Gardening in December

KAROO NEWS - In mid-summer, gardens are usually looking their best, but it's also the time of year when the hot sun bakes down and dries out lawns and plants. In addition, coastal areas are constantly having to contend with winds.

To make sure your garden stays inviting, even in the heat, requires a little forethought.

The garden experts at Starke Ayres offer the following tips:

Outdoors

Plant hydrangeas - often known as Christmas roses because they bloom profusely at this time of year - for summer in shady areas in the garden. Feed them with specialist hydrangea food to keep them flowering week after week. To change a pink flower to blue, use food for acid-loving plants. Mulching with bark or wood chips helps to conserve moisture and also increases soil acidity levels.

To give pots, foreground beds and hanging baskets a little facelift, plant compact annuals. Calibrachoas, alyssum, portulaca, marigolds, hypoestes phyllostachys and dianthus will put on a good show at this time of the year. To ensure these plants flower throughout summer, feed them with organic granules.

Outside of your kitchen, you could plant culinary herbs. Thyme, rosemary, oregano, sage and perennial basil can be grown in containers or window boxes and provide a constant supply of fresh herbs for use in the kitchen.

Add water-retaining products to container plants or flower beds to increase the water holding capacity of the soil.

Photo: www.tri-cityherald.com

Indoors

The air in your home can sometimes contain harmful toxins which ultimately end up in your body. For example, toxins could be caused by building materials, paint, out-gassing carpets, dust, or flame retardants. However, the levels of these toxins in the air can be lowered through indoor plants.