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Winter is what winter wants to be.

Winter is what winter wants to be. I think I mentioned that I am going to have lots of flowers next year and no veggies. The impatiens, begonias, lantanas were just beautiful on my deck this year. Veggies were puny and what I had squirrels ate.

Hi Angie and all,

Your plans sound good but please don't give up completely on veggies!

Try spinach at least and some easy herbs (parsley, 'garlic' dill, basil) ... does anyone know of a vegetable that the squirrels don't like and which are container style? Help!

Go well anyway.

By the way the last time I looked Lantana is a banned plant here in South Africa (considered invasive). I am sorry to say this because it is such a pretty plant.

Cheers now

CONTAINER GARDENING TIP OF THE DAY

Geraniums have to be some of anyone's favourites because they are so nice to have (and easy to grow) especially the creeping ones for hanging baskets and the scented ones for any fragrant garden container.

Did you know the leaves are 'edible'. I haven't eaten them but they are safe to use in the kitchen. They scent things, they add flavour, which is great. This is what I use them for.

Below is the first tip to using the leaves and tomorrow I will post the second.

It is really just plain nice to have scented sugars in the kitchen to use for black teas, herb teas and other infusions (not milky teas).

Put about three leaves at the bottom of your sugar caddy and cover with sugar (any kind of sugar you have or use), then place more fresh leaves halfway up, and then place some on top and just close the jar. The flavour infuses and gives your drinkables an indefinable something that is really nice.

Lantana works well in a pot on the deck.

Hello Angie,

Yes I think so too (with some reservation) - it's does all three - it fills, it spills and it thrills! It also makes a good shrub or hedge but it takes work to keep it shaped nicely. Still, it offers a wonderful display when in bloom.

For my time though it is too much of a squeaky wheel for a container plant and is better in the garden.

Cheers now

CONTAINER GARDENING TIP OF THE DAY

Following on from yesterday, another thing I do with geranium/pelargonium leaves is (use any of the varieties of flavours you get, but choose from one plant) line the bottom of a prepared cake tin.

Use clean, fresh leaves only, no stalks, and cover the bottom of your cake tin completely with a single layer of leaves. Then add cake mixture and bake as always.

When the cake is baked and cooled, if you need to, trim the 'top' to make sure it's even, then turn it up-side-down, just peel off the leaves and dust cake with same-scented sifted icing sugar. Use for Madeira style and Victoria sponge cakes or similar. Your guests will ask for your secret!

I am not sure that this is a gardening tip per se - still, it presupposes you are growing or will grow a geranium or two in a container. They are such rewarding plants and you are spoilt for choice of colours and splash. They definitely have an inbuilt wow factor.

CONTAINER GARDENING TIP OF THE DAY

Sometimes we are reluctant to grow veggies because of the yields (unless you have space for several pots).

But, and for instance, garlic, leeks and shallots/spring onions make great container gardening edibles, and as you guess, join many herbs by not taking up too much space and by making for good repetitive harvesting. These three also have very few insect and disease problems, which is a bonus, and they have shallow roots too, so your container choices are more varied (can be wide and shallow).

With style in mind too, your containers should be sized to the area you have available and plants should be sized to the container.

CONTAINER GARDENING TIP OF THE DAY

How are you doing with growing herbs in your containers? I came across a wonderful book on my bookshelves recently written by the late Margaret Roberts, a renowned herbalist (and so much more) here in South Africa. I thought I would wander around its pages and pick up interesting info on some of our favourites.

PARSLEY - Quick facts.

Likes compost rich normal potting soil. Needs good drainage. Allow 20cms between seedlings when planting. Can 'eat' leaves and stalks. 15-25 cms full height. Is propagated from seed (I like buying the seedlings already on their way!) Must have full sun.

Medicinal uses include: Diuretic; detoxifying, breath freshener, mineral rich tonic (add to juicing recipes). Use as garnish, in salads, chop into savoury dishes.

I will add other herbs on other days and every now and then. Please grow some Parsley which is not garsley.

CONTAINER GARDENING TIP OF THE DAY

I saw a balcony container garden the other day and was so impressed by its cohesion. Maybe this is an odd thing to say, but it's the word that comes to mind that best describes what I want to say. It all hung together - there were no jarring notes, the colour scheme flowed, the plants looked as if they knew how to behave and the effect was amazing. I chatted to the owner (a new garden club member) and asked her how she did it.

She was puzzled at first, it seems my comments and questions made her scratch her head. Anyway, to cut a long conversation short, we both worked out it was because she chose a colour scheme and stuck to it. And that this colour scheme was reliant on the wall cladding of the balcony. And that this was by chance, because she had rented this apartment because she liked the wall cladding!

Okay. Essentially what she did was paint the pots in shades and tones of the wall tiles which meant she had pots going from cream to beige to peanut-butter to rust and even black. By default she had chosen plants, foliage and flowers that blended with this (though she had not meant to - she just had). In the end she was laughing at herself - "and there my favourite, favourite colour is pink, and I don't have one pink thing in my garden!"

Well I suppose I could have written the TIP 'consider painting your containers in shades to match your wall cladding' but it wouldn't have made much sense, so I am pleased you read this far!