September Bells  – Super Purple for Spring!

September Bells – Super Purple for Spring!

Polygala myrtifolia –  Common names: September bells, Bloukappie or September bush

The first day of spring is the first of September. No other plant shouts out “spring is in the air” as the September bush. They are covered in mauve sweet pea-shaped flowers in abundance on the first day of spring.

This fast-growing, indigenous shrub grows naturally round, making it a good choice for any fynbos garden. The myrtle-like leaves are a pale green and oval-shaped on slender branches. Polygala is endemic to the West Coast all along the coastal region through to Kwazulu Natal. It occurs naturally in the coastal mountains, forest, streams and open grasslands. It needs watering when newly-planted but drought-hardy once established.

The flowers are attractive sweet pea-like, pink to purple in clusters on the tips of the branches throughout the year. But, most prolific in September (hence its common name September bush). Nectar-rich flowers are where you will find the birds and insects. The seeds are also rich in protein and are a good food source for birds. Polygala plants also serve as the larval host plant to the Lucerne Blue butterfly.  Polygala prefers sun, although it will grow in semi-shade but will flower less. The flowers are also long-lasting in a vase indoors.

September bells

Being fast-growing, they need a well-drained loamy soil. In springtime, a good mulch of organic compost will improve flowering the next year. A good prune after flowering in spring will encourage more leaf growth. Polygala will do well planted into containers, as a hedge, and as screening plants. They can be pruned into formal hedges and is a good (and beautiful!) plant for planting as a wind barrier.

Polygala fruticosa “Petite” is a dwarf variety that grows up to half a metre. Polygala virgata is a slender shrub with needle-like foliage.

This colourful evergreen shrub is a perfect plant for small and large gardens as its roots are non-invasive. Charming and tough, Polygala is a must-have shrub for your spring garden.

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EURYOPS: THE YELLOW IN MY RAINBOW

EURYOPS: THE YELLOW IN MY RAINBOW

Euryops is an indigenous plant group from the Cape for the Cape. Winters in the Cape can be wet, windy and cold but with Euryops in your garden, your day will be filled with warmth and colour.

Euryops is a group of evergreen, hardy and bushy shrubs that grow fast, and are wind and frost resistant. They need a sunny position and will tolerate some semi-shade but will flower less. Plant them in well-drained loamy soil that contains plenty of compost. They are good landscaping plants where colour is needed, and because they are fast-growing, they quickly fill a gap in any sunny position. They are great plants for mixed borders, mass planting and rockeries. Euryops are low maintenance and only need pruning after flowering in spring to keep its shape. Also, every 2 to 3 years prune back hard to keep plants from becoming woody. In spring, give a good layer of compost, especially in coastal gardens.

Euryops are free-flowering shrubs that attract birds, bees and butterflies to any garden with the flowers also lasting some time in a vase.

Euryops pectinatus:

Common name: Golden Daisy Bush or Harpuisbos (afrikaans)

It is the shorter more compact growing Euryops with attractive, soft grey-green foliage and bigger, yellow, daisy-like flowers throughout the year but more in winter and spring. The flowers stand above the foliage, making it a striking eye-catcher specimen in any garden. Deadheading will help to prolong the flowering season.

Euryops virgineus:

Common name: Honey Daisy

The common name says it all of this Euryops. When flowering, it smells like a pot of honey and hundreds of bees will hover around the bush. Euryops virgineus’ foliage is a fine, dark green, fern-like foliage and at the end of winter hundreds of small yellow flowers will cover the plants for weeks. 

If you need an indigenous plant with little fuss and a lot of joy, then Euryops is the plant for you.

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WHAT PRUNING CAN ACHIEVE

WHAT PRUNING CAN ACHIEVE

Pruning and winter go hand in hand and play an essential part of a plant’s care whether it is a tree, shrub or groundcover. July in the Cape is rainy, windy and cold outside but this is the time to do pruning to encourage healthy growth, flowers and fruit for summer.

