Johannesburg - Show gardens are a barometer of what’s hot and happening in the green industry. More so overseas at the flower shows, where the latest and greatest plants get their spot in the sun.
Avid gardeners the world over generally can’t wait to see what beauty has been created and to ooh and aah over all the gloriousness the floral kingdom has to offer.
In Africa we know we have some of the best flowers in the world, so we are always happy to see them used and displayed to their best.
All too often, though, we find that people in the design and art fields are very informed by the trends being lauded overseas, and may tend to lose their way in bringing what is truly African to the table.
Happily, there was a strong African feel at this year’s Garden World Spring Festival (for directions, see: www.gardenworld.co.za) where “Nature’s Bounty” has been highlighted. After all, what’s good for Chelsea has to be good for us - just consider the amount of press that was given the southern African-themed garden for Sentebale, a charity Prince Harry founded which helps poor children in the small kingdom of Lesotho.
Although not quite spring (and with the recent very cold spells hitting the Highveld, it certainly doesn’t feel like it), there is an abundance of colour, and the promise of warm days to come in these show gardens. Taking their cue from one of our country’s finest floral tributes, the Kirstenbosch SA Chelsea Exhibit, 17 designers have created original ways to use not only our indigenous plants, but original African ideas, in city gardens.
There’s a lot of food for thought here - and not just from the food gardens! A reminder of how “the other half live”, where domestic gardens aren’t just luxury relaxation spaces. Plants aren’t just there to be beautiful for us.
They’re also there to “support” the family. This is a place where food is produced, where medicinal species are grown, and spiritual rituals can be held. A show garden full of hexagonal shapes and bug-hotels called ‘Oh Beehive’ forces one (in a cheerful manner) to confront the fact that our native bee populations are in trouble.
A lack of water and dearth of space in so many areas are dealt with by using every available area in the urban environment to create a garden room, while caring for the environment by using waterwise plants and ideas.
And, after the dreadful fires in the Cape, a garden, emerging from the ashes left in the fynbos brings us comfort as it shows how Mother Nature can take all that is thrown at her and come back stronger.
So this weekend (or any time in the coming month), go get some inspiration from some of South Africa’s rising stars who’ve done a great job in pulling off the seemingly impossible - a beautiful garden (or 17) in the midst of a Highveld winter.
* Join Melanie and Gardening 101 as it returns to The Home Channel (DStv 176) on a Tuesday at 9pm, with seven repeats throughout the week.
Melanie and landscape designer Michael Rickhoff host Grounded, a radio show dedicated to all things green, on 1485AM Radio Today on Saturdays at 11.30am (available on DStv audio channel 869).
Saturday Star