Katiso’s rainbow-themed container garden

I am Lillian Katiso, a chartered accountant. I work with Trade Links and I live in Kyanja.

I love planting flowers, whether it is in containers or in the soil. I concentrated on containers when we moved into a house that didn’t have a garden. I did not want to let my gardening passion die. So I said, “Okay, I can use containers to do my gardening.”

I have an assortment of things in my containers. It is either a flower, or it is bringing fresh air into the house. And then there are those that give me flavour in my food, because I need spices.

The air fresheners
I have the air fresheners in the house. There is the Snake Plant or Mother-in-Law’s Tongue. Then I have the Spider Plant and the Peace Lily (Spathyphyllum Cochlearispathum). The Lucky Bamboo (Dracaena Sanderiana) is not air purifying. I just like the fact that it can grow in water.

The Snake Plant brings oxygen, even at night. Most plants take all your oxygen at night, to emit carbondioxide. It is good as a house plant and is recommended for bedrooms. Someone told me that in the village, when someone is bitten by a snake, they apply its sap on the wound.

The fragrant ones
I have those that have nice fragrances. I have the Night Rose, because its fragrance chases mosquitoes away at night. It also has roses that smell nice. The other day, I was reading that there are roses that are edible. I’ve not tried to eat them yet. I have Nastriums. They are scented flowers. They are like water cress and people use them in vegetable salads. But I’ve not been that adventurous.

The food spices
I also have the Caucasian Mint. It has a nice smell, but I also like it for my tea. Just put it in water and you get the smell and the taste. I have Lemongrass (Cymbopogon Citratus), which we use for making black tea and African tea. You can also use it in chicken dishes.

Then there’s Rosemary. I like it in rice. It is also good for meat. Someone told me they used it in cooking beans. I’ve not tried that one, but they told me it’s nice. I have Coriander (Dhania), which we use in all dishes. But that one I have to re-plant. I also have strawberries, grapes and passion fruit, all for home consumption.

The assortments
I have assorted flowers [on the right-hand side of the front yard]. I wanted to have general happiness flowers. I mixed the nice-flowering plants there. On the other side (left), I tried to create a rainbow garden.

I started with the purple violet, then I have green plants, but they flower once in a while. I have yellow, orange and red flowers. I have all the colours of the rainbow. That’s the theme on the other side (left). I also have the assorted Hibiscus flowers. I have the white, pink, red and orange ones.

Then on this side (right), there are all the plants that like shade. They just have these nice-looking leaves. The leaves are the flower themselves, before they flower. I also have chrysanthemums there.

I tried to create a rainbow theme outside the gate, but the cows come and eat some of them. I put the nasturtiums outside, but I realised they survive for a month and dry up. So I brought them back into the pot. Some of them do well in pots and some do well in the ground. I also have Impatiens and ginger. The tubers are a spice.

The Fs
So, most of my flower collections are driven by the Fs. The flower either has to have a fragrance, a flavour, bring a fruit, bring fresh air or be used for food.

As told to Contance Obonyo
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