Indigenous Beauties : Aloe vanbalenii

Who needs flowers when you've got this Aloe in your garden?

Aloe vanbalenii

I started these 'Indigenous Beauties' posts as a way of highlighting indigenous plants that are not very commonly used in the garden, but really should be. This plant doesn't quite fit into that category, because I've noticed that people are paying more attention to this particular Aloe...and for good reason.

Aloes are especially useful in a garden, because they mostly flower in winter when everything else is looking dry and spent. Add to this, the fact that during hot, dry periods, the foliage of many aloes will start to turn red, and you'll begin to see their unique place in a garden.

Aloe vanbalenii especially, needs very little attention, and forms dense clumps of competing plants. In times of plentiful water, or in a little shade, their foliage is a pleasing apple green, but as the heat increases, they turn a deep orange-red colour. They remind me of a bunch (what is the collective-noun?) of Octopuses jostling for their place in the sun.

Their foliage looks great in combination with yellows and other warm colours. Here they've been planted with equally hardy silvery Kleinia fulgens to fill the gaps. The silver really emphasises their colour.

They are stemless, so they don't get tall, but each plant will spread to about 1m wide and about 50cm high. Their flowers are yellow, and occasionally pink.

A Time For Everything

Well, its been a while since my last post... the last few months have been quite difficult. My mom passed away last month after a long fight with cancer. We weren't taken by surprise, but I don't think you can ever be entirely prepared for losing someone close to you.
Her death has brought about a time of contemplation (which is probably quite common) in my life, and I haven't felt much like getting back into the daily tasks of life. The pull to continue with this blog has felt a little like the plant sitting on my window-sill, calling me to feed and water it and get on with life.
I haven't known how to get the process of writing going again, so I decided to start with where my thoughts are at the moment. So if you'll forgive this departure from gardening for a moment...

My Mom was an amazingly, strong, positive woman who taught me to enjoy life, and to squeeze every drop out of it. She had a pretty difficult time during her life, but she almost always had a smile and a laugh even when things were at their worst.

She was an expert markswoman receiving numerous awards for her shooting abilities. She enjoyed her shooting so much so, that she was back on the shooting range two days after having given birth to my sister.
Everyone who knew her, and especially those she spent time with in her last days were surprised at the measure of strength and positivity that she held right up to the end.

Thinking about the life she lived, makes me realise how much of our attitude and outlook is based on a choice that we make in every moment, in spite of our circumstances or situation. I 've also realised the need to prioritise the things that I value the most, and to try to keep my focus on the things that are most important. I hope I can savor every moment of life by a similar measure that my mother has set for me.

Almost Successful Minimalist Front Garden

I'd been waiting in anticipation when I saw the bones of this landscape being formed. I was looking forward to how it would turn out, because it looked like it would be something different to the usual front verge on Essenwood road.

As it turned out, it was different. But to tell you the truth, I was disappointed. Where it had great potential was in its basic structure, but it was let down from that point on.

Everybody has their own opinion on what makes a beautiful design, but there are some basic fundamental things that make a good concept into a good design. And only a good design can be beautiful.

To play with an old saying by St Augustine - In all things sensible compulsory, in all things aesthetic freedom, but in all things passion.

I appreciate the minimalist simplicity of the design, and it probably looked good on paper. Breaking the bank up using terraces was a good practical idea, and the curve gave it something fresh. The huge rocks emboldened the design. The use of Aloes gives a different feel, they're low maintenance, and when they flower, will look amazing.

But the positives can only carry it so far. The first and biggest flaw, is using grass that has to be constantly cut, more than a metre off the ground. Why not use a simple ground-cover, even something as over-used in South African gardens as Mondo grass would have been better from a maintenance point of view. Who wants to lug a lawnmower up onto a terrace?

Why do people over-use white pebbles? Gardeners that use them remind me of magpies that are just attracted to shiny and sparkly things, thinking that the garden will somehow be improved by them. As a general rule, use white pebbles sparingly. They seldom stay white anyway.

You should always be careful using contrast in a garden. There is a very fine line between contrast and kitsch. I believe the design would have been better if the pebbles used had picked up on another colour in the design - whether the rock that they are spread around, the plants used or even the colour of the walls.

In a situation like this, where the rocks themselves are the focus of the design, they should be chosen and positioned deliberately. Japanese garden design has very precise ancient guidelines for using rocks, and while this is not an oriental garden - those guidelines are built around good aesthetics, and should be followed more often than not if you want rock to work well in a design. But that's probably a post for another day. In this case, the third rock looked completely out of place - it was flat and didn't have the presence that the other rocks had.

Another basic mistake made, was not hiding the water valve (it was at least hidden in the standard municipal cover). The design could have been easily adjusted to obscure the box, while still giving access to the meter. It was painted the same colour as the wall, which helps to make it less noticeable.

The choice of Pachpodium as the main feature plant (although it is small it will get a nice size in a few years) for the back of the planting looks slightly out of place - but that's probably just my personal preference rather than any design flaw.

Some of these mistakes are basic, and some might seem nit-picky, but I think this little garden could have been very successful had the person who designed it paid that extra attention to detail, instead I think its been left a little short-changed.

A Crush on Chelsea?

Its not actually my thumbs that are green at the moment - I'm just generally envious after looking at photos of the Chelsea Flower Show. I've been wanting to visit Chelsea ever since I learnt how to say Chrysalidocarpus lutescens Agapanthus.


