Episode:#11 11/11/06
Presenter: Sue McDougall

When it is raining the garden can look gorgeous without really having to do much to it.

Even if the lawn is full of weeds it doesn?t matter at all, mow them and from a distance they are green, who cares. As it gets warmer, very quickly the spring flowers die off and soon you are left with no colour in the garden.

Adding waterwise colour to the garden is so easy and it is worth the little effort as the stunning plants will reward you with some brilliant flowers without much care and water for that matter.

Vincas (Catharanthus roseus cv.) are enjoying a renewed interest. They look exotic and delicate as their flowers are similar to the impatiens, but Vincas like it hot. In fact, the hotter the better.

When planting Vincas out place them close together, this way the foliage will shade the soil and keep the moisture for the plants rather than being lost through evaporation. This is a good hint when planting anything at this time of the year. Remember to apply seaweed extract to get them off to the best start.

Portulacas (Portulaca Grandiflora cv.) are an outstanding ground covering annual, which are available in a mixture of bright colours and will flower now right through until about March.

They do die off in the winter and if you are looking for a tough yet brilliantly coloured ground cover that will keep growing all year you can look no further than Pigface or Mesembryanthemum (Lampranthus aurantiacus). You can?t get a more drought tolerant and easy to grow plant as these. Brilliant colour will mass the plant over a period of about 6 weeks.

Iceplant (Drosantherum speciosum) is another beauty and spreads to over 1m wide and is massed with pink flowers. Groundcovers act like a living mulch and if you lift the foliage up under a ground cover you will notice how cool the soil is.

The Blue Salvia is a commonly forgotten plant that is often grown as borders and as fill ins. They are used as an annual, but if you cut them back to ground level in winter they will shoot again sometimes lasting for many years in the garden. The blue flowers look stunning surrounding roses and can be planted in a full sun position.

Pelargoniums (Pelargonium hybrid cultivar) are often referred to as summer flowering azaleas because their shape looks very similar. They are so tough, add brilliant colour for a long period in late spring and really the only care they need is a hard cut back after flowering and some fertiliser thrown at them when you remember!

So it is very easy to add colour to the garden for the coming months, you just have to select the right varieties and if you would like more information regarding successful waterwise gardening you might like to join our online garden club.

All new members this month have the chance to win $200 worth of Fiskars garden tools.

Fiskars
www.fiskars.com

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