I was up in Vryheid over the weekend, staying at the Natal Spa. They have some really great hot springs there and a very cool, old-school garden. Situated in the centre of this garden were these two interesting cacti. I’m guessing they’re not indigenous to South Africa but are quite beautiful.
Cactus cacti
No cockle shells here, some stones.. When we think of gardens (particularly here in Durban) we often think luscious green… On the contrary, my mother, Helen, has created a unique and interesting garden mainly using stones, pot plants, succulents and cacti… I think the pics speak for themselves. Isn’t it cool?
Cool Garden 1
I planted this tree (known as Naboom or umPapha) a few years back not knowing how big it would get. Turns out, its going to be huge and near impossible to cut down due to its poisonous sap. Luckily it has room to grow and I find its flowers and berries rather beautiful. Birds are also very fond of the green fruits.
The plant is traditionally used to treat warts and chronic ulcers.
Naboom branch.
Today is the first International First Love Day over at BridgetMcNulty.com. As this is a gardening blog, I’ll stick to the first plant I loved and the first plant which got me into gardening, a little cactus I blogged about a few months ago.
What were the first plant(s) that got you interested in gardening?
In an earlier post, my mom asked for help identifying a cactus she has in her garden. Ross came to the rescue, pointing out that it is a Cereus peruviana and a category 1 invader! Needless to say, she now wants it out of her garden but if we cut it down with a panga we’re worried we’ll spread it around the garden and make the matter worse.
We also don’t want to use anything too toxic that would damage the environment and could get into the water table. I’ve heard that you could use diesel but I’m not sure of the application and what the implications would be. Any suggestions would be appreciated?
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