Rooftop gardens and living firebreaks Sunset-scaping with aloes
May’s Topic: Sunset-scaping with aloes
Theme: Rooftop gardens and living firebreaks.
Industry Expert: Ruthe Gray
Garden Centre: Ndundulu Aloes based in KwaZulu-Natal.
Have you tried growing aloes on your roof? What about around your property as a living firebreak? Ndundulu Aloes has shared some fantastic advice on this exciting topic that’s sure to inspire you and leave you well-informed. Take your aloe passion to new heights and learn about some gorgeous new varieties the Sunbird Aloe range has to offer.
1. We loved browsing your website and looking at the lovely selection of Sunbird Aloes you have. What inspired you to begin growing aloes? Why this species specifically?
I started to grow indigenous aloes out of necessity after moving to an old farm where the garden was neglected, old and overgrown. After clearing out a lot of dead trees and trees planted in the wrong places, I looked at the framework of the garden.
In summer, the temperatures can get up to 56°C. There was no irrigation in the garden and plants were scorched by the heat and the blazing sun.
After 3 years and the farm taking priority, I started to plant Indigenous aloes. They could cope with the climate here in Northern KZN. I started with 20 hybrids from the Sunbird Aloes range in 2015.
With their four different flowering seasons, this meant that I could naturally provide food for the wildlife in the garden. From there, the garden was redefined, with new Sunbird Aloes beds, berms and barriers. We only had 2 sunbird species in the garden before planting the aloes: olive and the scarlet chested. Within 4 years, we had 11 different sunbirds, which were recorded on the same day by a visiting bird group.
