Building a house and garden on one of the renowned ‘Thousand Hills’ of KwaZulu-Natal was no walk in the park! I had big dreams and firm plans about a garden ‘on the level’ with an expansive lawn bordered by wide, mixed beds filled with flowering plants despite the natural topography of the land. It turned out this dream was quite a challenge and resulted in a lot of earthmoving.
I suppose I could have just settled for the usual cement retaining blocks often used to retain banks, but my budget was tight, and I wanted a more natural look with bold rocks and dry stone retaining walls. My dad trained as a stone mason and some of the stones used in my wall were the original stones the two of us collected when they were blasting for the new N2 highway to Scottburgh. I moved around with these stones until I had my own property.
A set of curved sandstone steps was also one of my extravagances I was definitely going to have.
Vegetating the slope
The first objective was to plant strong focal plants like bold aloe species and lots of succulents to stand out as contrasting plants, to bind the soil, and also to soften the rock edges with their lush and spreading growth habits. As new aloe hybrids became available and I fell in love with their strong clumpforming and free-flowering habits, I added swathes of them.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة April 2023 من The Gardener.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة April 2023 من The Gardener.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
FIRE AND Feathers!
On a dreary winter's day, a screen of fiery and feathery leaves puts up a fight against dullness!
GET THE ladies in!
At this time of year, early-flowering shrubs vie with each other to get the most attention. We say: Trust those with female names for frills and butterflies. They go the extra mile to flower their hearts out.
Vegetable Soups and dumplings
Vegetables make the most delicious soups and classic combinations are always a winner.
Yummy sweet potatoes for your good health
Boiled, baked or braaied, sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas) are a delicious and healthy winter comfort food. Just a dollop of butter, a little seasoning and you are good to go.
Pretty and functional
If cooking is your main thing, you would probably be more interested in the culinary value of the three herbs and some of their varieties we are describing.
Dried Seedheads & Pods
Autumn and winter are the best times to see what flowers produce the best seedheads that can be left on the plants to feed the birds and bugs and for harvesting for dried arrangements.
SO MANY FACES and so many choices...
Whoever associated a Cotyledon orbiculata (pig's ear) with the ear of a pig obviously did not know about all the varieties and cultivars this species in the genus Cotyledon has.
COLOURFUL Cold Weather WINNERS!
If it comes to a vote, these dependable shrubs will be the top candidates for prime performance in winter and in other seasons...
What makes a garden sustainable?
It is interesting to note that the United Nations defines sustainable development as: “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.
Nurturing NATURE-The Story of Kraal Garden's Transformation
Nestled within Prince Albert's rustic embrace lies a gem that is a testament to the transformative power of human vision and nature's bounty.