Medicinal Plants Training

Plants were once our primary source of medicines, only to be replaced by Western medicine (usually coming from plant extracts). South Africa has been particularly blessed with an abundant source of medicinal plants, and a wealth of knowledge which is an important part of our natural heritage.

Prof. Ben-Erik van Wyk, author of the book “Medicinal Plants of South Africa”, is hosting a 1 day course at the Pretoria Botanic Garden on the 12 November 2011. The cost is R550 per person, and I'm sure it will be very interesting for anyone with a fascination for medicinal plants.

Contact Jolene at info@alut.co.za or 014 717 3819 to book for the course.

Bringing a Concept to Reality

Ok...well...it's been a while since I've had time to blog. I've had several projects on the go which have been taking up a lot of my time.

But I'm happy to say that the one that has been giving me the most sleepless nights lately, and the endeavour I'm most proud of, is the arrival of my daughter Emily Ann...

Romead Business Park - an inspiring green approach

Romead Business Park is quite an exciting project that I've been working on over the last year.  A prominent developer was looking for a new home for their offices, and rather than finding a cookie-cutter building for their offices, they decided to create their own space, and hopefully attract others with their same ideals.

Common Areas Landscape Plan for Romead Business Park

Their approach to the entire project has been quite refreshing. They found a property that was nestled in the escarpment below Kloof which was ideal from so many perspectives - a beautiful piece of land right between the Umbilo river and a part of the Durban Metropolitan Open Space System (D'MOSS). Part of the trade-off of developing on a slightly degraded section of this site, was to give a large portion of the property to be used as Open Space.

Grassland above Romead - the landscaping should eventually return to this

Their ethos behind the development has been quite inspiring - they have been looking for any viable opportunities to approach the project from an environmental perspective, which in these tough economic times is quite a brave stance. But altogether necessary from a long-term point of view. It's been an ethos that has come at a cost - both emotional and financial!

The design code for the development has been quite comprehensive and pioneering, and - I believe - one of the best guides for development from an architectural and landscaping perspective in Durban.

Some of the ideas that have been looked at, and in some cases, written into the design codes are solutions like rainwater harvesting, wind-turbines, creating mulch and compost from the existing vegetation on site, the use of indigenous planting and an approach that places an emphasis on the balance between aesthetics and function.

As the Business Park begins to gain momentum, I'm looking forward to seeing how it all comes together.

Beauty in Context

Landscaping in South Africa has its fair share of challenges. Not least of which is the huge disparity in lifestyles and priorities. I have created luxurious gardens in opulent neighbourhoods, while just over the hill, people are living in relative poverty. Sometimes 10 people to a shack, without the capacity for beautiful gardens. Maslow's hierarchy of needs is sometimes very obvious when living in a first-third world context.

Are Gardens Important Really?

A lady from our church who stays in one of these poorer areas (Cato Manor) recently had her house and all her belongings burnt to ashes. Fortunately she, and none of the orphans and children she cares for were hurt, but everything they owned is gone. I can't imagine what she must have felt to see all her possessions go up in smoke.
The good news is that several people have stepped in to help rebuild her house and put her back on her feet - the benefits of love and community!
Walking through the area today, I am reminded again of the imbalance that we live with on a day to day basis. Its hard to justify the need for spending money on creating gardens (or any art for that matter), when there is so much need around.

But 'imbalance' is probably a good word to use to describe the effect of financial extremes, as well as the difference between the two extremes. I believe a beautiful garden can do more to help restore the spirit, provide inspiration and aspiration, than almost any other art form. And is therefore almost as necessary as food for our bodies. People are at the heart of what we do when we create gardens, but people are multi-faceted and need more than just food.

Its within this framework that I choose to make gardens with little practical function other than food for the soul. But it is truly a careful balancing act that we need to walk, and community is at the core of what we do. The community are the clients we build them for, our staff we work with, the people we care for, and the people who find sustenance in enjoying the beauty of creation all around them.
Its in the context of community that my art finds meaning and value.

Poverty is also relative - A satellite dish in an umjondolo settlement!

Killing Your Dinner Guests, and Other Pest Control Solutions

Getting rid of pests in gardens is a tough subject. Its never easy watching bugs or other 'pests' eat their way through your beautiful garden. Especially when you've put in all that hard work, or spent all that money.

I left this little guy to eat what he wanted from my plants

But as with so many of the problems that we face in life, we resort to a knee-jerk reaction, or we respond emotionally. We don't stop to think things through properly. Sometimes it requires an unemotional look at, and a better understanding of the problem to decide what to do.
To put things in perspective, I look at pesticides (maybe we should more honestly call them naturecides because of the damage they do) in as serious a way as chemotherapy drugs. They should only be used in very serious situations, and when all other options have been examined and weighed.

Here's some questions to ask yourself before resorting to poisoning your garden with pesticides:

1. How serious is the problem?
Will the 'pest' kill the plant that it is eating, or will it just perform a natural function of cutting back, which gives space for new growth? Get some advice if you're not sure.
In most cases, its just a natural cycle, and the garden/plant will recover on its own without needing our intervention.

