South African Beauty is Nearby

Leucadendron, known as "cone bush," requires male and female plants for seed propagation, and they "color up at this time of year to attract pollinators," Nicklin says. "The tops become bright yellow or red to bring insects in."
Photo Credit: Carlos Chavez/Los Angeles Times

Chances are some South African beauty is nearby. You just don’t know it. Calla lilies in bloom? How about trumpeting clivias? The strappy leaves of agapanthus? Those potted “geraniums” by your front door? They’re not geraniums at all, but Pelargoniums from South Africa. Take almost any freeway, and a South African daisy offers a splash of color along the way.

Many plants of South African origin fit so well in Southern California that we may not realize they aren’t native to our own Mediterranean-climate region. But there are many lesser-known South African plants that can contribute color, texture and interest to gardens here.

The western tip of South Africa is in one of five Mediterranean climate zones in the world. The area also is known as the Cape Floral Kingdom, one of the six recognized floral kingdoms on our planet and the largest of all in terms of plant variety.

The major vegetation type of the Cape Floral Kingdom is fynbos. “That’s fain-boss,” explains Laurence Nicklin, a botanist and garden designer in Ojai, a transplant himself from Cape Town, South Africa. “It’s derived from the Dutch and means ‘fine bushes.’ Think of it as a collective term for a group of plants—like ‘chaparral.’ ”

Seven years ago Nicklin was asked to design the South African demonstration garden at Seaside Gardens nursery in Carpinteria. Four beds of South African plants are one of several gardens on display.

Though many of the specimens are drought-tolerant, one finds an unexpected element of lavishness in their color, texture and form. Colors include rose and dark pinks, lavender and lilac, which are complemented by corals and apricots, testament to the designer’s eye. It’s the long-season color of South African plants and their short dormancy periods that appeal to the Southern California gardener, Nicklin says.

The 7,700 plant species of the fynbos include almost 1,000 species of daisies, plus the heath, reed and protea families.

One standout in the Seaside South African section is the evergreen shrub Leucospermum, known as “nodding pincushion” or “pincushion protea” for its distinctive, spiky, bright flowers. The cut flowers are astonishingly long-lasting, and various species can bloom for up to three months.

The ericas, or heaths of the fynbos, include 650 species of different colors and forms. Among the species at Seaside are the red-blooming Erica speciosa and the pink-lilac Erica hirtiflora.

The lovely Cape rush, a fine-leafed, flowing grasslike plant with arching, rounded stems and deep mahogany color, is a fluid architectural asset to a garden of Mediterranean climate plants.

Many fynbos species may not be for beginning gardeners or throw-it-out-the-window-and-see-what-happens freewheelers.

“Plants from the cape area do naturally well here in Southern California,” Nicklin says, “but there are a few things you have to do. The soil is more alkaline here so one needs to acidify the soil, but it is an easy process. The plants are drought-tolerant once established and are low-maintenance, but choosing the right species is important.”

Nicklin says proteas, for example, have delicate roots that do not like to be disturbed. Mulching is important because it keeps the soil cool, forms a natural weed barrier, cuts down on watering, and as it breaks down, feeds the plants. (Man-made nitrogen in fertilizer will kill these plants.) “Drainage is important,” Nicklin says. “I like to do raised beds—it gives a bit of definition to the landscape, especially in flat areas.”

The plant palette of South Africa is enormous. A Southern California gardener’s education might start with the well-organized site www.plantzafrica.com. Among the lovely specimen plants at Seaside is an 8-foot honeybush (Melianthus major). With its play of surfaces—blue-green on one side of its pleated leaves and gray-green on the other—and its spiky burgundy-bronze flower stalks in spring, the honeybush is a striking accent plant. Hummingbirds flock to its nectar, and it’s known to attract orioles.

Four interesting trees anchor the beds. The architectural aloe tree (A. bainesii) would make a striking focal point in a succulent bed. The South African olive, a nonbearing subspecies of the European native, can grow to 100 feet and would make a graceful, substantial shade tree. The mottled bark and twisting branching of a beautifully shaped karoo tree (Rhus lancea, a sumac) almost demands a garden bench. The fussy, short-lived, frost-sensitive but beautiful silver tree (Leucadendron argenteum) is native to only three forest areas in the Cape. Nicklin says silver flashing in the forest is a sight he’ll never forget.

Other irresistible plants: the sweet pea bush; the sculptural cycad called Modjadji’s palm; and a number of luscious bulbs, including corn lily and the naked lady, Amaryllis belladonna.

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