Converting an exotic garden to an indigenous garden

Perhaps you, like many gardeners, want to change your garden from being predominantly exotic to predominantly, or even totally, indigenous. Here is a wonderful article from Witkoppen Wildflower Nursery telling you exactly how to go about this.

There are many good reasons to go indigenous, but the more common ones are because you are environmentally aware and want to increase the biodiversity in your garden, want to use less water, or use fewer pesticides. Or you have realized that indigenous plants can add colour and interest to a garden, require less maintenance or maybe you just want to stay trendy.
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If you are new to gardening, or have not gardened with indigenous plants before, the prospect of converting your existing garden can be daunting, even more daunting than starting a new garden.  It need not be a traumatic an experience, and if you do your homework first and treat it as a long term project, it should be interesting and fun.

What is meant by “indigenous”.

A Celtis africana in my garden

Plants are deemed “indigenous” to an area if they occur naturally in that area, so, for example, Celtis africana (White Stinkwood, Witstinkhout) is indigenous to Africa. Plants are considered to be indigenous to southern Africa if they occur naturally anywhere south of the Kunene or Zambezi Rivers or the northern borders of Namibia and Botswana between these rivers. So, from our previous example, Celtis africana is also indigenous to southern Africa. Strictly speaking though, when speaking of indigenous plants, these should be limited to those plants that occur naturally within area you are speaking about. Most gardeners accept the broader definition for southern Africa. We can extend this by also including hybrids that have been bred from plants that are indigenous to southern Africa.

Do your homework

Before starting the conversion of your garden, find out which plants will grow in your area. There are some good books on gardening with indigenous plants in the summer rainfall regions. One of the best is Pitta Joffe’s Creative Gardening with Indigenous Plants. (Afrikaans edition ISBN 978-1-875093-36-6 and a new English edition co-authored with Tinus Oberholzer, launched on 1 September, ISBN 978-1-875093-99-1.) Also good are those by David and Sally Johnson, and Charles and Julia Botha, but remember that they garden in KwaZulu-Natal, where winters are in general not as harsh as those in parts of the South African interior.  Fanie & Julye-Ann Venter’s Making the most of Indigenous Trees is strongly recommended. The Gardener’s Tanya Visser and Anna Celliers’ book, Homegrown Garden Design, is about landscape design using indigenous plants.
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SANBI and some indigenous nurseries have good websites that provide information about indigenous plants and gardening with them. Find sites that are based in your area or at least a similar region so that information is applicable to your garden. If there is a National Botanical Garden in your area, visit it to see what the plants look like in cultivation and how they have been used.

Euryops pectinatus (Golden Euryops, Gouemagriet) growing and flowering beautifully in the dappled shade of Acacia karoo (Sweet thorn, Soetdoring) in the Free State Botanical Gardens, Bloemfontein. By visiting botanical gardens you will be able to see what plants will look like in cultivation, as well as how you can use them in your garden.

My 10-year old Acacia karroo in my garden

Establish your starting point.  Identify what plants you already have in your garden. Identify which plants in your garden are indigenous. You may be very pleasantly surprised to realize that you already have quite a few indigenous plants. Many common, widely grown garden plants, like Plumbago auriculata and Freylinia tropica (Blue Honeybell Bush, Blou Heuningklokkiesbos) are indigenous without gardeners realizing it. If you are uncertain of the plants, cut samples and take them to your local nursery and ask them to help. If you cannot get joy there, send us close-up pictures of the leaves, flowers and fruit (if available) and we will try to help you. Then determine which of the exotic plants are invasive or potentially invasive, as these will be the ones you should remove first.

The white form of Freylinia tropica (Blue Honeybells, Blouheuningklokkies) has become a very popular garden plant, but many gardeners do not realise that it is indigenous to southern Africa.

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Remember that you can use indigenous plants to create whatever style of garden you would like, from very formal to wild and woolly.  Plan for the style you want before you physically start changing your garden.
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Phase the changes
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It is very seldom that an existing garden needs to be totally trashed and re-started from scratch, rather phase the conversion.  If you decide to replace existing trees, see if you can use them to shelter their replacements for a few seasons before you do remove them. Remove the declared invasive plants before attacking the more benign plants. If you do need to fell the trees immediately, do not despair, because if planted correctly, most indigenous tree are quick growing and will quickly fill the gap. For shrubs, remove 1 in 3 or 4, plant their indigenous replacements and give them time to establish themselves before repeating the process. In this way you will not be left with a naked garden while the new shrubs get established, and use the existing plants to give more cold-sensitive plants protection through winter.

