Love the greenery, the burst of hues, the fresh scents and general aura that comes with having a well-kept garden, but don’t have the time – or heck, the mere patience – for all the work required to make it everlasting?
Don’t fret. The solution to your problem is simple:
Transform your garden into a succulents and cacti haven.
Succulents require very little care and attention, yet they provide year-round foliage. And the bonus? Well, not only will you be saving time and energy, but you’ll be on-trend too.
Yes, succulents have made a huge comeback recently and it’s all thanks to their funky shapes, textures, colours and eye-catching forms.
Not motivation enough? Here are more reasons to consider them:
• They are slow growing and need minimal care, so there is no need for excessive maintenance.
• Most succulents tolerate extremes of climate like baking sun, strong winds and even frosts and so are very adaptable and easy to grow.
• Their clean lines, striking forms and dramatic silhouettes fit into today’s modern and simple styles of homes and décor.
• The increased interest in indigenous plants and the environment means more attention is focused on many of our unique South African aloes and succulents.
Follow these tips to create your “lazy” garden:
Grouping: Group or mass the same succulent for the best effect.This is a simple tool for the low maintenance gardener, who wants the greatest impact with the least amount of work.
Repetition: Repeat the same plant in the same pot to create a striking feature.This could be small low bowls with echeveria (succulent roses) on a window ledge, or huge modern pots with aloes or euphorbia.
Contrast: The succulent world has an amazing array of different textures and colours. Clever gardeners will combine contrasting succulents to add extra interest to their gardens. Spiky, toothed, spongy, and rounded shapes or foliage of gold, copper, silver, bronze, red, green etc can be very appealing.
Simplicity: The simple shapes and forms of many succulents lend themselves to being used as focal plants in very minimalist landscapes, window boxes and pots.
Accessorise: Much like wearing jewellery, succulents are even more eye-catching if paired with accessories.They work well with different colour pebbles, gravels and stones and pair well with materials like glass, stainless steel and weathered copper. Succulents also add emphasis to ethnic style gardens and pots, and highlight modern space age design.
Visit www.homedzine.co.za for more garden tips.
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