As Autumn settles in there are a few tasks that need completing to make sure your winter garden is successful and to give you a head start on a fabulous spring garden. Time to Mulch and Feed It's a great time to get your garden boosted. The trees have already stopped growing till next spring which means the fertiliser and water you apply is used by the rest of the garden as the competition starts to sleep. Apply a generous layer of Mulch and feed with BioOcean. BioOcean fertiliser will stimulate the cool season shrubs, seedlings and perennials to grow nice and strong and as an organic it is a ..read more

For me horticulture has always been a passion. Gardens change, gardeners change and tastes mutate but there are some plants whether nostalgic, special or just from experience become all-time favourites. Those that know me well know that my favourite anything can change as the day changes but here are my top three go to, close to my heart plants I love.   Begonias for colour in half shade Begonia Big leafed and big flowered   Begonias of Any Description Begonias are by far my most favourite summer colour go to plant. Morning sun afternoon shade and they’re set. They need less wa ..read more

Organic fertilisers are not only food for plants they are good for the environment too. Organic fertilisers use less water, don’t leach into underground water and help the all-round biodiversity of your garden too. If you are a new gardener or an experienced hand there is always something to learn or find useful. If you are still using the same chemical fertilisers as your parents or what you used ten years ago then it’s time to change the way you think about feeding the garden. Technology and information changes and using the correct fertiliser simplifies your gardening experience and gives y ..read more

Sometimes to grow the best house plants, we need a bit of guidance for when they are not doing what we thought they would. Some of our most frequently asked questions about indoor plants here at Eckards can be easily solved. That said there is no quick fix to a sad houseplant but what one can do is turn the tide towards growing stronger and better. This Eckards Blog post is about helping you get it right.   A rule of thumb is to not overwater A ready to Use Contact Insecticide   It's all about Position - Watering - Feeding and Bugs Position: Just as in a garden, indoor plants n ..read more

Gazanias are the ultimate indigenous Rockstar Waterwise gardeners do it every day! As we learn to live with water issues in South African becoming a water wise gardener is how we support our local community and have a beautiful garden at the same time. How to garden with less water is something we all need to try do especially as we see temperatures rise as a result of global warming and continuing water issues in South Africa. An interesting discussion we had recently raised the question who teaches us how to water our gardens and more importantly do our staff or gardeners know? We may water ..read more

Bougainvillea dont mind a heatwave Bougainvillea bursts into flower from spring and will flower through summer making them a great addition to the garden and along boundary walls. The drier the spring, the better they flower. Bougainvillea are easily clipped and trained to make a striking container plant or pruned into more formal hedges or focal plants. Bougainvillea reminds one of holidays on the KZN coast or dreams of tropical islands. The expression WOW, is what comes to mind when one sees them in full flower, the solid mass of colour is simply that spectacular. Originally from South Ameri ..read more

Spending time outside and in a green space everyday can hugely improve our sense of personal wellbeing. Not all gardeners garden as such, some just grow stuff and that’s just as cool. Green spaces stimulate all the senses and we love the way that winter colour makes for a green and colourful escape from the winter drabness. Our top picks for winter colour are often Pansies but in reality the cooler winter months actually give us more choice than summer selections. Plant a bowl of colour for the patio Pansies and Violas are great but there's more   Research in the UK has shown that f ..read more

Autumn is natures planting time and if your friends only garden and grow stuff in spring and summer they are really missing out. Many plants look great this time of the year and there are so many ideas of different things to grow. Out list includes clipped Westringia, Fall Chrysanth's, and Correa as well Aloes but with so many more instore. It’s time to get stuck in and add some new layers to the autumn garden.   Westringia balls Fall Chrysanth's to celebrate the season   Colourful Fall Chrysanth's Many of us grew up with Fall Chrysanth’s or Garden Mums indoors as a easy colour ..read more

With life returning to normal and the kids back at school the days get very full and sorting out the garden slips down the list. Keeping your hands in it though is the best recipe for success. Here’s our list of “sort out and go” in the garden for those of us with only ten minutes to spare as the back to school run starts. Time to feed Fertilising over the next few weeks is important to keep the garden green, in flower and able to bounce back after the heat. The early summer rains would have leached out most of the nutrients and the greens will soon start to lose their luster and you definit ..read more

December into January is such an easy time in the garden with the work put in though the months before coming to fruition. Focus on the garden can be left to adding a few spots of colour, sorting out the odd bug or if you are staying home biting the bullet and renovating a whole garden bed.   A few spots of colour The best part of gardening with colour this time of the year is that it’s instant. Begonias or Impatiens in the mostly shady spots get planted in flower and won’t stop till next winter. Marigolds and Salvia keep the pollinators coming to the garden and add colours such as yellow ..read more