Remember to group together plants that have similar water and soil needs.
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If you are converting to an indigenous garden to attract more birds and other wildlife to your garden, select plants that will provide different types of food. Include a variety of plants that provide fruit, seeds, flowers and nectar. Select some that are hosts to insect larvae and so provide food to insect eaters, while ensuring that there are butterflies in your garden. You will be amazed at the life your indigenous garden will attract.
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Gardening is meant to be fun, so take time and plan carefully, and you will enjoy the journey to your new garden!

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Lost in summer

Summer is the season of simple and timeless joys. She frolics like a happy child between innocent spring and melancholy autumn waiting for us to embrace her unbridled delight with life. It's a time to engage in the simplest of tasks: weeding, watering, harvesting. And watching the garden dress herself in summer's glorious colours. The secret is in slowing down long enough to notice the simple miracles that surround us.

The Hydrangeas started blooming early this year and already the plants are full of large flower heads.
There are two flower arrangements in hydrangeas. Mophead flowers are large round flowerheads resembling pom-poms or, as the name implies, the head of a mop. In contrast, lacecap flowers bear round, flat flowerheads with a center core of subdued, fertile flowers surrounded by outer rings of showy, sterile flowers.
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Hydrangea flowers are produced from early spring to late autumn; they grow in flowerheads (corymbs or panicles) at the ends of the stems. In many species, the flowerheads contain two types of flowers, small fertile flowers in the middle of the flowerhead, and large, sterile bract-like flowers in a ring around the edge of each flower-head.

 In this photo, the beautiful lilac, star-like, fertile little flowers are clearly seen in the centre of the flower. They start off as small three or 4-lobed little bubbles, opening up as the lovely little centre, star-shaped flowers.
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Hydranges are native to southern and eastern Asia (China, Japan, Korea, the Himalayas, and Indonesia) and the Americas.

Last summer I was devastated when I noticed that just about all of my Agapanthus praecox Blue had succumbed to rot due to too much rain and being in too much shade. I took them all out, saved what I could and moved them to a sunny spot. My efforts have been rewarded and some of them have just started flowering and it’s early days yet, but soon this flower will be thick with these lovely, lily-like flower spikes.
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Some species of Agapanthus are commonly known as lily of the Nile (or African lily in the UK), although they are not lilies at all. All of the species are native to Southern Africa (South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Mozambique) though some have become naturalized in scattered places around the world (Australia, Great Britain, Mexico, Ethiopia, Jamaica, etc.)

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My first White Agapanthus ever! (Agapanthus africanus ‘Albus’)  It is bloomming where I only had blues last year. I doubt that there is a South African gardener alive that has not come across an agapanthus somewhere! They line our roads, and are in most gardens and parks, from the tall globular-headed ones to the ever-shrinking dwarf cultivars now available at garden centres. Most of the agapanthus that are grown are cultivars or hybrids of Agapanthus praecox.
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This evergreen species is indigenous to South Africa and comes from the winter rainfall Western Cape and all-year rainfall Eastern Cape and shed a few of their old outer leaves every year and replace them with new leaves from the apex of the growing shoot.

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Also known as “White Lily of the Nile” or “African Lily”, Agapanthus africanus ‘Albus’ are evergreen perennial with narrow, erect leaves and long-stemmed umbels of white, trumpet-shaped flowers in late summer. It makes a good container plant in colder areas or perennial color accent in outdoor beds where winters are more mild.
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Agapanthus africanus (African lily) is a native of the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. A. africanus is more difficult to grow in gardens than A. praecox, as they should be protected from severe frost.

One of my Geraniums has started acting weirdly, like she wants to be a Bonsai, so I've decided to accommodate her. I pruned off all excess branches, leaving just the three above and transplanted her into a shallow dish. From here on I will keep pruning, keeping to this desired shape and then transplant her into a nice Bonsai dish. She has the most gorgeous flowers, as you can see from the close-up below.

 

Yesterday I spotted the first flowers of the Acacia karroo high up in the utmost top branches of the tree. Soon all my Acacias will be covered in these beautiful little yellow pom-poms.

