Winter doesn’t have to mean no garden time. In fact, when you live in Durban, it can be a great time to be outdoors – you get to enjoy the crisp air and most-often evergreen surrounds without the heat or humidity of Summer. Whether you’re in charge of an office or home garden space, we've got just the suggestions will ensure your garden stays on trend for Winter 2017.
This Winter, try the following
1. Think Spring
September is Spring and, as all good gardeners know, Winter is the perfect time to prepare for the upcoming season. Continue to cut the lawn (setting he lawnmower blades accordingly), and prune and take special care of plants that will flower come Spring (Bird of Paradise is a good example). This will ensure that your garden is picture-perfect when the weather turns.
2. Stay on trend with poinsettias
A steady favourite, these bold flame-coloured blooms continue to pop up in Winter gardens year on year. Meaning ‘very beautiful’, they thrive in frost-free outdoor spaces and do well as cut or potted plants indoors, making them the perfect choice for a corporate garden or indoor work space in need of some colour.
3. Keep the veggie feast going
Do you have a veggie patch? Is your office garden home to a corporate gardening project? Don’t let Winter stop your team from getting their hands dirty. 2017 has been a great year for food gardening and Winter offers as much opportunity for feeding and feasting as the warmer seasons. Start with hardy Winter salad greens such as rocket and early seed potato varieties for planting and enjoy!
4. Trend things up with orchids
Have an indoor garden space? Don’t neglect it in the cooler months. Moth orchids are a beautiful way to brighten up any indoor space, especially one with limited space. Moth orchids are one of the easiest varieties of orchid to grow – just remember to keep them away from direct sunlight and heat and to increase the humidity of their atmosphere but sitting the pots on a bed of pebbles in water.
5. Green it up with compost
While not the most attractive garden task, a compost heap can make a real contribution to your garden space and it’s easy to see why it’s a gardening trend that is only gaining in popularity. Don’t just throw away plants that are no longer part of your garden – use them to sustain and nourish new plants. The same goes for organic matter from your vegetable patch. Make sure your compost heap is placed in a discreet location and properly managed, and the benefits will be plenty.
Love your garden but have no time to manage it properly? Want a professional helping hand when it comes to ensuring your corporate landscape is perfect all year round? Look no further than the Ecobalance team. We have the necessary experience and expertise to create and maintain any indoor or outdoor green space. And we’d love to look after yours!