Handbook to help plant fair bloom
The handbook will be available during the week of the fair at the Durban Botanic Gardens Info Centre, and at some retail nurseries and shops.
VISITORS to the annual Indigenous Plant Fair, being held at Durban Exhibition Centre with the Sustainable Living Exhibition from Friday to Sunday, 14 to 16 August from 9am to 5pm, will be given a sneak preview of plants that may be available that weekend, through a handy handbook.
It also contains articles by some of South Africa’s foremost gardeners, landscapers, botanists and naturalists with practical advice on what plants to look out for at the fair, and ways to increase biodiversity and attract birds, butterflies, bats and other wildlife to your garden.
Entrance to the plant fair is free.
The handbook contains an extensive catalogue of indigenous plants, including aloes, bulbs, trees, shrubs, ferns, climbers, ground covers, grasses and succulents, with descriptions and advice on growing conditions and special features. More than 750 species of indigenous plants will be available at the fair and wise gardeners will make sure they have their handbook in hand to enable them to make the most of this floral bonanza.
The handbook provides a handy list of wholesale nurseries, landscaping and consulting services and a wealth of advertisers. It is now a collectable item because of the evergreen information it contains. What started out as a fairly basic resource has become a top quality, full-colour production that gardeners should find indispensable.
Many of the horticulturists, botanists, landscapers, nursery proprietors, conservationists and top gardeners who contribute articles can generally also be found at the fair as ‘plant experts’ advising customers or displaying books and other resources. Visitors can thus enjoy access to an inspiring, synergistic network of local environmental knowledge in the flesh and in print.
The handbook will be available during the week of the fair at the Durban Botanic Gardens Info Centre, and at some retail nurseries and shops. See the website www.indigenousplantfair.org.za for participating outlets and for more details of the plant fair. The handbook costs R30 including VAT.
