Keep your garden bright and beautiful
Dr Elsa Pooley shares her valuable input on the best plants to choose this time of year.
Many are keen to create vibrant gardens with the arrival of spring, but the start of the El Niño weather cycle and the anticipated hot, dry weather need to be considered when choosing plants.
Renowned South African botanist, landscaper and author of best-selling field guides on wildflowers and trees, Dr Elsa Pooley, has shared her valuable input on the best plants to choose when considering hardiness, as well as aesthetics.
“The long-term weather forecast for this coming summer is that it will be a dry one, and with the potential challenges of global warming, indigenous gardeners are well placed to adapt to changing conditions,” said Dr Pooley, who oversees the Renishaw Hills indigenous gardens on the Mid-South Coast.
Dr Pooley said there are several beautiful flowering plants to look out for along the South Coast and beyond. This includes the Wild Dogrose [Xylotheca kraussiana] coming into fragrant white flower, and this can bloom throughout the summer.
A real harbinger of spring is the blossom-like Wild Pear [Dombeya rotundifolia], a small tree that is covered in bunches of white or pink flowers that show off against the rough dark bark.
A pretty flowering shrub is the Natal Plane or Mickey-Mouse bush [Ochna natalitia], with bright yellow flowers, pretty coppery new leaves and followed in November by bright red and black fruits.”
Looking at coastal forests in the region, many indigenous plants are making themselves known, such as the ‘glorious red flowers of the Paintbrush lily [Scadoxus puniceus] are a sure sign of spring’.
People can also look out for the River Lily [Crinum macowanii] with large bunches of beautiful white and pink flowers, fragrantly scented, particularly at night. The wild jasmine [Jasminum multipartitum] is also a sign of spring with massed bunches of white, tipped pink flowers with a lovely scent. It is slow-growing but tough and can handle all conditions.
Dr Pooley also advises people not to forget the daisies – starting in spring with many of them flowering throughout the summer.
“Another great spring investment will be Pelargonium hybrids, better known to gardeners as geraniums,” she said.
“The humidity at the coast is not the best climate for long-lived geraniums, but again, the investment is worthwhile for a few years of cheerful colour.”
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