Creepers
This fast growing creeper with succulent ivy-shaped leaves & cluster of sweetly scented small yellow flowers is an indigenous ideal alternative for invasive creepers. The Canary Creeper makes a stunning show from early Spring to late Summer. This creeper is evergreen except in areas with high frost occurrence. Senecios attract butterflies & bees to your garden.
Thunbergia alata – Black Eyed Susan alternative to Morning Glory
The Black Eyed Susan is another indigenous, fast growing climber that creates a stunning display in the garden. It doesn’t need any support & will ‘twine’ onto fences & pergolas. The masses of flowers attract insects and birdlife to your garden. Black eyed Susies come in shades of orange, yellow, purple and red, some with a black eye and latest hybrids with no eye.
Trees:
The Forest Elder is a small tree with a round, dense crown. This indigenous tree occurs naturally in forest margins & river banks. It displays beautiful round balls of fragrant creamy flowers from late autumn to spring, that attracts birds to your garden. The bark and leaves are used for medicinal purposes.
Ilex mitis – Cape Holly alternative to Pyracantha and Cotoneaster
The Cape Holly is a medium sized tree with a straight trunk and rounded canopy. It has small green leaves and is a frost-tolerant indigenous evergreen. Young branches are reddish purple in colour. Mature trees have whitish grey bark with dark brown blotches. Tiny white sweetly scented flowers in spring followed by masses of bright red berries densely packed along the stems and attracting many bird species. When the leaves are rubbed together they give off a lather, which was used by the Knysna woodcutters to clean their hands.
Water lily:
Indigenous water lily rooted in the mud of ponds and dams. It has rounded lily pad-like leaves that float on the surface with big blue water lily flowers from spring till late summer. One plant can cover an area of 1m. The flowers open late morning and close again late afternoon. White, pink and yellow variations have been seen.
Shrubs:
Wild Dagga puts on a stunning floral display, now, from autumn well into the cold winter months when few other plants flower. The flowers attract birds, bees and butterflies to your garden. Orange, yellow, white and apricot coloured varieties are available. Wild Dagga is easy to grow and loves well drained soils. Cut back hard after winter to ensure stunning flowers in the following autumn. The plant has many traditional medicinal uses.
The Num Num is a large shrub with glossy oval leaves and star shaped flowers in spring and summer, followed by large plum-like fruit. The shrub has big thorns and forms a dense impenetrable hedge often planted for security purposes. The flowers attract butterflies and the fruit birds to the home garden. The plant is very tolerant of salty sea air and sandy soils. The fruit can be eaten or makes lovely jams and jellies.
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