Garden guru and editor of The Gardener and Die Tuinier magazines, Tanya Visser, visited the Umhlali and District Garden & Flower Club last Wednesday to deliver a riveting talk on ‘the 7 deadly sins of gardening’.
In her typical bubbly manner she told the packed All Souls Anglican Church at Salt Rock the tale of 2 friends visiting a nursery after being bitten by the proverbial gardening bug.
They had no idea what they wanted, but were determined not to leave the nursery without plants.
“Ooh dolla,” the one friend said to the other, “I absolutely have to get some of these gorgeous plants.” – The first sin, Tanya said.
Not having any idea what plants they were even looking at, opened them up to the second deadly sin of gardening – not knowing the needs of those plants.
But it gets worse. The third sin was the “dollas” had not even bothered taking a look at the labels on any of the plants, which would have told them everything they needed to know.
The red faces and nervous giggles among the audience was a clear indication of sinners’ guilt.
“But worse still, people avoid the nursery employee who just tried selling them a bag of compost, saying they have a ton at home,” Tanya said.
“But you don’t have any compost at home and you’ve just shooed off the poor fella who had your plants’ best interests at heart. Deadly sin number 4.”
She emphasised the importance of doing your homework first.
“From sunlight and watering needs, to how large the plants will end up growing, one has no clue what is to come if you buy impulsively.
“Little trees could end up becoming toweringly tall, one day requiring a tree feller to fix your mistake and pinching your pocket.”
Once you’re off to your car after having said goodbye to “dolla” and shove your plants into the back, deadly sins 5 and 6 follow.
In a fit of rush and panic to pick up your child at school after sport practice, you rush home to drop the plants off in the garage – where they’ll stay for days without sunshine, water or even being planted out into the garden.
Days later when you do get to it, you want to get the wilting plants in the ground as soon as possible.
This brings you to the 7th deadly and final sin – don’t plant your R10 seedlings into a 10 cent hole. Knowing the correct width and depth and properly preparing the hole by mixing in some compost, are nonnegotiable.
“Plant seedlings in holes double the width and depth of the planting bag they were in, advised Tanya.
Club members also visited the bird bath erected in memory of founding member, Rosemary Ladlau, who passed away earlier this year.
Ladlau was an international flower celebrity who served as president in the World Flower Association.
While the club hosts monthly meetings, this served as the final one for the year, with the next planned for February 2 of 2022.
For more information, contact the club’s Pete McClean at 032 946 3935 or 032 940 5255.
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