of the flower colours. Established plants should dry out moderately before being watered. Don’t let the pots stand in water.
Bidens “Bee Alive” is easily the most cheerful plant around, with vivid daisy-like orange flowers and a large, yellow sunny centre. Good for small to medium containers or hanging baskets. The bushy plants grow up to 20cm with a 46cm spread. Place in a sunny spot and it will flower continuously, even in the hottest months. It requires light watering and fertilising once a month. Go local with Gerbera “Revolution”, an indoor flowering daisy that has been hybridised from the indigenous Barberton daisy. Its blooms are large and full, and in a wide range of colours. To flower well indoors, plants need a warm room, bright, indirect light and it can also take some morning sun. Water only when the top of the potting soil feels dry. Remove spent flowers to encourage new flowers.
Pot Pepper “Macho” is appealing as an edible table decoration. It is a new type of pepper that can be grown in pots indoors, anywhere that gets bright light. These dwarf pot peppers are compact (15cm to 35cm tall), bear fruit in the pot and can be harvested when needed. They can remain in the original pot, no need to transplant. Let the soil almost dry out between watering.
A classical beauty, Lisianthus “Sapphire” is a dwarf variety (15cm high and wide) that produces a multitude of rose-like blooms, giving the appearance of a freshly picked bouquet.
As a decor plant it has the added advantage of coping with lowlight conditions and it will also thrive in bright, indirect light.
Let the soil dry out between watering and supplement with a liquid fertiliser twice a month.