Gardenig in South Africa. Tips & Guides

Discover the enchanting world of lilac flowers, a gardener’s delight renowned for their intoxicating fragrance and mesmerizing shades that range from classic lavender to deep purple. If you think you know lilacs, think again! This guide will take you on a journey through the various Types of Lilac Flowers to embellish your garden!

How to Overwinter Nemesia Flowers

Hailing from South Africa, agapanthus can be evergreen or deciduous; the deciduous varieties are the most hardy in this country. The evergreen varieties grow in the southern Cape in milder areas, so will need frost protection in the UK – or they can be grown in pots and brought inside.

Chlorophytum comosum ‘Vittatum’ — available from Hortology

Following on from our first foray into cooking on the new frontier stove, we found we had plenty of heat left in the fire and decided to make a cup of tea. There is an attachment you can buy (although it’s not readily available at the moment, and costs around £100) to turn the stove chimney into a water heater. That would keep the flat of the stove free for cooking while you heat the water. But there’s also a metal plate you can remove to give a pan or a kettle direct access to the fire.

There’s a lovely article on BBC Nature today about how ants sow the seeds of the Cape. Researchers have been investigating the Fynbos habitat of the Cape region of South Africa and the climatically similar south west of Western Australia. These biodiversity hotspots have a large proportion of plants that are myrmecochorous – their seeds are dispersed by ants.

Header image: Prof Shuo Wang/Shi et al., 2022, Author provided

Chris D Thomas, University of York; Jack Hatfield, University of York, and Katie Noble, University of York

Explore the best Cold Tolerant Indoor Plants that thrive in chilly conditions. These hardy houseplants bring nature’s charm to your cozy spaces!

String of Watermelon, also popular as String of Melons or Senecio herreianus, is a unique and visually stunning trailing succulent that can be great for small spaces!

Native to South Africa, Streptocarpus – or Cape primrose – are lovely house plants that are grown for their fresh green leaves and pretty, primrose-like flowers in the UK. The flowers come in a wide range of colours, from white to pink, blues and purples, lemon yellow and red, and they are often bi-coloured. They bloom from spring though to autumn, offering a long-lasting display. Plants in the ‘Crystal’ series flower for even longer, and may even flower all year.

This archipelago of some 140 islands basks in the Gulf Stream of the Atlantic. The islands’ powdery, white, sandy beaches and warm microclimate, give them a sense of being much further from the rest of Great Britain than they really are.

With their exotic looks, unique colors, and rarity, these Most Expensive Succulents in the World will appease all who wish to add a touch of luxury and rarity to their home.

The tropical rain forests of South America hold a treasure when it comes to plants that are beautiful, exotic, and can make for great houseplants. Have a look at the most amazing South American Indoor Plants you can grow!

Gerbera are ornamental plants that are related to sunflowers. They are very popular as a decorative garden plant or good as cut flowers. Most Gerberas are result of a cross between Gerbera jamesonii and Gerbera viridifolia. The resulting Gerbera hybrida are basically of South African descent.

I wanted something to look forward too and another trip to Madeira seemed appropriate. For the time being a virtual trip to this garden paradise of an island must suffice.

Requiring less watering and weeding than any other type of garden, a gravel garden is ideal for anyone with a busy lifestyle. Comprising freely draining soil covered in gravel, through which suitable plants grow, the only effort required is in its creation; after that, this contemporary form of garden largely looks after itself.

A pothos at Patch Plants

Pencil cactus plants look like they would be fussy, but they’re actually very easy to grow and care for.

If you want your garden to keep looking good throughout the months ahead, then these fabulous plants are sure to bring a boost of colour throughout late summer and autumn. There are options to suit every colour scheme, and plants that will thrive in pots as well as your borders. Our choices include recommendations from the Gardeners’ World team and familiar faces from across the gardening industry.

I remember the first time I saw a calla lily (Zantedeschia aethiopica). I was watching an old Katherine Hepburn movie, “Stage Door.” She swept into the room with an armload of calla lilies and, in her breathless voice, exclaimed, “The calla lilies are in bloom.” Ever since then, the classic beauty of calla lilies has fascinated me. The genus, Zantedeschia, was named in honor of the Italian botanist Giovanni Zantedeschi. The common name, calla, is derived from the Greek word for beautiful.

