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Eighty-seven years ago, Timothy and Peter John Muller’s German grandparents, Christian and Elsa Muller, put down the first roots of Floradale Nursery on a vacant plot along the Old Transkei Road, Beacon Bay, in East London. They were to flourish there.
Today, Floradale Nursery boasts as being one of the oldest garden centres in the country.
In 1996, it branched out, establishing another nursery in Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) with Peter John Muller at the helm.
Floradale continues to be regarded as a destination for gardeners who are wont to seek out their regular fix of desirable plants — especially roses.
This week, Gerald Muller, Timothy and Peter John’s father, who is revered as a font of plant knowledge, also celebrates his 87th birthday.
Wandering through the grounds surrounding the area where eateries and a clothing boutique are now established, you may gain a glimpse into the history of the owners’ passion and enjoy some of the fruits of their gifted green fingers.
You will marvel at the host of mature old-fashioned shrubs, Leopard trees, giant tree ferns, staghorn ferns, pretty blossoming camellias and others such as the striking jade vine — a natural air purifier — with dangling clusters of shimmering emerald green flowers.
Don’t forget to look upward when parking. This space is under a canopy of old trees where every branch overhead is festooned with silver grey spiky leafed air plants.
As a child, Timothy tells of working weekends and spending time with his father and grandfather at the nursery where his love and appreciation of plants was nurtured.
This led to an obvious choice of study in horticulture at the Natal Technikon now the Durban University of Technology.
Thereafter, he joined the family-run nursery in 1991.
Since then, the Old Selbornian has seen gardening trends change and watched the evolution of the way South Africans garden.
“The modern Eastern Cape garden is smaller and more intensive, hence our products have to reflect that reality.
“This means we offer few trees and shrubs and far more smaller perennials, ground covers and annual bedding plants.
“With the rise of rental accommodation and more confined living, pot plants have also become a larger part of the business.”
On any one day, Timothy takes on numerous roles from overseeing plant propagation, offering advice from their large pool of experience to customers, emergency repairs and management.
Training of staff is all important to ensure their customer interaction is informative and helpful. Many are second and third generation members.
So, it’s little wonder then that just before sunset — “My best part of the day when all the work is done and I look on the fruits of my labour’’ — he goes home to enjoy his own garden which is mostly a celebration of roses.
These border the front of the home he shares with wife Robyn and their son and daughter.
Which roses does Timothy recommend growing?
“To create a sustainable garden, I planted Deloitte and Touche, SA and Avril Elizabeth Home which require minimal spraying of pesticides and fungicides.
“These roses thrive and perform well with just sufficient water and feeding needs, offering in return five to six flushes of blooms a year.”
Included in his choice of planting are long-living indigenous species to support the environment by attracting birds, bees and insects.
Waterwise plants are partnered with colourful perennials.
Tim’s favourite time of the year is late spring “when everything is in flower”.
His garden has been arranged to present a colourful and interesting show at that time — Floribunda roses with medium growing perennials such as lavenders, salvias and gauras interspersed with smaller perennials including Argyranthemum daisies, cupheas and agapanthus to complete the picture.
Tim’s advice: Gardening is not complicated. There are two essential components of any garden — watering and creating a fertile soil environment to ensure plants flourish.
You may use organic fertilisers such as compost and manure or granular fertilisers to improve the soil’s quality.
Roses and fruit trees require high yielding fertilisers while pot plants do best with liquid fertilisers.
Behind their house, Tim and Robyn delight in the produce from their vegetable garden which they have planted in raised beds.
“We grow tomatoes and peppers in summer, spinach and broccoli in winter with green beans planted throughout the year.”
On starting a vegetable garden, Timothy advises that you begin with spinach and green beans as insects target these plants far less than other vegetables such as cabbages and tomatoes.
Once your confidence has grown, plant tomatoes and peppers.
His advice is to plant leafier green plants in winter with flowering fruit bearing plants in summer.
“We limit our use of insecticide on the vegetables to a natural pyrethrin, garlic and Canola oil mixture which is sold commercially as organicide.”
Fungicide is mainly used on tomatoes and occasionally on cucurbits. (Cucurbits are a family of vining plants such as pumpkin, melon, watermelon and cucumber).
“We use copper-based sprays and Odeon. Both of these are contact sprays and have a low impact on nature.”
Tip: Spraying in the evening is best as there is a limited exposure to beneficial pollinators. (Bees are back in their hives by late afternoon).
This last summer, they received a gift of tomato plants from a “dear customer” grown from an Heirloom variety call Pink Brandywine.
The tomato has a rich, slightly sweet yet spicy old fashioned tomato flavour.
They can be eaten raw, sautéed, grilled, stewed and used in tomato dishes.
Robyn uses them in eggplant jam which Timothy raves about. She shared the recipe with us.
Eggplant Jam
Ingredients:
1 large eggplant (brinjal), cubed.
½ brown onion, diced.
1 red onion, diced
Spices (one teaspoon each) of coriander, cumin and turmeric.
9 cherry tomatoes, diced
¼ cup of parsley
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon raw honey
2 tablespoons vinegar
¼ cup olive oil
Method
Heat half the oil in a pan and cook the eggplant until golden, stirring frequently. Set aside.
Heat the remaining oil to sauté the onions until softened. Add the spices and tomato paste and cook until fragrant.
Add the diced tomatoes, honey, vinegar and cook until jam like (about 5-10 minutes).
Add the eggplant, stir to coat. Mix in the chopped parsley. Season with salt and cracked black pepper. Bottle in jars.
• In the Garden is written by feature writer, garden enthusiast and former teacher Julia Smith, who has returned home to live in Chintsa East. The column aims to inform novice and accomplished gardeners how to make the most of their green patches.
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