Saturday Morning With Jack Tame

The next few months we’ll be “in the dark” so to speak – the shortest days of the year puts us in front of the Low Emissions Burner, keeping warm while reading gardening magazines.   What kinds of plants give us colour at this time?   Go and visit your local Botanic Garden and take a note book with you – I often look at the stuff that Julie plants at our place.  Tree Dahlia are huge plants that can grow up to 4 or 5 meters tall. They are true Dahlias, just a bit taller than your ordinary varieties.   Their contrast with blue autumn and winter skies is remarkable. Easy to grow and easy to prune after flowering. They simply grow another lot of branches next autumn!   Nerines are currently spectacular. Bright pink flowers delivered by a bulbous plant. Seeing we’re in rather frost-free part of the Port Hills, they keep on flowering. They belong to the Amaryllidaceae (bulbs) and don’t care about soil quality as long as it isn’t too wet. Easy to transplant.    Salvia leucantha (