Pineapple lilies (Eucomis species) are one of my favorite summer flowering bulbs. These attractive perennial bulbs originate from South Africa, and the long, strap-like green or burgundy foliage adds a tropical and textural flair to the garden setting. There are more than 10 species of Eucomis, with new hybrids constantly being developed by breeders. The first pineapple lilies were exhibited at the Chelsea flower show in England in 1760. Eucomis ‘Sparkling Burgundy’ is one of the most well-known pineapple lilies with purple foliage and was introduced by Plant Delights Nursery in 1983.

Looking for the most beautiful and sweet-smelling blossoms? Discover a curated selection of the finest White Fragrant Flowers that will delight your senses and add a touch of elegance to any space.

Lovers of succulents and oddball plants in general grow bowiea with most of its showy, round green bulbs above the soil surface, and with its twining filigree of stem-like foliage trained up onto some kind of support. That’s how the plant in my dining room (shown) is growing right now. Probably neither is what happens in the wild, but no matter; let the foliage climb up something or let it dangle; bury the bulbs a lot or hardly at all.Order a baby at Logee’s, or better yet order three and cluster them in one pot for company. Each bulb can reach 8 inches in diameter over time, and as for the foliage—there seem to be no end to it (until it simply stops).What matters is that you give it bright light and gritty soil and respect bowiea’s desire to sleep all winter. Stop watering it when the tendrils start to turn yellow and dry up in fall, then water not at all or very rarely when it is sleeping. I usually give it a little drink perhaps once a month in winter out

It should be no surprise to me that it was Dave who created this new online application, since besides his garden expertise, Texas-based Dave is a programmer (and the founder of Dave’s Garden, which he ran before moving on to start All Things Plants). Dave was the guest on this week’s “A Way to Garden” public-radio show and podcast, where we discussed the new Garden Planting Calendar app. (Stream the show now; get it on iTunes, or Stitcher, or at RobinHoodRadio.com.)“My wife, Trish, is actually the one who pushed me to do this,” says Dave, adding that the Garden Planting Calendar took him only two months to develop and launch. It gives you first and last frost dates (where applicable) and sowing and/or planting dates by crop, based on the location you enter.The app started with just U.S. weather data, but Canadian users quickly said, “What about us?” so Dave added that i

I WAS GIVEN A POT OF EUCOMIS BICOLOR, the so-called pineapple lily (guess how it got that name), by a friend who was moving and couldn’t take it along. Why had I forgotten how easy this wacky-looking South African character, whose genus name means well-haired because of the tuft of brachts topping the flowerhead, is for overwintering in the basement here? From its moptop to the purple-mottled stems and freckled leaves to its long-lasting, trouble-free performance, there’s nothing about Eucomis bicolor that I don’t like—except that I don’t have more.

As our conversation took that unexpected turn, from Begonia to Brugmansia and beyond, apparently my plans for what I’ll grow in pots in the garden this summer shifted, too. Long-blooming brugmansias in a range of colors—some not so big as the traditional types I’d known, and even one that makes a good big basket (top photo)—sounded really good. Other gems from South America and South Africa, some with hummingbird-attracting flowers and others (like Papyrus) just exciting for it’s form and foliage, caught my ear, too.Byron Martin of the famed Logee’s retail and mail-order nursery in Connecticut was my guest on the May 2, 2016 edition of the public-radio show and podcast, and he’ll probably   shake up your idea of annual color as well. Read along as you listen to the May 2, 2016 edition of my public-radio show and podcast using the player below. You can subscribe to all future editions on iTunes or Stitcher (an

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String succulents and plants are very trendy, easy to grow, and perfect for hanging baskets and pots as a spiller. With their addition, you can be the most fashionable plant grower in your circle.

Showy and vibrant, fiery Crocosmia flowers are ideal for the late summer garden, blooming for weeks when many other perennials are fading and spent.Summer-flowering corms, they quickly form vibr

Want to know How to Grow Spider Plant Outdoors? This guide has all the tips and tricks you need to ensure they stay healthy and thrive in the garden.

These are the Most Popular African Houseplants that are also high in demand thanks to their care-free and easy-to-grow nature.

Here’s a robust storage solution for your tongs, charcoal and other random grilling stuff. Plus a great gift idea for Father’s Day!

There are many ‘Flowers that Start with ‘G’, and in this list, we have compiled the best ones from all across the world. We have also noted the blooming season, annuals, and perennials for your reference.

Martha Washington Geraniums produces vibrant and showy blooms in shades of pink, purple, and white. With proper care and attention, these plants can provide color and beauty to your garden or home for years to come!

When it comes to enjoyable South African exports, the cape marigold comes to mind.Dimorphotheca sinuata is a self-seeding daisy-like annual in th