Building a house and garden on one of the renowned ‘Thousand Hills’ of KwaZulu-Natal was no walk in the park! I had big dreams and firm plans about a garden ‘on the level’ with an expansive lawn bordered by wide, mixed beds filled with flowering plants despite the natural topography of the land. It turned out this dream was quite a challenge and resulted in a lot of earthmoving.
I suppose I could have just settled for the usual cement retaining blocks often used to retain banks, but my budget was tight, and I wanted a more natural look with bold rocks and dry stone retaining walls. My dad trained as a stone mason and some of the stones used in my wall were the original stones the two of us collected when they were blasting for the new N2 highway to Scottburgh. I moved around with these stones until I had my own property.
A set of curved sandstone steps was also one of my extravagances I was definitely going to have.
Vegetating the slope
The first objective was to plant strong focal plants like bold aloe species and lots of succulents to stand out as contrasting plants, to bind the soil, and also to soften the rock edges with their lush and spreading growth habits. As new aloe hybrids became available and I fell in love with their strong clumpforming and free-flowering habits, I added swathes of them.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der April 2023-Ausgabe von The Gardener.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der April 2023-Ausgabe von The Gardener.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
A Touch of Class
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Bordering on food aggression!
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Give your new koi the best start
Big deal GLADIOLI
To get balance in a flower bed, we rely on tall flowering plants to provide height and show off amazing blooms. One of our favourites to plant are gladioli. They might look impressive, come in some gorgeous colours, and are great for a vase, but they are also easy to grow with a few golden rules.
PRETTY FILLER Scabiosa
There are over 70 varieties of Scabiosa (pincushion flower) in both the annuals and perennials categories with arguably some of the best ones local to our country, and excellent pollinator attractors too.
TRIPLE treat
A floral combo that's bursting with colour
CHLOROSIS how to fix it
Chlorosis is not a death sentence for your plants. With prompt identification and the right interventions, you can restore your plants to their lush, vibrant selves.
COREOPSIS 'UpTick'
For an easy-to-grow, tough perennial, with masses of pretty blooms, plant Coreopsis hybrids and watch the bees and butterflies come into your garden.
Decorative Dahlias
With a little basic care, you can grow these showstopping plants in your own backyard with minimal effort.
The beauty of BEGONIAS
For endless colour and a garden that looks vibrant throughout the seasons, these are your go-to choices.