This perennial is one of our favourite landscape perennials; we grow them in our field and landscapes,by now for some 6 years. The torch lily is an evergreen perennial, native from south africa and is winter hardy in our climate zone. It can be grown in climate zones 5b to 9b. Although it is evergreen the leaves may freeze off over winter but they will re-grow from the roots just like any other deciduous perennial.

This perennial grows three to four feet tall and spreads 2 to 3 ft. , grows in full sun and well drained soil it is a drought tolerant plant that does not like wet soil. The torch lily blooms july through october. The oriels really like this plant they will sit on the flower stems and suck out the nectar from the flowers. There are several cultivars including dwarf forms in a colour range of white, yellow and orange red.

However we have not had much success with the dwarf plants. The best cultivars seem to be those that are the closest to the specie. One particular cultivar that does really well in our landscapes is “alcazar “, which is also the one we have in our garden center.

Article by 
case van blyderveen
norfolk gardens inc.

Continuation to the first article I wrote on hand weeding your lawn.

 At most commercial yard maintenance sites the routine is to cut the lawn every week; but now that it is midsummer the grass has slowed down and it doesn’t need to be cut. However at our site there are all these tall weeds, all over the lawn, mostly Queen Ann lace, it grows 12” in a week and doesn’t look good for the lawn. Do we now use the lawn mower just to cut down the Queen Ann’s lace? We decided to spend a few hours cutting out the Queen Ann’s Lace and not cut the grass. Much of the Queen Ann’s lace could be pulled out but for those that were difficult or broke off the root we undercut with a steak knife.  Once we were done the lawn looks good, much better than it has all year.

As for the other lawn that I hand weeded in the first article I wrote about four weeks ago; there is no re-growth from the roots that may have been left in the soil after they were cut off with a knife. The hand weeding was successful, I didn’t waste my time.  The lawn looks good and I have now weeded some parts of it again for the weeds that were missed the first time, leaving these parts of the lawn practically weed free.

I am not a fan of weed free lawns; understanding the nature of things, for me it is too much to expect and unnecessary; nether am I a fan of unnecessary chemical use; however there are some lawns or parts of lawns that have a prominent position in the landscape, in other words they are in your face; that is the case with some of these properties and for the lawn to be appreciated in the landscape they need to be weed free, just as much as any shrub border. There is nothing more distracting than to have a shrub boarder overgrown with tall weeds and volunteer walnut trees. It is the same with these lawns that have a prominent position in the landscape and we will continue to hand weed them.

For any chemical weed control; there is now a new product approved this past April for lawn weed control called” Fiesta “an iron based product, I will try some and let you know more about it in another article.

Article by Case Van Blyderveen

Norfolk Gardens and Landscape Consultant

Many people will tell you, you can’t grow agapanthus here; you have to bring it inside for the winter. That is because most agapanthus is an evergreen tropical but not all agapanthus; what is being sold at a lot of retailers and garden centers are the tropical agapanthus, and not the hardy agapanthus.

 We have been growing the hardy agapanthus in the field on our farm for the past 13 years, and quietly selling them to both sceptical and delighted customers in our garden center for all that time.

The hardy Agapanthus is Agapanthus Campanulatus it is a deciduous species native from the high elevations in South Africa. In July and August, 30” spikes of deep blue flowers rise from the handsome green foliage. They prefer full sun and fertile soil. They are completely deciduous in winter and hardy to zone 6. This agapanthus is a long lived perennial and more flowers appear as the clump expands; an excellent landscape perennial for both the flower and foliage.  Always available at Norfolk Gardens.

Case Van Blyderveen

Norfolk Gardens.

German winter thyme, a selection of thymus vulgaris  is an excellent substitute for spreading junipers in the landscape. We have been growing winter thyme as an ornamental evergreen ground cover for several years and come to like it very much; so much that we recommend it as a substitute for spreading junipers. It grows to about 6” tall and 15” spread. This thyme does well in sandy soil and full sun exposure. The small flowers that appear in midsummer are pink to white. The foliage takes on a purple hue in the winter. It is pest free and all around a good care free landscape perennial, and can also be used as a culinary herb. If you are looking for something different and maybe better than all those spreading junipers or all that mulch, try this thyme combined with other ground covers or alone to fill that low space in the landscape between shrubs and other structures or just to define space on its own; i am sure this thyme, a fragrant plant native from the mediterranean will be a pleasing addition or completion to your landscape. Article  by
case van Blyderveen