Add colour to your garden

Aloe, aloe, here’s an easy way to make your garden glorious,

TO CELEBRATE Youth Day, I took a drive to a nursery in Mid-Illovo called Gwahumbe Nursery that has one of the best collections of Aloes in the world.

To spend a few hours walking among thousands of Aloes of all different sizes and colours has to be one of the best ways to enjoy a holiday.

Every morning I wake early and sit outside and watch sunbirds dart between flowers, intoxicated by the abundance of nectar in the flowers.

While walking through my garden I was pleasantly surprised by a bulbous herb I planted a few years ago. Haemanthus albiflos, better known as the White Paint Brush, was in full flower.

If planted in mass, it creates a lovely under story ground cover.

Haemanthus albiflos is a species of flowering plant belonging to the family Amaryllidaceae, native to South Africa. It is an evergreen bulbous perennial geophyte grown for its unusual shape and ability to take extreme conditions and neglect.

It is also the only Haemanthus species found in the summer and winter rainfall regions of South Africa, mainly with a coastal distribution from the Western Cape to KwaZulu-Natal, and best grown in cool, shady spots.

The genus Haemanthus gets its name from haima (blood) and anthos (flower). In cultivation, the upper half of the bulb is usually exposed, bright green and often covered in short, soft hairs with occasional yellow spots.

Once a year it produces a pair of new leaves that are evergreen and can have up to three pairs of leaves. In late autumn and winter, brush-like umbels consisting of multiple white florets are borne on longish stems.

These last for about a week followed by fleshy white oval fruits once the florets have been pollinated. Haemanthus albiflos grows to about 30cm tall and 15cm wide.

It is grown by most nurseries but sadly not used much in the landscape. It comes down to knowing your plants and how best to use it in your garden. I have seen this plant grown by the thousands under a canopy of trees in deep shade and all in flower. Many people use this as an indoor pot plant in a shady part of the house. It prefers not to grow in full sun, is very tolerant of under-watering and if grown in a pot likes to be restricted in a small pot.

It is easily propagated from offsets, which may be removed once the parent plant has finished flowering. Offsets can be separated from the parent plant carefully and preferably when they have some roots. Remove the offset and plant in a small pot and water. Do not over-water this offset because it could rot from too much water. Another way to propagate this bulbous herb is by collecting the fresh seed from the seed head, but this process will take much longer. If you are looking for an easy growing, shade loving, bulbous herb then you need look no further.

I have just finished landscaping a garden in uMhlanga where the client was very particular about using lots of indigenous grasses and Aloes. One of Durban’s most popular grasses, Aristida junciformis or the Ngongoni grass has been used well in the area’s landscape.

It creates an excellent ground cover which prevents soil erosion in the high rainfall areas in which it occurs, but sadly is no good as a grazing grass. It requires very little attention or water.

Winter brings so much colour to the landscape. Why plant an Agave from Mexico when you could plant an Aloe? A lot has to do with just not knowing. Here are a few of the top winter flowering trees, shrubs, groundcovers and succulents that you could plant in your garden.

Most Aloe species flower from late May through July

Hypoestes aristata (Ribbon Bush): purple flower

Leonotis leonoris (Wild Dagga): variations of flower colour from orange to white

Strelitzia reginae (Bird of Paradise): flower for many months

Kniphofia praecox (Red Hot Poker): flower best in wet areas

Tecoma capensis (Cape Honeysuckle): especially the orange variety

Plumbago auriculata: in blue and white

Erythrina species (Coral tree): red and orange flowers

Barleria obtuse (Bush violet): blue flowers

Becium obovatum (Cat’s whiskers): creamy white flowers

Crassula multicarva (Fairy Crassula): its pinky red flowers

Bulbine natalensis (Broadleaved Bulbine) yellow flower

Turraea obtusifolia (small honeysuckle): white flowers

If you need info or help with gardening queries please contact me on: cgmdalzell@gmail.com

This article is sponsored by Chris Dalzell Landscapes, specialising in landscaping, consultation and botanical expeditions.

TRIM: Many flowering shrubs, in particular Leonotis leonoris, pictured above, and Hypoestes aristata, would have finished flowering so must be cut back to a third of their size.

PAINT-BRUSH PERFECT: Haemanthus albiflos, better known as the White Paint Brush, was in full flower. If planted in mass, it creates a lovely ground cover.

GROUND COVER: One of Durban’s most popular grasses, Aristida junciformis or Ngongoni grass, is an excellent ground cover and creates a wave of dancing foliage.

REFRESHING: To spend a few hours walking among thousands of Aloes of all different sizes and colours has to be one of the best ways to enjoy your day.