Wildflower Blog

Due to a greater sensitivity to our environment as well as the realization that water use for landscaping purposes will probably become more restricted in the near future. Many landscapers have started to change their landscapes to be more representative of local plant diversity that is also adopted to local water availability.

A good mixture of grass species, combined with the right perennials, can deliver a stunning result. This however, can form the base of your garden, as one can incorporate plants from other regions, provided that the growing conditions are similar. Some Eastern Cape Watsonia’s, as well as my favourite – the Tambookie Thorn (Erythrina acanthocarpa), are well adapted to Highveld conditions and can be easily incorporated.

The picture below, showcases in part the Tambookie Thorn in flower, with a Chocolate Bush (Trichodesma physaloides), to the left. The Chocolate Bush, often described as a pre-rain flower occurs naturally in Gauteng and flowers very early in the season.

We selected and supplied the grassland plants for House Middleton in Morningside, for which Life Landscapes, who was the principal contractor on this development, received a South African Landscapers Industry (SALI) 2018 Gold Award. Published here in full, is an article on the project by Carol Knoll, as featured in the August 2018 edition of the African Design Magazine. We have removed the advertisements to improve readability.

If establishing a grassland landscape has been on your shortlist, now is an ideal time to act. I would recommend that the implementation of your grassland landscape is done in phases, with reducing formal lawn to an absolute minimum as point of departure.

Please share with us your experiences and any positive contributions will be appreciated.

Read the African Design Magazine Article