We often hear from people that we do not have beautiful native garden plants and that indigenous gardens are just succulents, aloes and grasses with a limited variety, but that is not the case… TGN has highlighted some of our most exquisite varieties in our Biodiversity Calendar.
Some of the most sought after and highly prized species grow wild on our South Coast… You only need to open a website from local growers to see the variety we have to offer.
When it comes to small garden specimens, look at the Agapanthus with its brilliant lilac or white blooms. Cultivated varieties include mauve and imperial purple, named Black Jack – this variety recently won Plant of the Year at the Chelsea Garden Show! Another magnificent plant is our very own Bush Lily or Clivia. These plants have long been revered for their magnificent foliage and bright blooms. They used to be reserved for the Emperor of China and if you were caught with it, you could face a death sentence! Today Clivia is still considered a symbol of status in China, where they are cultivated with short almost round leaves and miniaturized (bonsaied) to fit on a tea table.
Our shrubs are superb and some produce exotic flowers and fruit. The Carissa or Num-Num produces beautiful, white, jasmine-like flowers in shiny green foliage that become delicious edible fruit, and also make a wonderful spiky ‘fence’ that can be used for a natural security barrier. They are loved by birds and monkeys and make a great hedge to deter other animals from your garden. Strelitzias are also very popular in China for their medicinal properties and exotic flowers.
We are also home to some of the most magnificent trees like the exotic Baobab, Paperbark Tree, River Indigo, 59 species of Hibiscus, Lala Palms, the Sausage Tree (Kigelia) and the iconic Umbrella Thorn. Most of these trees are revered for their medicinal properties, but in our gardens, they also attract all sorts of bird and wildlife, providing food and shelter and producing intoxicating blooms that fill your garden with wonder and magic.
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