What's New and What's Hot in Gauteng Gardens

Spring is the busiest gardening season, packed with fresh tasks and exciting new plants. Gardeners often ask us, “What’s new this year, and what should we be planting in our Gauteng gardens?” At Eckards, we’re inspired by the latest arrivals and trends. Here’s what’s catching our eye this spring.

Gardening in Bedfordview and across Gauteng is made easier with our mild spring mix of warm days and cool spells. It’s the perfect time to get your hands into the soil and refresh your garden.

Cali Petunia Lemon and Cherry is New for 2025 — Cali Petunia Lemon and
Cherry is New for 2025

Look for the pattern on the Bumble Bee Cali’s — Look for the pattern on the
Bumble Bee Cali’s

Grow the best Cali Petunia

Calibrachoa or Cali Petunias as now call them are one of our favourites to grow for colour on the patio cascading over the edge of containers. They have come a long way from their original name Million Bells, have larger flowers and more of them if you can believe.

Did you know? They are not actually a Petunias But they are so similar they have become associated as petunias and as they need similar care it makes it easier to identify them as such. The one thing that they don’t like is to be too dry, they like to be damp but not soggy, so a well-drained soil is important for them.

What’s new? The striking Lemon Cherry with its lemon-yellow centre and cherry red markings. A slightly larger flower makes them really stand out.

Our Top Tip: To grow the best, feed them with Multifeed Flowergro once a week in smaller pots or every second week in larger pots.

It’s Time to sort out Your Lemon Tree

The new Bark Citrus Mulch is just what we have been waiting for. If you are looking for the solution to revive an older tree or wanting to plant a new lemon then this is an easy answer. Citrus Mulch is formulated to have everything a Lemon or and other citrus tree needs.

With added organic fertiliser composted bark, river sand some acid soil mix and all the essential nutrients makes this the ultimate citrus growing medium.
It can be used on its own as a potting soil for container lemon trees, just remember to add your layer of Drainage chips at the base of the pot.
It is also a soil conditioner and is used in the garden at planting with the addition of BioRock for strong roots.
Used as a Mulch layer for older existing trees it helps improve the overall soil condition as well as help with aeration on compacted soil which is often a problem on older trees.

Eckards has everything you need to grow the best lemons and to our team will be able to help you instore to trouble shoot and grow a healthy and productive fruit tree.

Bark Citrus Mulch for Healthy Lemon Trees — Bark Citrus Mulch for
Healthy Lemon Trees

Every Garden Should have a Lemon Tree — Every Garden Should
have a Lemon Tree

How can you add a focal point in a full garden?

Vertical gardening is a rising trend of using climbers on frames in full gardens to pop out of a border creating instant height. Modern gardeners are up for the maintenance to have something different in their gardens.
Jasmine, Wisterias, Lavender trumpet vines and even Clematis and Honeysuckle add flowers and spectacular focal points in the garden. When grown up a frame or trellis they do need some maintenance to keep them neat. Being clipped to shape and to suit the gardens style is easy with the right tool. Having a good secateur or hedge shear is all you need.
Our Top Tip: Clip and shape after each flush of flowers has ended to maintain shape and stimulate fresh growth.

Slow down and take a breath

As spring settles in the fragrance of the Brunfelsia known world over as Yesterday-Today-Tomorrow starts to fill the air, if you have one. Classic is always cool and on trend too! If you don’t have one then this is the year to plant one.
There are many examples of old gardens in Johannesburg and surrounds where almost everything has disappeared except for them.
One of the toughest and most resilient garden shrubs, we love how they have stood the test of time and flower every spring regardless, reminding us to slow down for just a moment and take a deep breath filled with their sweet fragrance.

Easily clipped to shape or allowed to grow they will survive and thrive in a full sun to half sun spot. Extremely water wise and resilient they embody their name and one established will always be there tomorrow with flowers for today and add thoughts of yesterday and happy times for anyone that slows down to see them.