Their Nursery offers exclusivity and a one-on-one shopping experience but you'll have to make an appointment before visiting. These are some questions answered by Gerrit and Marinda so we can learn more about these wonderful plants.
Please tell us about your journey with air plants and what drew you to this mysterious tillandsia genus?
Our passion for these plants started about 18 years ago. Tradition in our house is that you never buy your spouse flowers; it will be either a rock, piece of wood or a plant. Gerrit travelled a lot locally for work purposes and therefore had ample opportunities to obtain plants. Coming back from holiday, the car would always be overloaded with plants, even on my lap if needed. We started off with orchids and staghorn ferns until we got hooked on tillandsias.
Our first tillandsia came from Nelspruit 18 years ago Tillandsia seleriana. We began with this one as a companion plant for our other plants. This plant did not require any soil or roots, which fascinated us as this was in contradiction to growing many other different plants. Tillandsia air plants are epiphytes and can be mounted on wood or any other suitable material. Perfect! Now we could use all our pieces of beautiful wood we had collected.
Using little space and giving lots of opportunities to grow vertically, we suddenly had more space to fill, which was super exciting. The freedom to create and seeing the first flower on one of our tillandsia made us even more curious about the genus. This inspired us to ensure we got our hands on many more varieties.
Air plants challenge the idea of traditional soil gardening and we love that they are so exoticlooking. What motivation would you give gardeners to inspire them to go soilless?
Denne historien er fra March 2023-utgaven av The Gardener.
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Denne historien er fra March 2023-utgaven av The Gardener.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Fixing things in 2025!
One should start a new year by sitting firmly on one's throne, not breaking it and falling off!
Silver staghorn ferns at platinum prices
When we think of a staghorn fern, Platycerium bifurcatum, which can be found in many South African gardens, usually comes to mind.
Tic Tac Toe
Keep children (and adults) busy for hours with this stylish game for the patio.
Let's change the way we think about food
Healthy food is all about preparing fresh ingredients in the simplest (yet tasty) way. Today's balanced diet includes lots of fiber, plenty of fruits and vegetables, and proteins in the form of meat, like lean pork. Keep it interesting, and you can't go wrong.
Grow Wayne's favourite things
Midsummer is when your garden is at its lushest. It's always playtime in the garden, and whether it's lying under a tree or finding more stuff to grow, gardens are our safe space for self-expression and joy.
THE BEST OF SUMMER
Summer annuals offer more than just colour, texture, and variety in a garden.
PLANT A COLOUR explosion!
Angelic angel wings and a dwarf morning glory can keep colour all around you from spring to autumn, and will be back to do it all over again next year...
SAVING TIME in the garden
Just like Jamie Oliver can teach us to cook a meal in 15 minutes, there are ways to garden in 15 minutes or less. Here are some of our top time-saving tips to make gardening easier, quicker and more fun.
FUN PROJECTS for the New Year!
If you want a wow factor for your next party, try revamping a piece of driftwood into something amazing with these few steps.
Evolving for LONGEVITY
A continuously transforming garden has longevity, which is certainly true for the garden at Brahman Hills in the Midlands of KwaZulu-Natal.
