Life is a Garden | South Africa |

As well as beautifying the landscape, trees are a valuable source of building material, food and medicine. In the garden, trees provide privacy, a shady place for picnics in summer, and a place for children to play. Evergreen trees offer shelter for wildlife; create air movement and help filter polluted air of cities. Many deciduous trees become richly coloured in autumn, and allow the winter sun in to warm the earth. Celebrate Arbor Week and help the environment by planting a tree. The two indigenous trees chosen for 2008 are the bladder-nut, Diospyros whyteana and the wild plum, Harpephyllum caffrum.

Other suitable trees include September Bells (Rothmannia globosa) with creamy-white, bell-shaped flowers that fill the garden with their sweet scent. This semi-hardy evergreen has dark green leaves and can be grown as a rounded shrub or trained as a small tree in sun or semi-shade. The boerbean (Schotia brachypetala) forms a shady canopy that sheds leaves in late winter just before the dainty red flowers appear in spring to provide a feast for nectar-feeding birds. In cultivation the boerbean usually reaches a height and spread of about 7m and withstands moderate frost.

Indigenous trees that have been chosen in the past for Arbor week, and that would be suitable for gardens, include coral tree (erythrina), karee (rhus), Bauhinia species, wild olive, pompon tree (Dais cotinifolia) and tree wisteria (Bolusanthus speciosus).

Planting tips

• Select the right size tree that grows well in your area, has a pleasing shape, and a non-invasive root system.
• Give your tree a good start by digging a large hole deep enough to take the root ball, and twice as wide, incorporating compost and a handful each of superphosphate and bonemeal into the topsoil.
• The day before planting, pour a bucket of water into the hole, and water the tree in its container.
• Remove the tree from its container and place at the depth at which the tree originally grew. Fill in with the topsoil.
• Stake firmly to avoid wind damage to new roots. Water the tree well immediately after planting.
• Leave a slight depression around the tree to retain water. Water well once a week until established.
• Spread a 5cm layer of mulch (bark chips, pine needles, nut shells) to keep the soil moist, keeping away from the stem.

Trees of the year - 2008

Two indigenous trees chosen for Arbor Week 2008 are the bladdernut (Diospyros whyteana) and the wild plum (Harpephyllum caffrum).

Diospyros whyteana is a small, evergreen tree with a neat growth habit, attractive, glossy, dark green leaves, small, white, bell flowers in spring, and fruit encased in papery cases that attract birds. It grows in semi-shade or full sun and is an excellent tree a small garden, can be clipped to form a hedge, grown in a container on a patio, and makes an attractive bonsai.

Harpephyllum caffrum is a fast-growing evergreen tree (10-14m) with dark green glossy leaves borne in a spiral pattern. The bark is smooth when young, becoming rough with age. Fleshy red fruit attracts birds to the garden, but female trees only bear fruit if a male tree is nearby.