Nature and garden enthusiasts had the opportunity to discover the indigenous gardens at Renishaw Hills which hosted this year’s Botanical Society Winter Gardens fundraiser.
The recent fundraiser raised a total of R5 810. Proceeds go towards the Botanical Society of South Africa KZN Coastal Branch.
Visitors witnessed spectacular aloes in full flower, a wide variety of other winter flowering succulents, and a range of indigenous perennials and flowering shrubs, with 140 different indigenous species.
Dr Elsa Pooley, renowned South African botanist, landscaper and author, shared insight into useful gardening techniques, the use of South African plants, and what plants to use when.
“The gardens at Renishaw Hills are a rich mix of succulent and herbaceous species,” she said.
“In winter, the red-hot pokers come into their own, with glorious, colourful, nectar-rich flowers. This is a great example of how vibrant planting indigenous can be.”
She shared four useful tips on making winter gardens flourish:
Tip 1: Use water-wise succulents. These succulents thrive on the coast with aloes coming out in a brilliant splash of colour from May to August. Along with aloes, some great succulents to plant on the coast include crassulas, cotyledons, kalanchoes and Kleinia fulgens.
Tip 2: Plant nectar-rich flowers. These flowers provide food for birds and many insects including a range of bee species. As the cool, dry winter starts, the leaves of many succulents change to deeper pink and red. Excellent winter flowering shrubs that provide colourful shrubbery and also attract birds, butterflies and other insects include barleria species (bush violets), hypoestes aristata (ribbon bush), leonotis species (wild dagga), syncolostemon densiflorus and S. rotundifolia (pink plume), crassula ovata (pink joy), polygala myrtifolia (September Bush), eriocephalus africanus (wild rosemary) and gymnanthemum colorata (was vernonia colorata, now Lowveld bitter tea).
Tip 3: Plant winter fruit trees. There are many local trees and shrubs that will flower in the late summer and autumn while carrying fruit into winter. These fruits provide food for a wide range of birds and insects. Some species that could be planted include grewia occidentalis (crossberry-raisin), apodytes dimidiata (white pear) and vepris lanceolata (ironwood).
Tip 4: Plant winter-flowering trees. The main winter flowering trees to plant are coral trees with scarlet flowers attracting even non-nectar-eating birds. The nectar also attracts insects which attract insectivorous birds. Reliable shrubs which flower almost throughout the year, and have a flush of flowers in autumn, include tecomaria capensis (Cape honeysuckle), chrysanthemoides monilifera (bush tick berry) and plumbago auriculata.
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