{"id":277,"date":"2020-05-20T04:39:00","date_gmt":"2020-05-20T08:39:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2020-08-13T17:13:59","modified_gmt":"2020-08-13T21:13:59","slug":"springing-forth-against-all-odds-rare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gardern.co.za\/2020\/05\/springing-forth-against-all-odds-rare\/","title":{"rendered":"Springing Forth Against All Odds: Rare Annuals, and A Garden Update"},"content":{"rendered":"
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My new border garden is about 60% complete, but like all good garden designs, development takes time. This urn is temporary until I find the right (and affordable) object to center the design, and the walks still need to be set in (gravel, peastone and cobblestones) but even incomplete, it’s already looking nice.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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In the kitchen garden, straw lines paths as onion seedlings interplanted with plugs of mesclun start the season off with quick growing greens reducing trips to the supermarket.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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Mesclun washed, and chilled is crispy and tender when it is fresh and home-grown. I’ve been sowing one plug tray every week, setting out the plugs 8 inches apart after three weeks which allows just a pinch of seed to mature with enough space and light.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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This time of year while it is still cold at night and cool during the day, tropical plants that will become large specimen plants outdoors in the summer are being potted up. I like to mix unusual plants with more common ones, always planting single species in each pot rather than mixed containers which have become so popular. This Iochroma is a nightshade shrub with brilliant violet tubular trumpets in clusters from mid-summer through autumn. A cutting planted now will grow quickly.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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This is a typical discovery in the greenhouse this time of year – black walnut seedlings that squirrels sneak into pots every autumn. It’s amazing to see how well they hide them! I found this one in a begonia while I was pinching back all of the red snapdragons.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n