Why do we need to prune?

1.  Your first objective is to maintain the health of your plants by keeping your plants free from dead or diseased branches, and encourage new growth and healthy-looking plants;

2.  Prune to shape your plant as it grows, especially when it is young to make it bushier or more compact when using plants as a hedge;

3.  To prevent a plant getting too large for the space it was originally planted in, or when blocking a beautiful view;

4.  Plants can become old and leggy, but you can rejuvenate them by pruning them back, especially fast-growing plants needs regular pruning;

5.  Prune to correct some defect like eliminating branches that rub against other branches, or so that more light or water can reach the inner branches or improve air circulation. Pruning branches to correct the balance between the crown and roots promotes healthy plants;

6.  If your plant is a flowering or fruiting type, you need to prune to encourage the best conditions for prolific flowering and fruiting. Additionally, this allows air and sun to reach fruit in the centre;

7.  To achieve sculptural shapes, known as topiaries, the two-dimensional pattern achieved by pruning and tying fruit trees or shrubs to a frame (known as espalier). The deliberate dwarfing of certain trees or shrubs that mimic the shape of fully-grown trees in a small container (known as bonsai). These are all fashion novelties, and these differently trained or shaped plants are used as an architectural elaboration of your house.

Pruning is more than simply cutting of branches of a tree or a shrub to keep it from overgrowing. Pruning is the key to controlling the size or shape of your plants, their flowers and fruit. It also promotes new life in your garden as well as healthier and better-looking plants.

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SUCCULENTS AND THEIR MAGICAL HEALING POWERS

SUCCULENTS AND THEIR MAGICAL HEALING POWERS

Succulents are surging in popularity for several simple reasons. They are:

  • water wise
  • nearly indestructible
  • beautiful
  • adds colour and texture to your garden
  • easy to grow
  • easy to find especially those indigenous to South Africa. 

They also include some well-known medicinal plants. Even if you’re not a huge enthusiast when it comes to natural remedies, chances are you’ve heard of some of the health benefits of Bulbine frutescens and Carpobrotus edulis.

Bulbine frutescens

Common names: Cats tail, Burn jelly plant, Balsem kopieva

Bulbine frutescens occurs widespread throughout Western Cape, Northern Cape, Eastern Cape, Free State and Kwazulu Natal. It has great value in the home garden where it is a useful first-aid remedy for children’s everyday knocks and scrapes. Fresh leaves produce a jelly-like juice, squeezed and frequently applied, is amazingly effective to take care of a wide range of skin conditions and wounds. The list is endless:  acne, burns, blisters, cold sore (even in your mouth), cracked lips, nails and heels, insect bites, mouth ulcers and sunburn. Also, very effective for treating wounds, sores and rashes on both human and on animals.

The healing effect is likely due to glycoprotein, which is also present in the leaf gel of the Aloe species. In Limpopo Province, plantations of Bulbine frutescens have been established where innovative commerce skincare products are being produced. Some commercial shampoos include it as a moisturizer.

This easy to grow succulent for full sun and beautiful orange or yellow flowers in spring and summer is really one of nature’s finest medicinal plants. Used externally, Bulbine species are reasonably safe – just be sure to check for allergic reactions. Use with caution internally.

Carpobrotus

Carpobrotus spp.

Common names: Sour fig, Suurvy, Vyerank

Carpobrotus spp. are a superb water-wise plant, indigenous and frequently used as a sand binder, dune and embankment stabilizer, and also as a fire-resistant barrier. The yellow or pinkish flowers in spring are followed by edible fruit and is a very powerful remedy for constipation. The fruit can also be used for cooking jam.

Leaf juice is astringent and mildly antiseptic and if mixed with water and swallowed, it can treat diarrhoea and stomach cramps. It also can be used as a gargle to treat laryngitis, sore throat and mouth infections. Simply by chewing a leaf tip and swallowing the juice will help to ease a sore throat.

