Indigenous gardens are beautiful, sustainable and highly beneficial!
In a time when sustainability is a hot topic, and we are reminded daily that preserving the planet is everyone's responsibility, we must look at whatever ways we can contribute. At Windy Willows Wholesale Nursery we are behind sustainability initiatives 100%, and have published several articles on water saving and landscaping to create waterwise gardens.
Another excellent way to ensure that your garden is eco-friendly is to make it an Indigenous garden. Although many people think these are not attractive, they couldn't be more wrong. Indigenous gardens are beautiful, sustainable and highly beneficial!
What are the benefits of Indigenous Gardens?
While we also love some of the most common exotic plants, such as Pittosporum shrubs or Roses, more and more of the stock we carry at Windy Willows is Indigenous. The benefits of creating an Indigenous garden are numerous, so we thought we would share just a few of them with you…
Water saving Gardens
As previously stated, water saving is one of the primary factors in enhancing sustainability. You can do this in various ways when landscaping and maintaining a garden, including using more water wise landscapi
ng, rainwater harvesting and implementing water backup systems. You can read about some of these here - https://windywillows.co.za/blog/
An Indigenous Garden is one of the best ways to save water. Most indigenous plants are hardy and survive in poor soil with little water. Some are even drought-resistant, such as the Agapantha, most Aloes, Bulbines, and Wild Iris (Dietes), to name just a few.
Evergreen and low maintenance Gardens
One of the great benefits of Indigenous gardens is that they are 'gardens for all seasons' and, in any season, require far less maintenance than standard gardens. They're primarily evergreen, providing greenery and flowers even in winter.
Eco-friendly Gardens
For those who care about our ecology, one of the most significant benefits of Indigenous gardens is attracting indigenous birds and wildlife, creating an essential habitat for natural fauna. The birds and butterflies and other wildlife have adjusted over centuries to our indigenous plants, so naturally migrate to gardens which include these.
Through careful planning, you can create an excellent environment for birds, bees, and other insects and a safe and natural place for our wildlife.
Medicinal Indigenous plants
You can have a great source of wellness right in your back garden, too, provided you know what plants are medicinal and their applications. Medicinal indigenous plants can be placed on your skin as a salve, ground with other herbs, or brewed with tea for colds, flu, and many ailments.
Beautiful! Gardens
A commonly held myth is that Indigenous gardens are dull and without as much colour. Again, nothing could be further from the truth. Even amongst the plants that require the least water, you have beautiful flowering varieties like the Wild Iris (dietes grandiflora) and the yellow Wild Iris (dietes bicolour), the Silver carpet with daisy-like yellow flowers (dymondia), the striking orange and blue Crane Flower (strelitzia), the fiery Krantz Aloe (aloe arborescens) and the sour fig which comes in many colours – again, just to name a few!
Choice and variety with Indigenous Plants
Some gardeners believe that you don't have the same choices when choosing indigenous plants, but this is a total myth. You only need to visit Windy Willows Wholesale Nursery in Honeydew to find out that the variety of Indigenous plants available to you is endless, and you'll find it hard to choose amongst the great varieties that we stock.
If you'd like to verify this for yourself or order online, you can visit our website and go to the plant selector to choose from our various plants. We would love to see you in person, though, so pop in and find out that, with the right advice, your indigenous garden will be beautiful, sustainable and highly beneficial!
Read next article: 7 'P's to create a perfect spring and summer garden!