Bringing Back The HOYA

For many of us, hoyas are those plants our grandmothers had growing on the 'stoep; or in a pot that hung from the dining room celling in a macrame pot hanger

Under The Grape Vine

Many of us fondly remember the grape-vine-covered pergolas and arbours in the backyards of our youth. In high summer, fat bunches of sweet grapes ready to be harvested lurked in the dappled shade of lush vine leaves, which later turned rusty brown and fell off to lay bare the rough old twisted stems of winter.

What Is A Calibrachoa?

Although the tiny flowers of calibrachoas resemble those of petunias, the plants are classified into two separate genera in the Solanaceae family.

Creative Air Plant Displays

Popular air plants are easy to look after, come in a variety of shapes and textures, and make for creative art displays. Try some of these quick and easy ideas:

Make Your Own: Aloe Vera Skin Cream

For gardeners the problem of dry skin is made worse by working in the garden, coupled in 2020 with the constant use of hand sanitiser. Fear winter no longer, for your plants are once again here to save you! The soothing, moisturising and cooling properties of aloe vera make it a prime candidate for a healing skin cream, and you can make your own by following these simple steps:

Water Features To Freshen Up Your Garden Design

Close your eyes. Imagine a relaxing spot in your garden, the one place you go when you need a break from the world. A space to wind down and be at peace. Imagine the fresh air, the sounds of birds and leaves rustling around you as you sigh and sink into nature and all its glory. Regardless of what you imagined, I guarantee it could be made considerably better with the addition of a water feature (unless you already imagined one, in which case props to you).

Design Your Own Herb Garden

If you’ve decided to grow your own food, think further than just vegetables.

Passionate about Pelargoniums

A garden filled with blooming pelargoniums is a positive symbol of life in technicolour…

Lockdown Guilt!

Ask yourself what you did wrong, and then tell yourself not to do it again…

Mirtehof PRINCELY PLENITUDE

A garden of Eden layered with colour, texture and scent in abundance.

Woolly Paws

Fill up your low-water zones like the gravel garden, rock garden and sunny low-maintenance areas with new and very cute Anigozanthos varieties, also known as kangaroo or cat’s paws.

Two Springboks And A Wallaby!

Two beautiful hybrids have been developed from two endemic genera in the fynbos family, as well as one from a genus endemic to Western Australia.

Shimmering Silver Trees For The Fynbos Garden

Leucadendron argenteum

The pathway DESIGN CHECKLIST

Your foolproof guide to pathway planning

Vertical LIFESTYLE

The Lifestyle College class of 2019 brings us the 2020 Lifestyle Garden Design Show to leave all inspired.

UPWARDS AND ONWARDS: vertical veggie growing

Saving space is not the only reason for growing veggies vertically

From dull to DELICIOUS: HERBS WITH DRY BEANS

Dry beans are a power food second to none, and they ‘beef up’ slow-cooked comfort food like soups, casseroles and stove-top stews. They are also a staple food in many parts of the world, being a rich source of protein, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. Half a cup of cooked dry beans contains about 115 calories and provides 8 grams of protein. They also contain phytochemicals that are believed to help prevent osteoporosis, heart disease and some cancers.

Big-hearted for mass planting

If you have large areas in the garden to fill, plant all three of these indigenous perennials: they have everything you need!

Breathless at Bosjes

Spirituality, homegrown expertise and locally sourced materials and labour resulted in a breath-taking landscape that offers relief and comfort to anyone and everyone who visits.

Fabulous ‘Angel Wings'

Senecio candicans ‘Angel Wings’ is sure to catch the eye, whether growing outdoors in the garden or sitting indoors in a pretty pot!

Beautiful white ironwood for medium to large gardens - Vepris lanceolata

The white ironwood is a tall or spreading evergreen tree, usually 7 – 20m high. It has smooth, light greyish-white bark and a rounded crown covered with shiny, trifoliate, lance-shaped leaves with wavy edges.

Basic Styling The Triangle

Most bonsai trees are styled to have a triangular silhouette. This is more obvious with traditional bonsai styles, i.e. Northern hemisphere trees, but is still relevant with our African styles like the baobab and the flat crown. However, sometimes you need a fair bit of imagination to see this triangular shape – it is a bit like seeing the constellations in the stars. Sometimes the shape seems invisible until somebody points it out, and after that you can’t help but see the triangle.

Impressive Quinine Tree For Large Gardens

Tree Of The Month

Make Your Own Garden Gold

The greenest thing a food gardener can do (apart from planting the green stuff) is to make compost. It ticks each box for all the four ‘R’s’: Recycle, Reuse, Repurpose and Reduce.

How To Sow Garden Fairies

This year if you plant only one annual that flowers in late winter and spring, make it a colour cloud of lots of Primula malacoides (fairy primrose).

Herbs For Chicken Take The Herb Path Less Travelled

Is there any culinary herb that doesn’t go well with chicken? Some of the all-time favourites are rosemary, lemon thyme, sage, oregano and garlic. But why not try something different?

The autumn clean up

Just as April is a month for planting, it is also a month for clearing away garden debris to put it to good use in the future, making your garden ready for winter and keeping it free of overwintering pests.

STRONG on structure

The difference between mere vegetation and a space called a garden is structure …

Peppy little peperomias

GROW INDOORS

Meandering palettes

As befits one of the oldest homes in Westcliff, the gracious 3-acre (1.2ha) gardens echo the era of the early 1900’s with their flower-filled borders, dovecote and rolling lawns. But that only tells half the story.