2. Is there a bigger problem behind this infestation?
Sometimes there are other reasons for a sudden increase in insect activity, but we end up treating the symptoms and not the cause. These reasons can be anything from a change in the plants ideal environment (too much sun, or shade), or even the over-use of chemicals in the past which has removed the pests natural predators or weakened the plant. Usually 'pests' increase when plants are weak and can't defend themselves.

3. Have I planted the right plant?
If we choose the right plant for the right place, it usually needs less attention. The right plant is usually less prone to attack from insects. Choose indigenous plants over exotics. Indigenous plants are normally more resistant to attacks.

4. Have I planted too much of the same plant?
Mono-cultures (a single type of plant spread over a wide area) are like an eat-all-you-want buffet. They're basically an invitation for insects and animals to come in take a load off, and eat to their hearts content. Most lawns are mono-cultures, and are usually the source of most problems.

5. Is this normal?
There is often a natural and harmonious balance between plant and insect that shouldn't be interfered with. Some plants actually need insects to eat them, to stay healthy. By spraying pesticides and herbicides, we're getting in the way, and could end up killing a lot more plants and animals than we intended.

6. Are you killing your dinner-guests?
This is really a follow up to the previous question. Most plants put "Open For Business" signs up in the way of fruit and flowers and juicy leaves. These attract insects for a reason, but these insects may sample other plants on their way in and out. If you plant a Butterfly Bush, it follows that you're going to see more caterpillars coming into the garden. Either get used to your visitors, or take the plant out.

7. Can I deal with them in other ways?
If at all possible, rather kill them by hand (or foot). If you're squeamish, there are plenty natural solutions out there; from beer, and grapefruit to chilli and flour. A little research usually yields a better solution (literally).

If none of these questions give you reason to resist the chemical route, then ask yourself one final question:

8. Is a little bit of chaos and mess not a good thing to have?
The need to have everything perfectly neat and tidy is sometimes a reflection of other issues that we are not dealing with, or other areas in our lives that are not under control. I believe that sometimes the challenges we face are there for us to confront the things we would rather not face.

If you still decide to go down the naturecide route, do it carefully and in a restrained way. But come back to these questions every now and then, and re-evaluate your garden as things change.

Cleaning Up The Garden

Pope Gregory XIII must have lived in Durban at some point when he invented the modern day calendar and assigned only 28 days to February. In Durban its the hottest, most humid month and thankfully there are only 28 days to get through! Unfortunately, for obvious reasons its also the busiest time of the year for us gardeners - the combination of the heat and rain means that you can almost literally watch the plants grow. Its also the time of the year when I appreciate how important good garden maintenance is to the success of any landscape project.

Sometimes a little wildness is good - a garden we did about 12 years ago reflecting off the pool

Its quite demoralizing coming back to a garden years later to find that the basic garden care hasn't been done and even in some cases finding that weeds have totally usurped the planting. Often, branches have grown out further than they should have, and the grass below has died. Regular composting has been neglected. The real value of the garden has all but been lost.

Garden Care has been on my mind a lot lately because we are in the process of turning over a new leaf in our business (please excuse the lame but apt pun).
For years, my focus has been on the landscaping aspect of our business. Creating gardens has always been my real passion and unfortunately, like a garden that's been left untended, the Garden Care aspect of the business hasn't had the attention it deserves.

For the last few months, I've been trying to revitalize the Garden Care component of our business. Like a real garden though, its been a difficult process. There have been some things we have had to prune right back, and still other areas we've had to replant entirely. I've been confronted with my limitations and insecurities - all good but painful realisations.

I have finally appointed a Manager to oversee all the maintenance functions of the business - someone who has all the skills and abilities I don't. Who'd have thought cleaning up, and letting go of the things you don't do well would be such a hard thing to do? Or maybe I'm just dense...

Its amazing though, how much better you feel when you clean things up. I'm looking forward to being more focused on the things I do well, and letting go of the things I don't. It's time to wear less hats around here. Talking of which, I better put my hat on and get back into the heat...

Wild Grass Identification Course

If you've been reading this blog for any length of time, you'll know that I'm passionate about indigenous grasses, and I usually look for any opportunity to use them in the gardens I landscape.

If you have a similar fascination for this beautiful, incredibly diverse group of plants, or you want to know more about one of the most threatened plant-types on the planet, or maybe you just love the way they look as they sway in the wind, then you should definitely sign up for a course on identifying wild grasses in Southern Africa.

Wild-grass expert Fritz van Oudtshoorn - the author of the Guide to Grasses of Southern Africa (an easy to use, essential field-guide to identifying grasses) runs courses throughout the country. I was talking to him this morning about the possibility of running a grass identification course here in Durban, and he was quite keen provided there were enough people to attend the course.

If you are interested in grasses, and would like to know more about how to identify them, please email me ASAP to let me know whether you would be keen. The price of the course would be R650 per person and would probably include lunch. The course would probably be around the end of January or beginning of February 2011.