Hot and sunny wall gardens are notoriously difficult to plant up successfully. So, what plants will survive these conditions?

Many factors influence micro-climates: some we can manipulate to our benefit, others we either have to live with or find ways to mitigate their influence. It is worth taking the trouble though because even the smallest change in conditions can have a significant impact.

The client’s brief to landscaper Jenny Dean was simple: change a tiny corner of their tiny Hillcrest estate garden to resemble a snapshot of their Namibian break  – red-tinged boulders to resemble a rock wall, gravel to echo stony ground, and a smattering of succulents and grasses in between.

When designing gardens these days, especially wildlife gardens, we talk about mimicking a habitat. But it is challenging to translate a habitat type legibly and functionally, especially in small gardens. A woodland arrangement, for example, requires more than one tree to suggest woodland with its understory community of shrubs, perennials, bulbs, grasses, and groundcovers.

Dictionary synonyms like ‘soft’, ‘calm’, ‘balmy’, ‘soothing’ certainly help to make ‘bland’ a little more attractive, but I’ll admit, ‘insipid’, ‘wishy-washy’ and ‘drab’ are there too. In the shady areas of our gardens, the luminous orange-red Scadoxus blooms have died off, leaving the Bell Clivia, C. miniata, to carry on the vibrant display. But, when those flowers fade and plants recede once again into the monotonously green backdrop, what then?

Thriving verge designs translate well into resilient home gardens. Easy-care, low-maintenance and water-wise characterise the loose-limbed Plumbago auriculata; add sky-blue flowers for much of the year, and there is little to beat this well-loved shrub.

Thriving verge designs translate well into resilient home gardens. Successfully planted verges, for example, offer up a list of resilient species for our gardens as roadside plants battle challenging conditions to survive

There is never a good time for a garden to be without a comprehensive cover of foliage blanketing the ground. Whether faced with a cold winter, fierce summer sun, drought, wind, or torrential rains, the right plant cover can keep the garden intact, and add beauty and year-round interest while performing these duties.

Many perennials and bulbs ‘cover’ the ground effectively and are often included in this plant category, but, for this article, we focus...

For the designer, pathways are as fundamental to a garden design as the plants themselves; for the day-to-day gardener, paths lead both...

‘A game lodge feel’ was the spec given to Durban landscaper Miles Steenhuisen; a space in which suburbia disappears. No view of road nor...

The Plectranthus  species, arguably the showstoppers of the shade, are at their best in April, their gorgeous colours making them...

By Anno Torr It is now Aloe Season, and visitors to this garden are hard pressed to choose between gazing ahead at the stunning gorge...

Mention the word succulent, and many people envision a desert -like design.  Not so! The garden pictured here is alight with color year roun