Bring the bush veld to your garden

Nothing says proudly South African like a braai in the bush veld, a couple of cold ones between friends and a silhouetted Acacia tree at twilight. Fall in love with a wonderful variety of indigenous plants, which are low maintenance, naturally water saving and easily accessible for your next gardening project.

Deter from cutting down an old tree or removing rocks and rather use the existing landscape and architecture to your advantage. Leafy ferns and trees with bulging roots add a variety of texture to your garden. Indigenous thorn trees may not be the best picnic spot, but a simple pallet pathway leading to a cosy hammock or bench may just bring out your garden’s natural beauty.

Building a fire pit from collected rocks is cost efficient and effortlessly evokes the rustic, unrefined, bush veld feeling. Make the most of uneven areas by surrounding your boma with a sandpit and wood stumps for stools. Using different sands or pebbles bring even more texture into the space, making decorating easy by showcasing bold, dead tree features and a couple of ambient lanterns.

The thing about indigenous plants is that they love space, depth and lots of ferny friends. Planting ‘bulking’ shrubs, ferns and creepers together create excellent and easy space fillers, impressive barriers and even pretty cloaking devices to disguise those dull walls and fences.

Including some striking Crane Flowers (Strelitzia reginae), a fragrant Gardenia bush (Gardenia augusta) and a few evergreen Kei-apple shrubs (Dovyalis caffra) will not only fill gaps in your garden, but may well surprise you with its easy to maintain, effortless beauty.

A variety of local grasses are also great for adding diversity to your proudly South African garden. Try planting some dreamy Snowflake Grass (Andropogon eucomis) along pathways, surrounding empty tree beds and even to those areas where nothing else seems to grow.

Conserving and planting endemic flora is not only a win for the environment, but also a sure victory for little garden visitors.  Bees play a vital role in human existence and crop pollination. Add sweetly scented Honey Daisy (Euryops virgineus) to your bush veld to attract bees.

Inviting a kaleidoscope of butterflies is easy too, especially when planting brightly coloured butterfly bushes such as Geraniums (Geranium incanum).  Cork Bush (Mundulea sericea) is an excellent choice for Highveld naturescaping with purple flowers providing food to multiple insects and birds, who in turn bring that all too familiar bush veld choir to your patio.

Hollowed out tree stumps or large rocks with natural indents make for great bird baths and a welcoming refreshment for all the bush veld guests.

Attention to detail can help add that extra veld flavour to your garden. Decorate your old tree stumps, tables, and low walls with Aloe plants in earthy pots. Aloes are avid sun lovers, water wise, hardy and come in a vibrant variety of sunset hues.

Visit the Life is a Garden website www.lifeisagarden.co.za for more gardening tips and information, or join the conversation on Facebook: lifeisagardensa.