A crushed leave is a famous soothing cure for blue-bottle stings and, being a good coastal groundcover, it is often on hand when needed. The leaf juice is also used as a soothing lotion for burns, bruises, scrapes, cuts, grazes and even sunburn. It can be applied to cracked lips and to cold sores on and around the mouth.

Bulbine frutescens and Carpobrotus spp. are both useful plants to have in the garden, not only for its remarkable medicinal values but also for its ability to survive almost anywhere with minimum attention.  With very little water and care, these plants are a must for every garden.

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SUCCULENTS – THE GO-TO MEDICINE CHEST

SUCCULENTS – THE GO-TO MEDICINE CHEST

People have practised natural medicine for centuries before modern technology, and it is still used throughout the world for health promotion and for the treatment of diseases. Medicinal plants are more affordable than conventional medicine, easy to obtain, more cost-effective, has fewer side effects, and they utilise the body’s natural healing process, especially succulents.

It is important to remember that you should always double-check with your doctor before consuming anything new for your body. Also, refrain from using any pesticides or any harmful chemicals on your plants because you don’t want any of those chemicals in or on your body.

Sempervivum tectorum

Common name: House leek, Hens and chickens

This low growing rosette-forming succulent, from native Europe, has juice and leaves which have been used in folk remedies for centuries. It has anti-inflammatory, diuretic (increases the amount of water and is expelled from the body as urine) and astringent (helps body tissues to shrink) properties. Sempervivum is firstly famous for its skin treatment like burns, sunburn, swelling, scratches, insect bites and abrasions by using the juicy fluid from the leaves. Secondly, for earache. Here you can use cotton wool, soaked in the juice of the leaves of Sempervivum, and leave it in the ear for several hours. For side effects, please note some people can be allergic.

Interestingly, Romans used to plant Sempervivum in front of the windows of their houses because they believed the plant was a love medicine.

Portulaca afra

Common name: Spekboom

This wonder plant of South Africa has leaves which are thirst-quenching and will help with over-exhaustion, heatstroke and dehydration. This is a helpful trick for hikers and mountain climbers as this shrub occur naturally on rocky hillsides in the Karoo. The leaf is chewed and sucked and can also be used as a treatment for sore throats and mouth infections. Rubbing the leaf juice over blisters and corns helps to soothe and heal them too. The antiseptic leaf juicy is also good for treating acne, rashes, insect bites and sunburn.

Additionally, these succulents are a valuable stock food and can be used in your salad.

Crassula ovata

Crassula ovata

Common name: Jade Plant, Lucky Plant

Crassula ovata is not a major alternate medicinal plant but is recommended for warts. A leaf is cut open and the moist flesh is bound over the wart for several days with a plaster over it. Should the treatment be successful, the wart will fall off. It is also used for treating corns.

Cotyledon orbiculata

Common name: Plakkie, Pig’s Ear

The leaves of this beautiful grey-leaved shrub with its orange-red tubular flower can be pulped and hot water poured over it, then drained and used as a poultice (a soft, moist mass applied to the body and kept in place with a cloth) for drawing infection out of wounds and sores. You can also place a piece of the leave that has been scraped, over a wart and secure it with a plaster for up to 2 weeks. This treatment softens the wart and the wart should fall out. Warmed leaves applied to boils, abscesses, corns and also blisters can also be treated.

Crassula muscosa

Crassula muscosa

Common name: Lizard Tail, Skoenveterplakkie

This highly recognisable plant with its exciting architectural leaves and minute yellow flowers during summer are medicinally used to treat abdominal pain and diarrhoea. Infusions of the plant can be made but must be used sparingly.

Always remember it can be dangerous to use succulents as medicine without the supervision of someone who knows what he or she is doing, or without the knowledge of your doctor. I hope everybody will look with new eyes at succulents.

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