FAST AND CHEAP
ANNUALS are plants that complete their growing cycle in a year or a season.
They include flowers, herbs and vegetables and are a wonderful way to transform bare earth into a cheerful picture really quickly, or to add colour to an established garden. They are also an excellent way to learn about growing things.
Go for a combination of flower or vegetable seedlings from the nursery and easy seeds that can be sown directly where they are to grow. Read the packets carefully to check the mature sizes of plants and make sure you’re sowing at the right time and in the right place.
Most annuals like a sunny situation, but there are also some that will do well in shade or part shade. For the best effect, plant lots of one or two kinds as well as smaller groups of others you fancy to see which do best.
Winning sun-loving combinations to plant for summer: • nasturtiums and blue-flowered borage; • sunflowers and fennel; and • cosmos, marigolds and zinnias.
Autumn will be the time to sow poppies and all the Namaqualand beauties.
VEGETABLES can go in any sunny spot, even among your flowers. Skip digging by investing in a raised wooden box that you can fill with good soil and compost. Easy starters to grow from seed are Swiss chard, rocket and radishes.
Add seedlings of loose-leaf lettuce and sweet basil and parsley when they become available in spring.