Babiana rubrocyanea
As for the daisy family, some of our
toughest and most free-flowering
garden plants, there are plenty of
indigenous examples to choose
from. From dainty Euryops virgineus to the showy and everpopular Gazanias, pretty, blue Felicias, and gorgeous Arctotis, there’s
a plant to suit every taste. And who
hasn’t scattered a handful or two of
Namaqualand Daisy seed to create
a blaze of colour in springtime?
There’s also been a fair amount of
innovation: horticulturists have
been selecting the best genetic
forms, creating hybrids and marketing their ‘new’ plants around the
world. Who can forget the excite-
Gazania Giant red
Cyperus albostriatus - Forest Star
Sedge
ment that once surrounded yellow
Clivias? They used to sell for hundreds of Rands – and there are still
some very special Clivia varieties
that people are even willing to pay
thousands for. Clivias, it seems,
have become the new orchids – at
least in terms of collectors’ value.
Absolutely practical
South African gardeners face a few
challenges. Our soils are generally
quite poor, most of us live in areas
that don’t get much rainfall, and
our summers a fairly hot. Most exotics really need a bit of help to
cope with all this, but of course, our
indigenous plants take it in their
stride with good grace.
Felicia aethoipica
Aristea major
Next time you’re in town, take a
look at the plants that have been
used to adorn smart office block
gardens, malls and so on. These
gardens are notoriously neglected,
so landscapers generally choose
tough indigenous plants to create
an attractive look without needing
a lot of attention.
Using plants for the filtration of
runoff water is one of the new
trends in landscaping, and the idea
of creating chemical-free swimming
pools in which plants are used to
clean the water is catching on in a
big way. Once again, our indigenous plants excel.
Euryops virgineus