A garden paradise for green fingers

The most wonderful thing about Mother Nature is that she’s consistent. When we take care of her, she takes care of us.

Sadly, we’re not always consistent when it comes to taking care of Mother Nature, and yet she always keeps up her end of the bargain.

According to horticulturist Eugene le Roux who has been with Pupkewitz for the past six years, his job also entails being an entomologist and soil scientist. “Horticulture refers to plants, their propagation and also their care, with a special focus on plant diseases. Technically, you’re a plant doctor.

“Since there are so many plants and it’s such a broad field, you learn something new every day. It’s a very interesting career.”

So, what does a day in his life look like?

“Apart from being a horticulturist, I’m also the procurement manager, which means I do all the orders for horticulture-related items; fertilisers, pesticides and pots. I source them from South Africa and elsewhere. I see suppliers to stock all our branches across the country.

“This is our flagship branch. We also established a garden centre in Walvis Bay in December last year, and things are running smoothly. I trained a young man, Julian, for about two and a half months, and he's doing a great job there. There are challenges because the coastal climate is much different from in the mainland.”

Holiday care

When it comes to caring for your plants, Eugene says it’s difficult to leave everything behind when you’re away for the holidays. “It’s just like leaving a pet behind. You need somebody to come in ever so often. Even if you have an irrigation system, someone needs to make sure that there wasn’t a power failure, because timers tend to reset and don’t reactivate. Also, we never know if it’s going to rain or not and it’s always extremely hot in December.

“You’ll also need someone to at least mow your lawn once or twice while you’re away.”

The reason for this is that otherwise, it will grow too high. “When you cut it down suddenly, the root system that was in full shade for some time is fully exposed, and it could become weak and burn, and it will struggle to recover.”

He adds that it’s important to make sure that your irrigation system is working properly and that no micro heads are blocked or clogged with limescale.

For indoor plants, he suggests grouping them together to make things easier for the person taking care of them.

When it comes to plant suggestions that suit our climate and for beginner gardeners, Eugene says plants that can survive the cold are always a good idea. “This year we had some extreme frost, which brought about a lot of damage. While it's difficult to single out a few, there is a wide variety to choose from.

“I would suggest that people come and ask me, and then I can guide them on choices and show them what variety we have.”

He adds that plant choices also depend on the size of your garden, if it is lush or dry, your taste, and where you live.

Plants to ponder

Edible plants and herbs are increasing in popularity and garden section salesperson Andimba de Klerk, says they have a variety of edible plants on sale. “Lettuce, spinach, chillies, strawberries, tomatoes – you have a lot to choose from and what suits your taste.”

When it comes to “pretty” plants that are easy to grow, he says you’ll be spoiled for choice. These include petunias and celosia.

They also have bonsais – both for indoors and outdoors. “The indoor bonsais are sensitive to sunlight, although they still do need light, while the outdoor ones are generally easy to maintain. You just need to keep the soil moist and transplant them once a year or every two years, so that you can get fresh growth.”

If you’re a first-time plant owner, which would he suggest?

“The easiest are spekboom or aloe vera. They are very low maintenance. You just need to give them water. We have a variety of sizes of the spekboom – even bonsai sized. They grow throughout the season and they are just as easy to transplant. So, if you have one spekboom and you want five, you can just take cuttings from an existing tree and put it in an easy-growing medium. It’s really that easy.”

When it comes to plants that are less easy to maintain, Andimba says that generally, roses are quite difficult and require more attention. “And also softer plants, like fuchsias. They require more care, more moisture, more water, and even more food to produce better quality flowers.”

He encourages Namibians to start their own gardens because it brings more life to their home. “And if you plant vegetables or herbs, you’re basically eating from your yard and you don't continuously have to run to the shops.”

Maintenance

When it comes to maintaining your garden with tip-top implements, the Pupkewitz Garden Centre has just what to you need.

According to Sem Shimoshili, a salesperson in the garden section, if you’re new to gardening, an essential implement is a spade for digging and toiling the soil. “A pitchfork can also be used to loosen up the soil. For planting, a small hand spade is best.”

There are also pots of all sizes to choose from and depending on what you’d like to plant.

There are also starter kits for hydroponic farmers. These systems don't only save you water and space, they also save you time. “Once you've started with hydroponics, you realise it's really easy,” Sem says, adding that these systems are especially ideal for small spaces.

Finally, to keep your plants healthy, there are also various types of compost and fertilisers available, delivered to you by helpful and knowledgeable staff.

See you at the Centre!