The Working for Water programme – introduced through the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry – is a staunch fighter against alien invasive plants in South Africa.  It is estimated that around 10% of our country is covered with approximately 9000 species of alien invasive plants, which steal water, nutrients and sunlight from our native flora.

The Working for Water programme was initiated in 1995 and has since then cleared out more than a million hectares of alien invasive plants.  It works in conjunction with the Departments of Agriculture, Trade and Industry, and Environmental Affairs and Tourism, as well as, local governments and communities.  Around 20 000 people are trained and provided with jobs every year, due to the Working for Water programme.

This programme uses four methods of clearing and controlling areas which have been invaded by alien plants, namely mechanical (felling, burning and removing), chemical (environmentally safe herbicides), biological (species-specific diseases and insects), and integrated methods, which combines all of the above.

You can do your share of working for water in your own garden, by planting only indigenous gardens and by employing environmentally friendly measures in dealing with pests and diseases on your plants. 

A water wise garden consists of plants that do not require a lot of watering.  These plants are normally indigenous plants, which can survive on rainfall and do not need additional watering.  Succulents are also very water wise plants and look beautiful when planted in masses. 

Hard landscaping features, such as sculptures, trellises, wooden decking, cobble lines, stepping stones, cement screed blocks, feature walls, garden benches and other exterior décor will decorate your garden and requires no water.  Different textures will add dimension to the garden lay-out.

By reducing your lawn area, you will also save on water.  Mulching – layering bark chips, hay, pebbles or grass cuttings – will keep the soil around your plants moist for longer periods and therefore require less watering.

When you have a drip-irrigation system installed, you will also save water.  You can set your irrigation system to water the garden at certain times of the day, such as early morning, when the sun will not just evaporate all the water.

Even weeding regularly will make your garden water wise, as all these unnecessary plants also use a lot of water. 

By using organic fertilizers in your garden, you will be applying responsible measures to ensure that your plants are healthy and grow to their best potential.  You will also be contributing to the fight against soil and water table contamination. 

Organic fertilizers, for instance raise the nutrient content in your garden soil, which feeds your plants and assists the roots of your plants in getting optimal nutrition from the soil.  The three most important nutrients needed by your plants are phosphor, potassium and nitrogen.

Another advantage of using organic fertilizers is that it enhances your soil composition and improves water retention, which in turn does its part in combating drought.

By using organic pesticides in your garden, you will be applying responsible measures to ensure that garden animals, birds, insects, reptiles and amphibians will not suffer poisoning. You will also not harm your pets and you will be contributing to the prevention of soil and water table contamination. 

The landscaping experts at Kingfisher Landscaping design and implement exceptional and beautiful gardens in a professional manner and can provide the home owner with any exterior decorative feature.  We pride ourselves in providing our clients with excellent, efficient and comprehensive service.  We offer all the products and services associated with creating a peaceful, and aesthetically pleasing outdoor living space which will complement the style of your home and in which you can relax.

You should carefully consider the selection of plants for your garden, in order to ensure that you do not plant invasive alien plants. These are plants that are not indigenous to South Africa. They tend to grow faster than our indigenous plants and can easily take over. They also take up precious water, nutrients and light which is more needed by our native plants.

Many of us have invasive exotic plants in our gardens, such as lantana, pipe grass, cat’s claw creepers, privets (ligustrum robustum privet), water hyacinths and wattle, jacaranda, pine and seringa trees. Rather opt for indigenous plants in your garden.

Indigenous gardens are not only less expensive, water wise, hardy and proudly South African, but also very versatile. You have thousands of indigenous plants to choose from, which means you can design your garden in a variety of styles, ranging from tropical to bushveld. Another advantage to indigenous gardens is that you will attract birds, insects and animals to your garden; creating your very own ecosystem in your backyard. You will also be contributing to the preservation of our indigenous plants.

