Estate Living Magazine Design for living - Issue 42 June 2019 | Page 49

C O M M U N I T Y
L I V I N G
• Mondo grass: Ophiopogon japonicus – although the thin-
leaved, deep green mondo grass isn’t indigenous to South
Africa, it isn’t invasive, and it’s incredibly useful and decorative in
courtyards and shaded gardens. Also, it tolerates some frost, and
it’s relatively hardy to drought. So it’s a fine choice for courtyard
gardens, for lightly shaded spots in larger gardens, and even for
the pots on your patio.
• Moss – not as difficult to establish as you might think, moss is a
good choice in shaded, moister areas of the garden. One way to
get it going is to collect a patch of the stuff from a similar area,
and crumble it between your fingers over the ground where you
want it to grow. Remember, though, that it wants to be kept moist
– not wet. And although it likes the light, it doesn’t like the sun.
• Succulents – we’d need more than half a page to list all the
succulents you can use as water-wise ground covers in South
Africa, but look for things like the bright green, creeping baby
sun rose (Aptenia cordifolia) with its tiny, but startlingy bright red
flowers; the various suurvye or sour figs (Carpobrotus sp) – the
yellow-flowered C. edulis or the cerise-flowered C. deliciosus
– both of which bear finger-sized, fleshy, triangular leaves,
and produce edible fruit; or, for the really unusual, the highly
decorative but easy-to-grow dassievygie (Oscularia deltoids),
with its toothed, sickle-shaped, blue-grey leaves that usually take
on a tinge of red in the dry season. If you want vibrant colour, the
iridescent, multicoloured bokbaaivygies (Cleretum bellidiforme)
will enhance any sunny space in your garden along the Cape
coast.
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