 Acacia karroo or Vachellia karroo, also known as the Sweet Thorn, is a species of Vachellia, native to southern Africa from southern Angola east to Mozambique, and south to South Africa. This beautiful indigenous tree grows to its greatest size when rainfall of 800-900mm is received but can grow and even thrive in very dry conditions such as the Karoo region of western South Africa. The requirement here is for deep soils that allow its roots to spread. Everywhere in its range, however, the tree is easily recognised by its distinctive long white paired thorns and coffee coloured bark, both of which are very attractive.

Summer is finally here! Take a deep breath. Summer is a simple reminder not to allow your leisurely summer visions to turn into frenzied schedules with no time for family connection. Create open-ended free time in your summer schedule, for gardening, spending time with friends and family in the garden and reap the fruits of your long hours of (enjoyable!) time tending to your garden.

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Acacia karroo (Vachellia karroo)

Pronunciation : vak-ELL-ee-uh kuh-roo

This is one of South Africa's most beautiful and useful trees. It is integrally part of our country's history having been used for everything from raft-making to sewing needles and fencing for the houses of the royal Zulu women. The thorns were even used by early naturalists to pin the insects they collected! It is very widespread throughout southern Africa and there are different forms in some places, which can be confusing. Acacia karroo may be found from the Western Cape through to Zambia and Angola. In tropical Africa it is replaced by Acacia seyal. The name Acacia is derived from Greek "akis" a point or barb. Karroo is one of the old spellings of karoo which cannot be corrected because of the laws governing botanical nomenclature (giving of names).

The sweet thorn makes a beautiful garden specimen. The bright yellow flowers, which appear in spring, look very striking against the dark green foliage. The rough, dark brown bark is also most attractive. The flowers are sweetly scented and are renowned for attracting insects which are essential to any bird garden. Birds also like to make nests in thorn trees as the thorns offer them some protection from predators. Caterpillars of 10 species of butterflies are dependant on the tree for survival. These include, the club-tailed charaxes (Charaxes zoolina zoolina) and the topaz-spotted blue (Azanus jesous). In cold and dry areas like where I live, the tree is deciduous.

 

Vachellia karroo has a life span of 30–40 years and is an adaptable pioneer, able to establishing itself without shade, shelter or protection from grass fires. Once over a year old, seedlings can resprout after fire. Several fungi are associated with this tree and the crown of mature trees may be parasitized by various mistletoes, leading to the tree's decline. This tree has a long taproot which enables it to use water and nutrients from deep underground, this and its ability to fix nitrogen, lead to grasses and other plants thriving in its shade.

 

Regions where the Acacia Karroo can be found - I can be found approx. where the red dot is at the bottom of Southern Africa.

This tree is especially useful as forage and fodder for domestic and wild animals. Apparently, there is no risk of poisoning from it. Goats seem to like A. karoo better than cattle. The flowers appear in early summer in a mass of yellow pompons and make a very good source of forage for honey bees; honey from it has a pleasant taste.

An edible gum seeps from cracks in the tree's bark. The gum can be used to manufacture candy and it used to have economic importance as "Cape Gum". In dry areas, the tree's presence is a sign of water, both above and underground.

It is a tree of open woodland and wooded grassland. It grows to its greatest size when rainfall of 800-900mm is received but can grow and even thrive in very dry conditions such as the Karroo region of western South Africa. The requirement here is for deep soils that allow its roots to spread. Everywhere in its range, however, the tree is easily recognised by its distinctive long white paired thorns and coffee coloured bark, both of which are very attractive. In the tropics it shows little variation but at the southern end of its range it becomes more variable in appearance.

This species of thorn grows easily from seed, which should be soaked in hot water and left overnight. You will see if this has been effective as the seed will swell up. Sow the following morning. Seedling trays with seedling mix can be used, or the seeds could be sown directly into a pot. Cover lightly with sand and do not allow to dry out. Germination usually takes 3 - 12 days. The seedling will transplant well in spite of the long tap root. Wait until they unfurl their second leaves before transplanting. This little one of mine is almost ready to go into the garden, I just have to find a LARGE empty, sunny spot for it.