Typical indigenous plants that we use include tree aloes, cape aloes, marlothii aloes, honey suckle, clivias, agapanthus, arum lilies, bulbines, wild garlic, acacia trees, olive trees, white stinkwood trees, and indigenous grasses, such as three awn grasses, thatching grass, buffalo grass, broad-leaved turpentine grass, bristle grass, Natal red top grass, red grass and fountain grass.

The landscaping experts at Kingfisher Landscaping design and implement exceptional and beautiful gardens in a professional manner and can provide the home owner with any exterior decorative feature. We pride ourselves in providing our clients with excellent, efficient and comprehensive service. We offer all the products and services associated with creating a peaceful, and aesthetically pleasing outdoor living space which will complement the style of your home and in which you can relax.

By using organic fertilizers in your garden, you will be applying responsible measures to ensure that your plants are healthy and grow to their best potential.  You will also be contributing to the fight against soil and water table contamination. 

Organic fertilizers raise the nutrient content in your garden soil, which feeds your plants and assists the roots of your plants in getting optimal nutrition from the soil.  The three most important nutrients needed by your plants are phosphor, potassium and nitrogen.

Another advantage of using organic fertilizers is that it enhances your soil composition and improves water retention, which in turn does its part in combating drought.

Manure – especially chicken manure – is the main ingredient in organic fertilizers.  Additional ingredients, such as blood meal, plant shavings, bone meal and are used to complete the mixture.

When you think about it, organic gardening harks back to the original way of farming, before all of these artificial fertilizers were created and utilized.

In order to supplement your organic fertilizers in your garden, you can – and should – apply layers of mulch to your garden beds.  This will facilitate the virtuous qualities of your organic fertilizing efforts.

The landscaping experts at Kingfisher Landscaping design and implement exceptional and beautiful gardens in a professional manner and can provide the home owner with any exterior decorative feature.  We pride ourselves in providing our clients with excellent, efficient and comprehensive service.  We offer all the products and services associated with creating a peaceful, and aesthetically pleasing outdoor living space which will complement the style of your home and in which you can relax.

The Tree Euphorbia (euphorbia ingens) is fleshy, prickly and has many branches, resembling candelabra.  10ℓ or 20ℓ tree euphorbias also make for beautiful, sculptural pot plants. 

These plants also require very little maintenance and will flourish both indoors and outdoors.  Tree euphorbias grow quickly but, are also easy to transplant.  Therefore, you can remove them from the pots and plant them in your garden, when they grow too big.  They are sensitive to frost, so it is best to put them in a sunny area and out of the wind, during winter. 

Pot – or container – gardening is a very low-maintenance way of creating a garden and is also ideal for small areas.  Another advantage to pot gardening is that you can bring the outdoors indoors. 

The landscaping experts at Kingfisher Landscaping design and implement exceptional and beautiful gardens in a professional manner.  We pride ourselves in providing our clients with excellent, efficient and comprehensive service.  We offer all the products and services associated with creating a peaceful, and aesthetically pleasing outdoor living space which will complement the style of your home and in which you can relax.

Tree Aloes (aloe bainesii) – Africa’s largest aloes – have a striking, sleek appearance and are also perfect to be used as pot plants.  On has to make sure that the proposed pot has a base with a large circumference, to prevent the whole ensemble from toppling over, once the aloe grows larger and becomes top heavy.  The creative and practical experts at our in-house décor company, Badec Bros Deco, will design and manufacture the perfect Cubedec pot for your tree aloe.

These aloes can grow up to 15 meters in height.  The forked branches will in time spread out into a dense crown, contrasting beautifully with the smooth, grey bark of the stem. 

Pretty cylindrical, orange-pink flowers will bring life to your garden or veranda during winter (June and July), making this sculptural plant an ideal focal point for any outdoor living space.  The leaves are dark green in colour and are long and narrow, with graceful curving.