We miss-timed our holiday by a couple of weeks (in my opinion not my wife's) a few years ago while visiting the UK and back-packing around Europe, and didn't get to see any of the spectacular gardens on display. I did however, get to see a wall at the back of the Royal Hospital Grounds, as we got lost on the way to IKEA - but that's sadly as close as I've come.

I've developed this slight crush on Chelsea, because (judging from photo's only, mind you) you get to see what can be done, with a lot of imagination and similar quantities of cash. I'm sure that very few of the gardens are long-lasting, or could be easily transferred into a real-life garden. But Chelsea's gardens set a standard, and in some cases push the limits of what gardens could be in an ideal world.

So every year, I scour the internet for pictures, vicariously appreciating the gardens from 11000 miles away. But I console myself with the thought that in most cases the actuality of something isn't what you've built it up to be, and judging from my friend Viv's experience, it can be painful too.
She also wrote a story for the Times, in which she talks about how the budget's were pruned back this year, but that designers were taking a positive approach, and showing ways to garden on a small budget and recycle where possible.

I've also found some great pictures of Chelsea by Robert McMillan from Garden Focus.

So I guess another year goes by that I didn't get to visit Chelsea for myself, but so what...at least I have those amazing ice trays from IKEA!

Redesigning the Umhlanga Promenade

Umhlanga (the Zulu word for 'place of reeds') is a thriving coastal holiday town, within easy distance of Durban. Apart from catering to a regular influx of tourists throughout the year, it also has a large portion of permanent residents, and visitors from around the area. The beaches are great, with excellent waves for surfing, and rock pools for kids. There are amazing restaurants close by, and Gateway - one of the biggest shopping malls in the Southern Hemisphere is just at the top of the hill. But it has always had a bit of a run-down look about it.

A few years back I did quite a bit of work in the gardens at some of the main hotels on the beach in Umhlanga. It always struck me that the walkway in front of the hotels, was an amazing asset, that was not being fully valued.
It should be an ideal place to go for a walk or a run, or to take your dog for a walk, but the walkway was uneven and narrow in places, and it was not very well lit at night.

But recently, the municipality has been doing some improvements to the area. The entire stretch of coast has been re-designed to make better use of the beach, and to generally improve the walkway, landscaping, storm water run-off and access down to the beach. After the recent storms which washed away sections of the beach and dunes, retaining walls were built to prevent this from happening again.

There has also been opposition to the changes - as there always is. But some of the residents of the area's concerns are valid - they have been worried about (among other things) the improved access resulting in more noise, increased amounts of vagrants, and worsening of security in the area. All of which can be controlled or mitigated if taken into account in the planning and design of the promenade.

After taking a walk along the promenade yesterday - it is still under development - I was impressed by what has gone on since I last visited. The new pier with its whale bone structure looked impressive and gave a glimpse of what the finished promenade should look like. The promenade itself is wide and the finer details are pleasing. The planting is still being done, but a few of the hotels are also taking some initiative by improving and landscaping their access to the promenade. The retaining wall, along the length of the beach, although functional and necessary is the only aspect that I'm unsure of its long-term success. Any planting in the walls is unlikely to survive without a fair amount of maintenance, which I don't see happening in the long term. And besides I'm not sure how well the walls will stand up to stormy waves battering them anyway?

The finished Umhlanga Promenade should be an asset to the entire area when completed, and already people are using it. I was surprised to see how many families, walkers and runners were using it - even in its unfinished state in the middle of winter. I guess the glorious sunshine didn't hurt though?

Indigenous Beauties : Stapelia gigantea

I love using contrasts in a garden, and Stapelia seems to have more than its fair share of contrasts all in one plant. The best description I can think of for this plant is that its Pretty Awful - but in a good way?

Stapelia gigantea
Carrion Flower

If you are used to looking at the fairly nondescript succulent stems for most of the year, the flower when it arrives, starting with a blood red bud, opens up into an incredibly beautiful pale yellow flower. The fleshy flower itself seems too big for the small stems, and although it looks amazing, it smells terrible - unless you're a fly of course.

Its common name is Carrion Flower because of its use of its awful rotting flesh smell to attract insects - and particularly flies. The flies spread pollen from one flower to the next as the pollen sacs get stuck to them.

The stems are four-sided and are spineless, and are able to withstand extremes - from dry to relatively moist conditions. It can be planted in semi-shade, but will flower well in full sun. It would often be found in rocky, sandy soil, and even in rock crevasses, where its root benefits from the coolness of the stone. It's large flowers put on their show from summer to autumn.

They generally need a cool dry winter period, and can be cultivated very easily. Stapelia is definitely an easy plant to grow and look after - and is well worth finding a spot for it. But preferably where a breeze will dilute its odour!

Advice on Dealing With Your Garden Designer

I've recently had some meetings with an architect where I presented some ideas for a project in the Umhlanga area.
I had initially presented an idea to him, where he gave good constructive feedback. He was very clear about what he liked, and what he didn't like about the concept. We agreed on the areas that needed re-thinking, and planned to meet the following week to review the changes.

When we met again, he was very pleased with the final concept, and I left feeling quite relieved.
He was quite apologetic for being so direct with his criticism, but I assured him that I appreciated his feedback.
It really highlighted for me again the value of good, clear, honest communication. Only when we can speak openly without fear of offending, is it possible to get a final result that everyone is happy with. It was only because of his comments that I was able to improve on what I had initially drawn up.

Another aspect that is important to understand in this process of design is that when you are dealing with your landscaper/designer, nothing is final. Almost anything can be altered in order to improve the overall design, and its best to make changes earlier rather than later - because once the design is finalised, changes result in delays, which almost always bring extra costs.