ALTHOUGH it is the trees that initially attract attention in an indigenous shade or forest garden, there are all sorts of attractive and interesting little plants that hug the forest floor.
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If you do have a forest section in your garden treat yourself to some rather special little plants, commonly known as white paint brushes. Their formal name is Haemanthus albiflos. If you stroll through some of our natural forests you might well stumble across a colony of these gorgeous small treasures.
The flowers are little tufted heads that indeed look like paintbrushes. In the shady understorey of the forest they seem to glow. They start flowering in autumn and continue through winter into spring. Even when they are not flowering, their broad, dark leaves are attractive. Once the flowers finish, birds enjoy eating the fruit so they are good choices for a bird-friendly garden, too.
In her book, Forest Plants in the Forest and in the garden, Elsa Pooley describes this plant as a hardy ground cover, excellent for those deep or dappled shady spots in your garden. They can be grown from seed.
Elsa’s lovely forest book really is a must for anyone battling to grow plants under trees and will provide plenty of inspiration if you would like to create your own mini-forest, using indigenous trees and shade-loving plants.
Elsa ends her book by sounding a warning about alien invader plants and the threat they pose to South Africa’s natural vegetation, including our lovely forests.
She has some excellent advice for property owners and gardeners:
“The best way to deal with invasive alien weeds is not to disturb any natural area by digging, cutting or burning. Disturbed soil is fertile ground for these plants and, once established, they proliferate and spread with amazing speed,” She said.
If an area needed to be cleared there should be a rehabilitation or gardening programme in place, she added.
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