Garden journal
Gardening guides, seasonal tips and plant notes from Heckers.
Featured storyFrom the nursery team
Nothing soothes the soul like waking up to a garden that is fresh and vibrant from the rain on the weekend. Our gardens are filled with the promise of new growth, yet before we can start planting we have to prepare our garden beds. Not sure how. Read my article on getting your beds ready […]
For a lot of us looking at our garden beds this time of the year can be disheartening. There tends to be a lot of bare patches of dirt, devoid of any colour or greenery. While these bare patches can be depressing, one should rather look at them as a blank canvas full of promise […]
As South-Africans we have a very diverse cultural heritage. This helps us create our own identity and a sense of belonging. What we tend to forget about is the heritage that all of us share, our amazing and diverse natural heritage. We must truly be the envy of the world when we look at what […]
Succulents are great for time and space avers With the busy modern lifestyle that most of us lead, the main challenge we find as gardeners are the shortage of space and time. The days of the big gardens are seemingly over with more and more people staying in town-houses or apartments with limited space for […]
Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned gardener planting a succulent bowl is easy and fun whilst still allowing you to put your personal spin on it. Succulents are an amazing family of plants which have adapted to harsh conditions by storing water in modified fleshy stems and leaves to conserve the precious little water […]
We have been experiencing some very hot and dry weather lately, and it is clear that our gardens have been taking the brunt of these warm conditions. With water being such a scarce resource in South Africa we also can’t just go and water our gardens with wild abandon. Fingers crossed we will be getting […]
When we face challenges in our garden such as hot and dry weather it is always a good idea to step back and have look at how nature handles these problems. Leaves collect on the forest floor and form a protective blanket that conserves water and breaks down to enrich the soil. When walking through […]
If you’re like me then your fingers should be itching to get into the garden after the rain. It is amazing what rain does to our mood after the dry weather, it inspires, invigorates and encourages us. Our gardens are filled with fresh promise after the rain and the work we do now will save […]
Walking in the garden this morning with the smell of rain still fresh in the air, it is amazing how a good downpour can revitalize the garden. Everything is fresh and clean and everywhere there the plants are showing their appreciation with new shoots and growth. At last the summer rains have arrived and they […]
For a limited time and while stocks last SELECTED BUTTERFLY BUSHES Gaura dark pink, early pink and white WAS R44.90 NOW R34.90 SAVE R10.00 Butterfly bushes are are hardy evergreen perennials that will give you masses of blooms throughout summer. They are also one of the best plants for attracting butterflies to your garden. For […]
Attracting butterflies to your garden can be quite a conundrum at times. We want beautiful butterflies to grace our gardens but not their caterpillars which are the larval stage of butterflies. Caterpillars feed on their specific host plants, whilst causing some damage to the plant, it is not enough to harm them permanently. The host […]
There are few things as beautiful in this world as watching a butterfly fluttering gracefully from flower to flower. Not only are they one of the more regal visitors to our gardens, butterflies also play an important role in pollination. As we know, without pollination, we won’t have any fruit or flowers. That is why […]
Growing berries is a lot easier than we tend to think and are sure to astound you with their fresh and tasty berries every year. With the popularity and demand for berries growing in South Africa due to their health benefits and amazing taste more and more people are asking us for all the different […]
It may seem like we have moved past the time of foraging for our food but if we think about it we have just swapped one type of foraging for another. Of course a lot has changed since then with us foraging for our food in supermarkets and fast food stores instead of the wonderful […]
Waking up this Tuesday was sure to bring some of us close to tears, seeing the extent of the damage that the hail has caused. Coincidentally the hail come 3 days a year ago from the massive hailstorm we had last year on the 8th of November. It can be quite depressing especially after all […]
Now that we have recovered from the shock of the hail it is time to get our gardens back to looking their best. We tend to think of hail as a disaster with all the damage it causes but in nature hail actually has a very important role. Not only does it help to prune […]
Summer is definitely here and I am sure we are all looking forward to spend some time in our lovely South African sun. So with that in mind we have compiled this guide on looking after your garden in the summer to ensure that you don’t spend all your time working in the garden, after […]
I don’t know if it is just me but it has been a cooker lately with the heat we’ve had. Luckily we have had some much needed rain in between and even a devastating hail storm. With the heat we are experiencing our gardens are flourishing and the plants are growing at an astonishing rate […]
Just as soon as we were recovering from the damage done by the hail the unthinkable happened and we had a devastating hailstorm this morning at around 02:00 at Hecker Homegrown which is our growing side. Luckily the plants will recover, I’m not that sure about some of the structures. Have a look for yourself.
The one thing that always heralds the arrival of the festive season for me is when we start receiving Poinsettias here at the nursery. Poinsettias are prefect for bringing Christmas into your home with their long lasting red bracts that work great in any décor setting. They also make the ideal living gift for that […]
With the holiday season behind us, it is back to the rat race for most of us. That means less time to spend in the garden and more time stuck in traffic. Luckily for you we have put together some of the tasks you will have to do to get your garden looking at its […]
We tend to think of migrations only happening in the animal kingdom yet every year we have our own human migration in South-Africa. It seems as if most people in Gauteng migrate to the coast to enjoy their summer holidays in the sun, sea and surf. For those of us coming back home after the […]
We tend to think of recycling as putting all our glass, cans, and cardboard in separate bags and having it picked up to be recycled. This is a great place to start, but the amazing thing about recycling is that it can be so much more Recycling can be about finding the beauty in something […]
I am always amazed by the amount of black dustbin bags out on the streets on pickup day (that is if they actually pick it up). It seems that at times we waste more than what we really use and end up throwing the rest away. Recycling is one of the areas we can make […]