South Africa is known for its cultural diversity and this is mirrored in the increasing number of requests for variety in garden designs.
Last year, we were approached by a landscape designer who specialises in creating Japanese gardens. Kim Nicholls from Japanese Garden Concepts had devised a Japanese-themed garden for her clients who were moving into a residential estate in Boksburg that has a strict indigenous plants-only policy. Being an expert in the use of typical Japanese garden plants (which traditionally include maple, bamboo and camellia), Kim needed input on the indigenous alternatives she could use and still achieve her theme.
The transition to indigenous plant selection is relatively new to many property developers, as well as to the majority of homeowners, many of whom have a sentimental connection to more traditional, exotic gardens. In the face of opposition from homeowners, many estates that had initially decreed a fully indigenous planting scheme have made allowances for some non-invasive exotic species to be included. In this particular instance, the estate has now permitted a maximum of 10 per cent exotic plant material. All garden designs are reviewed before the start of the project and are inspected during and after installation to ensure compliance.
Esta historia es de la edición July/August 2018 de African Birdlife.
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Esta historia es de la edición July/August 2018 de African Birdlife.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
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EXPLORING NEW HORIZONS
Keith Barnes, co-author of the new Field Guide to Birds of Greater Southern Africa, chats about the long-neglected birding regions just north of the Kunene and Zambezi, getting back to watching birds and the vulture that changed his life.
footloose IN FYNBOS
The Walker Bay Diversity Trail is a leisurely hike with a multitude of flowers, feathers and flavours along the way.
Living forwards
How photographing birds helps me face adversity
CAPE crusade
The Cape Bird Club/City of Cape Town Birding Big Year Challenge
water & WINGS
WATER IS LIFE. As wildlife photographer Greg du Toit knows better than most.
winter wanderer
as summer becomes a memory in the south, the skies are a little quieter as the migrants have returned to the warming north. But one bird endemic to the southern African region takes its own little winter journey.
when perfect isn't enough
Egg signatures and forgeries in the cuckoo-drongo arms race
Southern SIGHTINGS
The late summer period naturally started quietening down after the midsummer excitement, but there were still some classy rarities on offer for birders all over the subregion. As always, none of the records included here have been adjudicated by any of the subregion's Rarities Committees.
flood impact on wetland birds
One of the features of a warming planet is increasingly erratic rainfall; years of drought followed by devastating floods. Fortunately, many waterbirds are pre-adapted to cope with such extremes, especially in southern Africa where they have evolved to exploit episodic rainfall events in semi-arid and arid regions. But how do waterbirds respond to floods in areas where rainfall - and access to water - is more predictable? Peter Ryan explores the consequences of recent floods on the birds of the Western Cape's Olifants River valley.
a star is born
It’s every producer’s dream to plan a wildlife television series and pick the right characters before filming.
