In the 1960s and 1970s, horticulture and conservation lay in two different worlds. Carnation displays at local shows had few links to conservancies looking to secure the last pristine fynbos conservation areas adjacent to the suburbs.
But times have changed.
Traditional garden centres have increased the percentage of indigenous SA flora sold on their floors from 20 percent to 70 percent. While this is progress, the cutting-edge of change lies with growers who suggest you should be planting up your garden with local (endemic) flora rather than a broad sweep of (indigenous) plants that come from other regions in SA.
Neil Major is a local grower in the southern suburbs who would like to see gardeners growing more plant species that are endemic to the areas in which they live. He maintains that by planting local plants you will restore the endemic flora of the area, and reintroduce local fauna such as dwarf chameleons.
Born in Port Elizabeth and educated in Vereeniging, Major studied architecture at what is now the University of Johannesburg, before working in an architectural office in Gauteng for over a decade.
Escaping to Cape Town, he spent two years as a volunteer at the Two Oceans Aquarium, where he established a plant nursery on the roof of the aquarium, from where he could rotate plants into the landscaped gardens of the penguin enclosure.
With an interest in conservation and his newly-acquired nursery skills, Major established the Cape Flats Fynbos Nursery in partnership with the City of Cape Town Nature Conservation, and the Friends of Zeekoevlei and Rondevlei.
Situated in Grassy Park, the aim of the nursery was to fulfil the desperate need for plants endemic to the vegetation region known as the Cape Flats Sand Fynbos biome.
Primarily used in rehabilitation, as well as in landscaping projects in the local nature reserves, the plants Major propagated included several species which were not only threatened, but also endangered by urbanisation in the southern suburbs and Cape Flats.
Since those early days, Major has become a leader in the field of restoration gardening
His nursery is divided into the plants from three major vegetation types that make up three local ecosystems: Cape Flats sand fynbos, Cape Flats dune strandveld, and the wetland areas of Rondevlei and Zeekoevlei.
“The demise of the Cape Flats fynbos is a tragedy for local ecosystems. I think there is a great opportunity to encourage people to put those plants back into their gardens,” he said.
“Re-creating ecosystems is very difficult to get right, but we can at least make a start.”
What fynbos area does your garden fall into? And what should you be planting in your garden this weekend?
Cape Flats sand fynbos
Once the most widespread veld type in Cape Town, the remaining pockets of sand fynbos are to be found in Rondevlei, Kenilworth, Milnerton, 6 Base Ordinance Depot, Plattekloof, Tokai and Rondebosch Common. Regarded as critically endangered, only five percent of the sand fynbos remains in areas identified as “core flora conservation sites”.
Gardens that fall into the sand fynbos system are to be found in the area from Blaauwberg Hill west of the Tygerberg Hills, to Lakeside in the south, to Klapmuts and Joostenberg Hill in the east, as well as south-west of the Bottelary Hills to Macassar in the south.
Stripped of all seashells and nutrients, sand fynbos soils are acid and form deep, grey, regic sands, which are usually white.
Start by planting these three plants in your garden:
l Cinnamon daisy (Struthiola dodecandra) – grows to a metre high and has three flushes through the summer. Moth pollinated, it has a cinnamon scent in the evenings.
l Cape Flats conebush (Leucadendron levisanus) – has a beautiful texture, good shape, pretty cones and is long lived.
l Strawberry spiderhead flower (Serruria foeniculacea) – is critically endangered and has a feathery texture with amazing flowers.
l Slangbos (Stoebe plumosa) – is a glorious fynbos filler.
Cape Flats dune strandveld
Historically a buffer between the coast and the urban sprawl, the dune strandveld is critically endangered. With primarily alkaline soils, the area lies within the western shoreline from Cape Town to Bokbaai (including the Atlantis dune field), and on the False Bay shoreline from Muizenberg to Gordon’s Bay, being most extensive in the Philippi to Kuils River area.
On the West Coast, this fynbos ecosystem tends to have more succulent elements. The False Bay form is critically endangered and is characterised by dense milkwood forests, such as those that historically occurred at Noordhoek, Olifantsbos, Macassar and in Gordon’s Bay.
Only 30 percent remains of the dune strandveld, with only 19 percent in good condition. The invasive alien rooikrans is a serious threat, occurring over large areas, with Port Jackson wattle being more of a problem inland.
Start by planting these plants in your garden:
l Paint brush lily (Haemanthus coccineus) – a bulb which flowers from January to April.
l Rondevlei thatching reed (Thamnochortus spicigerus) – Rondevlei used to be covered in this fabulous restio.
l Dronkbessie (Solanum africanum) has spectacular lilac flowers and black berries.
l Tickberry (Chrysanthemoides monilifera) has glorious yellow flowers.
l Cobra lily (Chasmanthe aethiopica) – perennial with a fan of orange-red flowers.
l Butterfly lily (Wachendorfia thyrsiflora) – has panicles of yellow orchid-like flowers.
Wetlands plants
The wetland areas of Rondevlei and Zeekoevlei are critical to the functioning of the local ecosystem. Start by planting:
l Fish Hoek thatching reed (Elegia tectorum “Fish Hoek”, used to be Chondropetalum) – Grassy Park was named after these now rare endemic plants.
l Yellow lobelia (Monopsis lutea) – is a sprawling perennial herb with yellow flowers.
l Water reed (Schoenoplectus scirpoides) has fabulous seeds and can live in water or at the water’s edge.
l Rose vlei bush (Cliffortia strobilifera) – a shrub related to the rose family.
Interested in planting local? Visit the Rondevlei Nature Reserve Nursery, corner of Perth Road and Fisherman’s Walk, Grassy Park. Open seven days a week, 8am to 5pm. Contact Neil Major at 076 473 7095 or www.rondevlei.co.za. - Weekend Argus