 

Ripe pods split open to reveal the seeds. Image credit

 

Acacia karroo is regarded as a weed inAustralia

MIMOSACEAE (Thorn tree family)  

Common names in various languages include Karoo Thorn, Doringboom, Cape Gum, Cassie, Piquants Blancs, Cassie Piquants Blancs, Cockspur Thorn, Deo-Babool, Doorn Boom, Kaludai, Kikar, Mormati, Pahari Kikar, and Udai Vel

The thorns on my Acacia karroo brought to mind the thought that we could take a lesson from nature and use the ‘thorns’ to our advantage, like this tree does. These thorns provide safety from browsing animals for the tree. and they are a pretty adornment as well. By looking at the thorns in our lives as a lesson and something pretty, learning from the experience so that we can handle a similar situation better, we can also have protection against the thorny side of life.

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Summer's colours

summer’s colors

bending light

finding beauty

taking flight  

- unknown 

The season's first Marigolds have appeared after we had our (late) spring rains a couple of weeks ago. They are always first to add bright splashes of colour to the garden and it's amazing that these, often regarded as simple, little flowers can provide so much pleasure. And not only do they fill empty spots beautifully, they also keep all sorts of harmful insects at bay. Farmers and gardeners have long known that marigolds make important companion plants all over the garden. Not only does the scent of the marigold (Tagetes spp.) repel animals and insects, but the underground workings of the marigold will repel microscopic worms and other pests for up to 3 years.

No annual is more cheerful or easier to grow than marigolds. These flowers are the spendthrifts among annuals, showing a wealth of gold, copper, and brass into our summer and autumn gardens. Marigolds form the backbone of many plantings because of their diversity and adaptability. Use them freely in beds, borders, edges, pots, and boxes. They grow in almost any soil but do need lots of sunshine. Seeds sown directly into the garden about 1-inch apart sprout within days in warm weather and plants bloom in about 8 weeks.

But be warned! Their seeds are dispersed by the wind and if you are a fussy gardener, you might not be pleased that they suddenly appear all over the garden where you might not want them. Since putting in a few seeds a couple of years ago, I have never bought or planted marigolds again!

All the deciduous trees are also now dressed in their finest greenery and the soft green of the new Celtis africana (White Stinkwood) leaves look beautiful against the backdrop of the darker Karee lancea (Black Karee) leaves. The Acacia karroo (Sweet thorn) also pushed out their brand-new little leaves the day after our first shower.

Celtis africana (White Stinkwood)

Acacia karroo (Sweet thorn)

The thorns of the Acacia karroo are always an indication of how much water it gets - during the rainy season my thorns are always huge and fat. The sweet thorn gets its common name from the gum which is exuded from wounds in the bark. This pleasant tasting gum is eaten by people and animals, including the Lesser Bushbaby which feeds exclusively on insects and gum from trees, particularly acacia trees. And that reminds me, I haven't seen any Bushbabies for years, they used to be regular visitors to my garden... The same with Chameleons...

Flowers of the Acacia karroo usually appear early summer or after good rains, so I'm looking forward to these lovely little puff-balls!

The sweet thorn makes a beautiful garden specimen. The bright yellow flowers look very striking against the dark green foliage. The rough, dark brown bark is also most attractive. The flowers are sweetly scented and are renowned for attracting insects which are essential to any bird garden. Birds also like to make nests in thorn trees as the thorns offer them some protection from predators. Caterpillars of 10 species of butterflies are dependant on the tree for survival. These include, the club-tailed charaxes (Charaxes zoolina zoolina) and the topaz-spotted blue (Azanus jesous).

Flower of the Echinopsis cactus

Echinopsis are cacti native to South America, sometimes known as hedgehog cactus. They are fairly ball-shaped and can spread fairly fast, forming clumps of individual cacti that can be lifted and transplanted. They are renowned for their amazing flowers, often giant … 5″-6″ in diameter … and frequently dwarf the cactus that they grow on. Mine carry pink flowers but they come in reds, violets, oranges, yellows and numerous mixtures. Such a shame they only last a day or two after opening, though I guess that really makes them all the more special.

Lots of babies from just two mother plants

Pic taken 5am this morning

 It's amazing how one can water the garden every day for weeks and then just 20mm of rain and everything springs to life!

Geranium flower

 Nasturtiums

Arum lily

Naturtiums and a couple of leaves in a bottle of water hanging from a tree - don't keep your flower arrangements for just inside the house - they complement the garden beautifully if hung or placed in strategic spots.

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