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Weekly Plan for Monday 14 - Sunday 20 May 2012 Collect the last of the fallen autumn leaves and put them in thin layers on the compost heap. You can also store them in plastic bags (punch a few holes in the bags) and use them later when they have formed leaf mulch. May is the month for planting hanging baskets and window boxes for spring. There is such a wide choice of plants from which to choose - look out for all the indigenous perennials, including Gazanias, Pelagoniums, Diascias and Osteospermum, that are in flower now. Autumn overview Autumn is widely accepted as the finest planting season by gardeners all around the globe, especially those enjoying milder climates. This beautiful time of the year is a busy period in the garden with numerous important tasks scheduled. It is a time to sow seeds and plant bulbs, to set out young seedlings and to divide herbaceous perennials, and the perfect time to plant out new trees and shrubs. Go out and indulge the magnificent, cooler weather conditions by grooming and re-planting your garden for a spectacular spring display. Autumn leaves are here again. Use them as instant mulch or turn them into compost and return their riches to the soil in that way. Please do not burn them! This wastes valuable organic matter and pollutes the suburban atmosphere. Enjoy the fall! Plants Always think before you plant! Selecting the correct trees and shrubs and then planting them in positions that allow for reasonable growth and development pose some of the greatest challenges to gardeners. Many long-term specimens are planted far too close together, resulting in the suffocation and over-crowding of certain key components of mature gardens. Severe pruning and eradication of the least desirable offenders inevitably becomes a necessity. Pretty annuals It's time to plant for winter colour and the quickest way to achieve this is by planting colourful annuals. The first annuals that come to mind are the various primula varieties. The traditional primrose, Primula acaulis, unlike the pastel shades of Primula malacoides, has the colours that are as brilliant as a child's box of crayons. Red, yellow, gold, orange, scarlet, apricot, cerise pink, purple and creamy white are some of the options. Most have vivid, differently coloured centres and there are also rather spectacular bicoloured varieties. It is less of a landscape plant and is used more as an indoor or patio plant but it can be planted outside in a protected, semi-shady place. There are other winter annuals for shade that are just as showy. Cineraria (Senecio grandiflora) produces massive heads of daisy-like flowers in striking colours that cover the entire plant with just a hint of leaves at the base. They particularly like the cold, in fact the colder it gets the more they flower. Bachelor's Button or English daisy, Bellis perennis, is another favourite. It is low growing, reaching a height of 10 to 15cm, and bears pert looking blooms in shades of pink, white or red. It grows best in shade (with some early morning sun) and makes an excellent border for primulas, forget-me-nots and hyacinths. Kitchen gardening Autumn is traditionally the harvest season when we get our last chance to preserve the fragrance and flavour of summer. The beauty of many herbs is that they can be picked and used throughout the year, but there are some annuals, like sweet basil, dill and coriander that won't last through a cold winter; mint, although a perennial, also battles with a cold winter. Even the growth of perennial herbs slows down and you can't harvest quite as much as you would in summer, so it's nice to have a reserve supply. Some herbs are actually better when dried: bay leaf is much more palatable and less bitter in its dried form, and the stronger and sharper flavour derived from drying oregano is well suited to Italian dishes, marinades and roasts. There are also parts, like the seeds, bark and roots, of some herbs that are used in dried form as a spice. The seeds of fennel, dill and coriander are particularly delicious in food. Other examples of spices are pepper (seeds), ginger (root) and cinnamon (bark). There are also exceptions: sweet basil, mint and parsley lose most of their flavour once they are dried. A better way to preserve them is to chop them up and freeze them in ice trays with water. The ice cubes can then be stored in a plastic bag and used when cooking. Autumn clean up It may be autumn but this is a good month to 'spring clean' your window boxes and hanging baskets. Take out all the old soil because all the nutrients that were in it will have been used up by the summer plants and fill with fresh potting soil to which some bone meal or superphosphate has been added. For a super winter and spring display, plant up the boxes and baskets with violas, stocks, antirrhinums and mesembryanthemums. Dealing with frost During balmy winter days, the sun warms the ground.  At night when the temperature drops, the heat is released. Warm air is lighter than cold air and thus rises but on cloudy nights, with air currents at work, cooling down is slower and the earth is protected by the cloud blanket so no frost occurs. If the same things happen on a calm, cold and cloudless night, the earth cools down faster. Warm air rises and the colder, heavier air descends to ground level. With low temperatures and no air currents to prevent the cold air from reaching the plants the dew in the air condenses on the plants. If the temperature reaches freezing point, the dew forms ice crystals - known as frost - which can damage and even kill plants. In the dry areas of our country, icy winds on a cloudless night can cause the same damage, called 'black' frost when it occurs in these circumstances. The dry soil reaches freezing point and plant roots are not able to absorb any moisture, which literally causes their demise from thirst. Prevent with protection: There are all kinds of old-fashioned remedies to keep the frost from plants. You can supply a warm 'blanket' at ground level using cardboard boxes, glass cloches, small tunnels made from plastic sheeting or thick layers of straw. I can still remember how my Grandma used to cover all her frost-tender beauties with cute rondawels made from the tall grass of the Highveld and thin wire. But, time moves on and today's gardeners have access to modern and time-saving products like horticultural fleece (also called frost cover), which is sold in rolls and can be used over and over again. The material is thin and feather-light, (much like a nappy liner) allows good airflow and light through, will not damage the plant and is easy to use. When using it be sure to cover the whole plant - not only the foliage - but the stems as well, as they can also be damaged and will take much longer to recover. To protect and keep the soil around the roots of plants warm, use bark nuggets or a thick layer of compost.
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