For the first post of the Gardening in Cape Town blog, it seems like a good idea to start at the very beginning: Buying our house in February 2013 and starting a new garden to replace the old one.
The house was empty for several months before we bought it, so the garden was decidedly scruffy. The majority of plants were all boring, common species. I decided to rip out everything smaller in height than the fence and replace them with as many indigenous species as possible.
We painted the fence a dark green color, to make it less obtrusive when viewed from within the house. The next improvement was adding a neat brick edging around the lawn and a decorative wooden log edging around flower beds.
Enlarging the front flowerbed
First on our list of priorities was the lawn and small flowerbed at the front gate. This is the widest part of the garden, at about 7 meters from the house to the fence. I removed almost all of the lawn to expand the flowerbed, then replaced all of the plants. I also planted 2 indigenous, evergreen trees to create shade: Bastard Saffronwood (Cassine peragua) and Bladder Nut (Diospyros whyteana), both of which can be found growing on the slopes of Table Mountain. This bed contains sun-loving shrubs and perennials now, but will one day become a shade garden, once the trees are mature.
BEFORE: February 2013
AFTER: October 2013
Hedge of Kei Apples
Absolutely everything growing on this side of the house looked terrible and had to be removed. As this fence borders on a public park, I planted tall, thorny shrubs to create a hedge. The best plant for this purpose is the Kei Apple (Dovyalis caffra). This shrub grows to about 3 meters tall, growing appoximately 50 cm a year. They have vicious thorns and the female plants also have edible berries. Although they originate in the summer-rainfall regions of South Africa, they grow very well in Cape Town, provided that they are watered from December to March.
BEFORE: February 2013
AFTER: August 2013
A shady corner for Clivias
I had a lot of Clivias in my previous garden that I dug up and moved to our new house. As these bulbs need shade, I cleared the shadiest area in the garden and planted them here, underneath a palm tree and large old Viburnum. Clivia leaves turn yellow in sun, so it is important to ensure that there is enough shade to cover them, especially during summer. Clivias are also from the summer rainfall regions of South Africa and need water at least once a week from December to March. They flower in September and October (Spring) and are easily grown from seed once their berries turn red.
BEFORE: February 2013
AFTER: October 2013
Well, that's it for the first Gardening in Cape Town post, showing what happened in the garden during its first 6 months. Next time I will post articles on some of the best plants to grow in Cape Town.
The house was empty for several months before we bought it, so the garden was decidedly scruffy. The majority of plants were all boring, common species. I decided to rip out everything smaller in height than the fence and replace them with as many indigenous species as possible.
We painted the fence a dark green color, to make it less obtrusive when viewed from within the house. The next improvement was adding a neat brick edging around the lawn and a decorative wooden log edging around flower beds.
Enlarging the front flowerbed
First on our list of priorities was the lawn and small flowerbed at the front gate. This is the widest part of the garden, at about 7 meters from the house to the fence. I removed almost all of the lawn to expand the flowerbed, then replaced all of the plants. I also planted 2 indigenous, evergreen trees to create shade: Bastard Saffronwood (Cassine peragua) and Bladder Nut (Diospyros whyteana), both of which can be found growing on the slopes of Table Mountain. This bed contains sun-loving shrubs and perennials now, but will one day become a shade garden, once the trees are mature.
BEFORE: February 2013
AFTER: October 2013
Hedge of Kei Apples
Absolutely everything growing on this side of the house looked terrible and had to be removed. As this fence borders on a public park, I planted tall, thorny shrubs to create a hedge. The best plant for this purpose is the Kei Apple (Dovyalis caffra). This shrub grows to about 3 meters tall, growing appoximately 50 cm a year. They have vicious thorns and the female plants also have edible berries. Although they originate in the summer-rainfall regions of South Africa, they grow very well in Cape Town, provided that they are watered from December to March.
BEFORE: February 2013
AFTER: August 2013
A shady corner for Clivias
I had a lot of Clivias in my previous garden that I dug up and moved to our new house. As these bulbs need shade, I cleared the shadiest area in the garden and planted them here, underneath a palm tree and large old Viburnum. Clivia leaves turn yellow in sun, so it is important to ensure that there is enough shade to cover them, especially during summer. Clivias are also from the summer rainfall regions of South Africa and need water at least once a week from December to March. They flower in September and October (Spring) and are easily grown from seed once their berries turn red.
BEFORE: February 2013
AFTER: October 2013
Well, that's it for the first Gardening in Cape Town post, showing what happened in the garden during its first 6 months. Next time I will post articles on some of the best plants to grow in Cape Town.