HERE is a good gardening new year’s resolution – plant a coastal red-milkwood this month and by the time December comes around again your garden will boast one of
Mother Nature’s KwaZulu-Natal Christmas trees.
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Known more formally as Mimusops caffra, our famous milkwoods are striking trees and are such an eye-catching feature of our coastal dune forests. They are also specially protected trees and it is therefore illegal to damage or destroy them.
During the festive season they really come into their own when they are covered in oval, brick red fruit that contrasts so beautifully with their leathery, dusty green, notched leaves. They really are just as beautiful as any tinsel-laden tree.
With their bent, twisted ‘walking’ branches they are also such wonderful form plants, their presence in any garden creating a rather magical atmosphere. You almost expect to see the wee folk peeping at you from behind the tangled branches.
You don’t have room for a new tree? Check all your existing tree and do the neighbourhood a favour by removing any that appear on South Africa’s alien invasive list. This is a good way make room for one of our marvellous native trees.
So many gardens harbour invasive plants. If you would like to make sure you have an invasive-free garden but are not too sure about the subject, members of your local conservancy would be pleased to offer advice.
To find out about the conservancies in your area, give Alex Skene a call at 078 5087290 . Alex is the chairman of the South Coast Conservancy Forum.
Another good new year’s resolution would be to join your local conservancy to help win the battle against invasive aliens and other threats facing our environment.
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