Maybe it was just a long, lonely COVID-19 winter or I am the eternal optimist, but I think Spring is in the air. Or if it is not, it is a good time to start thinking about it. And now I am talking on behalf of your garden. The year 2020 can perhaps be characterised […]
The Veld Wall
Keyes Art Mile, Rosebank, Johannesburg In line with the need to enhance urban biodiversity, this is a green wall or vertical garden with a marked difference; a meaningful experimental project which is being championed by the developers of The Art Mile, Tomorrowco. The Gro-wall is planted solely with plants from a highly threatened veld type […]
How To Create A Grassland Garden Plant Palette – A Step-by-Step Recipe
More and more people are becoming interested in converting their gardens to have a more natural look. Water consumption is obviously also an issue (and believe me, is going to get worse). The following is a step-by-step recipe for doing the plant layout of a grassland garden. This is a real life example with real […]
Grassland Biome Plants for Gauteng Gardens – Article Series
Grassland biome plants are dominated by grass species. Trees are sparse, except in a few localized habitats. Bulbs and other plants with an underground root stock are often abundant. Frosts, fire and grazing maintain the grass dominance and prevent the establishment of trees. We’ve written a series of articles to help you choose grassland biome […]
A Quick Introduction To Earth-Friendly Gardening
One of the most fundamental questions that we must ask ourselves is why earth-friendly gardening is so important and such a debated topic today? Before we try and address this question, let us first evaluate our local scenario. We really live in an extraordinary environment. If you really want to experience a time warp, drive […]
Case Study: Creating An Extensive Residential Green Roof
A Shallow Kind of Green By Martine van Rooyen and Johan Wentzel The English TV show ‘Grand Designs’ should be accompanied by a warning for viewers. Watching this programme will make you feel that you could, and should, also build that slightly different masterpiece that will become a great family home. So when we returned […]
Grassland Garden Maintenance
A grassland garden contains the grasses associated with our Grassland Biome as well as the perennials and geophytes that also occur amongst the grasses. One can consider this as a locally flavoured “meadow” that the British are very fond of. Although a low maintenance garden, it is certainly not maintenance free. But let us first […]
Granny’s Kitchen
We are so used to Woolies (or something similar) for putting food on the table that we tend to forget that there was a time when we were actually hunter-gatherers. So, I thought it appropriate to look at Granny’s kitchen for some inspiration. If caffeine is keeping you awake or make you too energetic, don’t […]
Rehabilitation of Disturbed Land
By Dr. Johan Wentzel Published: 30 January 2017 Copyright © All Rights Reserved Read and Download Publication (2MB) “In the end we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand; and we will understand only what we are taught.” (Baba Dioum, 1968.) The rehabilitation* of disturbed land, especially in an urban […]
Try The Truly African Way Of Landscaping
The current mainstream approach to landscaping in South Africa still has its roots in the Western European model. The general approach is a beautiful garden full of flowers with straight lines, small variety and trimmed edges. In other words, dynamic exterior decoration that is pleasing to the eye, but high maintenance and to a large […]