The Zimbabwean Gardener Issue 13 Winter 2015 Low res | страница 3

Argentinian gauchos and air plants
In March, I was lucky enough to spend a month under the Argentinian sun.
As the Argentineans would say, I had ‘un espectacular tiempo’, spending
my days riding with gauchos, tasting wines, seeing old friends, and lapping
up the beautiful views of their exquisite country.
I spent the first week of my holiday riding with gauchos in the north
of Argentina. The gauchos, the South American cowboys, are much
romanticised about in many books and songs. It was interesting to learn
about the hard yet somewhat romantic life of the gaucho, while riding
through tobacco farms, along riverbeds, under gum trees and wherever
the path led us. In return, I had something I could teach them – the name
of some exotic plants we came across. It was like a parallel universe as we
share the same climate, friendly people, plants, economic situation, good
braais and much more!
However, the one thing, which was totally new to me, was the stream of air
plants everywhere in the north of Argentina. They were literally in any place
they could grip onto and not be disturbed: along electricity lines, covering
trees and any other out of reach place. Wanting to find out more about
this fascinating little plant, I jumped on to good ole Google and had a little
chuckle when I read this on the first listing:

“Air plants are perfect for those with a fear of houseplants it’s easy to grow and care for air plants!”
Deb Wiley, http://www.bhg.com/gardening/houseplants/care/grow-airplants/
Basically, air plants just feed off air and neglect, so the next time a friend
tells you, “I kill everything I touch”, give them an air plant with a sign saying
“Don’t touch me!” However, for those of you who have slightly greener
fingers, there is an article on indoor plants on page 14 on how to look after
them, plus a list of the hardier ‘not so easy to kill’ houseplants.
Ironically, when I was back in Zimbabwe at my first photo shoot, there
they were again. This time some air plants had made it into beautiful floral
arrangements to add texture. What an amazing combination – who would
have thought! You can see the talented Kirsty Benning’s article on page 20
on using flowers from the garden.
And I am sure that is not the last that I will see of this interesting plant, as
they are back in demand and very fashionable at the moment. Just google
‘air plant design’ and you will be in total awe of all the ways people have
used them in different design elements.
Happy gardening!

Kari

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