Indigenous fairy tale trees Industry Expert Q&A
September’s Topic: The local magic spring brings
Theme: Indigenous fairy tale trees
Industry Expert: Brett Hughes
Garden Centre: Tree Factor in Limpopo
Calling all tree-loving landscapers and gardeners – are you ready for a gust of sensational wind through your branches? Our industry expert, Brett Hughes from Tree Factor, has treated us to a simply divine spread of wisdom and passion with an equally magnificent tree selection! Spring is 100% bringing that local magic.
1. Your stunning variety of trees and “greening the way” for SA approach is truly inspiring and awesome! Please tell us more about your philosophy and why trees are so important/beneficial?
As a horticulturist for the past 35 years, I have seen the deforestation in our own country today, despite the world’s plight on the current carbon footprint and efforts to plant up highways and urban areas. There are particular points that I would like to make in this regard – not purposefully highlighting the destruction, but in an effort to showcase the undesirability thereof.
Firstly, we have organisations like SANRAL – stripping trees on the side of our roads and highways by the kilometre, sometimes only marula trees being kept but destroying all the other hardwoods, which is not desirable. And then we get Eskom who eliminates every single tree within 20-30m of every powerline – that’s millions of trees being taken out annually. There’s also the mining industry, who are not under pressure anymore to rehabilitate like they used to. I think the councils are trying to put their efforts into planting trees, but again, I don’t think government is giving them enough budget to plant trees and to support our industry enough. There is definitely some effort needed to help and put pressure on government to get the local councils involved in tree planting again.
The local magic spring brings September Botanical Boss
The season of renewal is upon us, bringing in hope and fresh positivity. Spring is Mother Nature’s reminder that even after periods of hardship, the storm will always pass when we embrace and trust in the great cycle of life. Turn to your garden for some uplifting enchantment as we explore the stunning local magic spring brings this September. Life is a Garden, with help from our industry experts - Random Harvest Nursery and Tree Factor, have complied a list of SA’s most unique and unusual plants and trees.
Indigenous fairy tale trees
Sweet and special - The Snuffbox tree (Oncoba spinosa)
- Appropriately named after its local use for snuff making by crushing the edible hard-shelled fruit. The fruit is round and shiny red-brown in colour.
- They grow to a height of 3 to 4 metres, have a non-invasive root system, and will flourish in full sun with sandy, loam soil.
- Trees are valued for their dramatic white flowers that have a special melon-like scent, making them a perfect choice as a fragrant ornamental too.
Odd and extraordinary - The Sausage tree (Kigelia Africana)
- After treating us to a blood-red/maroon flower show that hangs off branches in long panicles, sausage-shaped fruit are an equally amazing sight.
- The smelly flowers, which bloom all night, attract pest-controlling bats that pollinate them. The sausage fruit is actually a huge berry and can grow up to 5m and weigh an astonishing 6.5kg’s! Beware – these sausage berries are not for humans human consumption but many garden visitors will feast on them.
- Grow these trees in full sun with composted soil that is slightly acidic to neutral.
“Ultimately, I believe if we don’t start planting trees in urban zones we’ll never catch up. If everyone plants at least one or two trees in their lifespan, it will make a huge difference” – Brett Hughes, Tree Factor.
Unique and unusual indigenous plants Industry Expert Q&A
September’s Topic: The local magic spring brings
Theme: Unique and unusual indigenous plants
Industry Expert: Jonathan Taylor
Garden Centre: Random Harvest Nursery
A hidden gem awaits you in the golden highveld of Muldersdrift, Johannesburg. Random Harvest Nursery specialises in indigenous plants and trees and they also have a lovely tea garden with seasonal homemade goods. Bring the kids and let them enjoy the creature treasure hunt or sandpit play area. Here’s what they had to say about the local magic spring brings this September!
1. We love that Random Harvest has such a large variety of indigenous plants to choose from! What are some of your top sellers?
Ornamental veld grass species are always a winner. We have such an array of indigenous grasses to choose from that can be used to create stunning meadow gardens - from small species of 20cm tall like Hartjiegras (Eragrostis capensis) to tall options like Boom grass (Miscanthus junceus), and everything in between!
Boom grass stands out with lovely soft pink plumes while Snowflake grass (Andropogon eucomis) has fluffy white seed heads. Sickle grass (Pogonarthria squarrosa) has seed plumes that are almost black when the sun catches them. Just in terms of colour and texture, these alone can create an eye-catching display. Clever placement of species, depending on their ultimate growing height and the interplanting of flowering species, creates a rich, seasonally changing garden.
Trees for small spaces are also one of our top sellers at the moment. As gardens are decreasing in size, people need to select trees carefully. The need for screening, privacy, shade, and a sense of green in an outdoor area can be achieved by planting the perfect tree. A few great options for a small space are: False olive (Buddleja saligna), Forest lavender (Heteropyxis canescens), Boxwood (Gonioma kamassi), Wild pride-of-India (Galpinia transvaalica), and the Glossy white ash tree (Bersama luscens).