Turraea obtusifolia

by Malcolm Hepplewhite | Jun 13, 2019 | Bird Friendly, Butterfly & Moth Friendly, Cold Hardy, Evergreen, Partial Shade to Full Shade, Shrub, Water in summer, Water-wise

Turraea obtusifolia, the Small Honeysuckle-tree is a very ornamental shrub well suited to gardens. It is evergreen with shiny, dark green leaves. It has fairly large, white flowers that are clustered amongst the leaves through the summer months. The fruit is a round...

Freylinia tropica

by Malcolm Hepplewhite | Dec 18, 2018 | Bee Friendly, Bird Friendly, Butterfly & Moth Friendly, Cold Hardy, Evergreen, Shrub, Sun to Partial Shade, Water-wise

Freylinia tropica in full flower in mid September, a spectacular show, Freylinia tropica, Blue Honey-bell, is one of southern Africa’s most attractive and versatile shrubs for the garden. It gets a showy abundance of flowers in spring, but has some flowers all through...

Grewia occidentalis

by Malcolm Hepplewhite | Dec 9, 2018 | Bee Friendly, Bird Friendly, Butterfly & Moth Friendly, Cold Hardy, Deciduous to Evergreen, Large shrub or small tree, Scramblers, Sun to Partial Shade, Water-wise

Besides being an attractive flowering shrub or small tree, Grewia occidentalis is an essential plant for all wildlife friendly gardens. It gets attractive star-shaped flowers that are pink to mauve. The flowers are followed by edible fruit that typically have four...

Leonotis leonurus

by Malcolm Hepplewhite | Nov 27, 2018 | Bee Friendly, Bird Friendly, Butterfly & Moth Friendly, Cold Hardy, Evergreen, More Sun than Shade, Shrub, Water-wise

Leonotis leonurus, Wild Dagga, is a very showy shrub and valuable addition to a garden. It bears stacks of whorls of bright, orange flowers towards the upper reaches of the stems. These nectar rich flowers are a big draw-card for sunbirds, other nectar feeding birds...

Searsia leptodictya

by Malcolm Hepplewhite | Nov 15, 2018 | Bird Friendly, Butterfly & Moth Friendly, Cold Hardy, Evergreen, More Sun than Shade, Small to medium Trees, Water-wise

A graceful, small to medium sized, evergreen tree, Searsia leptodictya, Mountain Karee, deserves to be more widely cultivated. One of Gauteng’s attractive evergreen trees, Searsia leptodictya, the Mountain Karee, is very graceful and feminine in appearance. It has an...

Felicia ameloides

by Malcolm Hepplewhite | Oct 22, 2018 | Bee Friendly, Butterfly & Moth Friendly, Cold Hardy, Evergreen, Full Sun, Groundcovers, Sun to Partial Shade, Water-wise

Felicia ameloides, Blue Felicia, is a cheerful and ‘sunny’ addition to any garden. Its daisy flowers are sky or even darker blue with yellow centers and are borne in profusion.  It can be mass planted as a groundcover, or mixed with other colourful perennials or used...