In the midst of the spring open garden season, it can be difficult to choose which direction to take in your meanderings; in person or virtually if you have limited time or finances at your disposal. Being a nursery owner and all, I am fortunate to get about a fair amount, but if time and finances were no object, Brahman Hills in the Natal Midlands would be right up there on my must-visit bucket list.
The luxurious accommodation and beautiful architecture aside, it's not hard to see why Brahman Hills is one of only two official Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Partner Gardens in South Africa and Overseas Regional Winner of the 2023 RHS Partner Garden of The Year competition. With their tiered terraces, expansive herbaceous borders, artful use of sculpture, and unexpected secluded garden rooms, you could be forgiven for thinking you are wandering through one of the iconic English estates created hundreds of years ago.
This one, however, is anything but centuries old. It wasn’t even built on an ancient farm or homestead. It came into being over a period of just eight months during the 2020 pandemic lockdown – with chefs, waiters and housekeepers mastering new skills under the direction of owner Iain Buchan and renowned landscape designer Tim Steyn. Fascinating information I gleaned from a recent Sunday Times article about Michele Magwood’s new book on the making of the Brahman Hills gardens – something for the must-buy bucket list!
I love a simple indigenous garden as much as the next person, but I still seem to be a sucker for the grand, the floriferous, the formal traditional. Does that make me a closet Anglophile, I wonder...
IN THE GARDEN
For many years, we have fought a losing battle with a series of rambunctious puppies who grew into rambunctious dogs over the state of our small patch of front garden lawn. Elna van Rensburg’s suggestion that we lay a chicken wire mesh over the entire area has given us new hope. She assured me that a standard lawnmower will manage fine as the grass grows. The cover has been installed under her supervision, and now we wait and see.
Zarah wondering where her playground is disappearing to
Hopefully the lawn will take its cue from the rest of the garden which has come alive in every way ahead of the festival of blooms in October. Buds, birds, bees, insects – and weeds – abound. There is so much to take in – the little salvia greggii, the leaves on the smoke bush (here’s hoping we have flowers this year), the moonflowers, new shoots on the trees. Plant heaven!
A new Abutilon seedling
Euphorbia palustris - what a beautiful weed
Geum -Blazing sunset
IN THE NURSERY
Click here to view all the plants in this newsletter on one website page.
Indigenous plants
Barleria albostellata is an upright approx. 1m high shrub with gorgeous big furry leaves and large white flowers from spring to autumn that attract bees and butterflies. Evergreen and semi-hardy, it is happy in sun or semi-shade.
The very rare epiphyte Dermatobotrys saundersii is indigenous to KZN and Transkei. This deciduous semi-hardy approx. 1m high perennial has veined toothed soft fleshy leaves and gorgeous scented tubular red flowers that attract birds from summer to winter, followed by scented fruit. It wants a shady position and works well in a container.
Strophanthus speciosus (the Corkscrew flower) is a scrambling woody based climber / shrub with scented yellow starfish-like flowers that attract birds in spring. Evergreen and semi-hardy, it grows on average 5m high and likes semi-shade. Note that the leaves, seeds and latex are poisonous.
The rare Syncolostemon rotundifolia has velvety white stems, small round grey-green leaves, and dense inflorescences of pink mauve flowers all season. Endemic to Pondoland, this tough dense woody shrub grows about 1,5m high and wants full sun.
Exotic plants
At last! Brugmansia – Charles Grimaldi is in stock again. The large scented orange flowers of this hardy fast growing shrub are a delight in summer. It can reach a height of 3m, and likes sun to semi-shade and moist soil.
While the very hardy Calandrina spectabilis is also happiest in sun to semi-shade, it wants dry sandy soil. This is a mound-shaped perennial succulent with fleshy blue-green diamond shaped leaves and poppy-shaped cerise pink flowers on wiry stems from spring to autumn. It makes an excellent container plant.
Cistus ladanifer is a rare dense waterwise Mediterranean shrub that attracts butterflies to the garden. Growing about 1,2cm high, it has narrow erect branches and large bowl-shaped white flowers – often with a basal dark purple blotch – in spring. Evergreen and hardy, it wants full sun and dry sand soil.
Iochroma australe alba (White angels trumpet) can grow about 1,8m high but can be trimmed to your preference. This floriferous upright evergreen shrub has large leaves and small trumpet-shaped white flowers all season, and is happiest in full sun.
SNIPPETS
Do keep an eye out for open gardens in your area and elsewhere over the coming weeks. If you live in or are going to be travelling through the Eastern Cape, drop in at Bedford for the little town’s Country Gardens festival.
FUN FACT
In 1805, South African scientist transferred the species Datura arborea to a new genus which he named after Dutch botanist Sebald Justinus Brugmans. In 1973 – after 168 years of taxonomic debate – the genus Datura was divided into two parts, and seven species were transferred to the genus Brugmansia. Interesting and useful information about how to tell Datura and Brugmansia apart can be found here.
Happy gardening!
Leoné
082 482 0257