YOU don’t need a conifer for a Christmas tree. In our household, we choose an indigenous sapling every year, drape it with all sorts of bead work and ethnic Christmas decorations then plant it when the festive season is over.
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I must admit I am running out of space for trees so tend to go for shrubs instead. There is always space for a smallish indigenous shrub in a garden.
Perhaps the most suitable choice of indigenous tree would be the gorgeous ever-green yellowwoods. Podocarpus falcatus or Outenique yellow and Podocarpus latifolius, commonly known as real yellowwood, are both good choices. Both are protected trees and are well worth cultivating.
With their rigid branches the wild gardenias are easy to decorate and they have lovely traditional Christmas tree shapes. Gardenia thunbergia and Gardenia violkensii are good choices.
A lovely tree one year was my African dog rose or Xylotheca kraussiana, a pretty shrub or small tree that looks good in a pot. After Christmas I planted it in a prominent spot in my garden where it forms an eye-catching focal point, particularly when it is covered in its large flowers that really do look like dog roses.
Last year I also used a white-flowering plant, but one that takes up very little space, as I really am running out of room in my garden. Bauhinia natalensis is one of the daintiest, prettiest shrubs in my garden. It has small, typical Bauhinia butterfly shapes leaves and tiny white flowers.
Finally, if you do want a traditional tree, dripping with tinsel and sparkling Christmas stuff, go and cut down one of these feral pine trees that litter our open spaces. Our conservancies are always battling to evict these alien invasive trees from our natural beauty spots.
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