Pot – or container – gardening is a very low-maintenance way of creating a garden and is also ideal for small areas.  Another advantage to pot gardening is that you can bring the outdoors indoors.

The landscaping experts at Kingfisher Landscaping design and implement exceptional and beautiful gardens in a professional manner.  We pride ourselves in providing our clients with excellent, efficient and comprehensive service.  We offer all the products and services associated with creating a peaceful, and aesthetically pleasing outdoor living space which will complement the style of your home and in which you can relax.

The Euphorbia Finger Plant (euphorbia tirucalli) – also known as Rubber Bush – is yet another beautiful and ornamental succulent, which enhances the sleek beauty of our mild steel Cubedec pots, manufactured by our in-house décor company, Badec Bros Deco.

This unique plant, with its fleshy, green and yellow-red “fingers” is drought resistant and hardy; making it very low maintenance.  It will contrast marvellously with pebbles around the base of the plant.

Pot – or container – gardening is a very low-maintenance way of creating a garden and is also ideal for small areas.  Another advantage to pot gardening is that you can bring the outdoors indoors.

The landscaping experts at Kingfisher Landscaping design and implement exceptional and beautiful gardens in a professional manner.  We pride ourselves in providing our clients with excellent, efficient and comprehensive service.  We offer all the products and services associated with creating a peaceful, and aesthetically pleasing outdoor living space which will complement the style of your home and in which you can relax.

Rock Roses (echeveria elegans), also known as Mexican Roses are perfect feature plants to decorate our unique Cubedec pots, manufactured by our in-house décor company, Badec Bros Deco. 

These plump, grey succulents are usually planted as ground covers, but contrast beautifully with the mild steel pots.  They are perennial and flourish both outdoors and indoors.  The leaves are grey to green in colour and overlap one another.  Mexican Roses have pink, yellow and red flowers during spring and autumn.

Pot – or container – gardening is a very low-maintenance way of creating a garden and is also ideal for small areas.  Another advantage to pot gardening is that you can bring the outdoors indoors.

The landscaping experts at Kingfisher Landscaping design and implement exceptional and beautiful gardens in a professional manner.  We pride ourselves in providing our clients with excellent, efficient and comprehensive service.  We offer all the products and services associated with creating a peaceful, and aesthetically pleasing outdoor living space which will complement the style of your home and in which you can relax.

Golden barrel cacti (echinocactus grusonii), commonly known as mother-in-law’s cushions, are perfect feature plants to decorate our unique Cubedec pots, manufactured by our in-house décor company, Badec Bros Deco.

These exceptional plants, with their ball-like shape and yellow thorns, are resilient and grow very easy.  Being succulents, they are very low maintenance, making them ideal pot plants.

Pot – or container – gardening is a very low-maintenance way of creating a garden and is also ideal for small areas.  Another advantage to pot gardening is that you can bring the outdoors indoors.

The landscaping experts at Kingfisher Landscaping design and implement exceptional and beautiful gardens in a professional manner.  We pride ourselves in providing our clients with excellent, efficient and comprehensive service.  We offer all the products and services associated with creating a peaceful, and aesthetically pleasing outdoor living space which will complement the style of your home and in which you can relax.

Flapjack Kalanchoes (kalanchoe luciae) are ideal decorative plants to be displayed in one of our stunning Cubedec steel pots, manufactured by our in-house décor company, Badec Bros Deco.  Flapjack kalanchoes are succulents, which mean that they require very little maintenance.  Their fleshy, paddle like green leaves, with red edging, make them perfect feature plants.  The more sunlight, the deeper the red on the leaves will grow.

Pot – or container – gardening is a very low-maintenance way of creating a garden and is also ideal for small areas.  Another advantage to pot gardening is that you can bring the outdoors indoors.

The landscaping experts at Kingfisher Landscaping design and implement exceptional and beautiful gardens in a professional manner.  We pride ourselves in providing our clients with excellent, efficient and comprehensive service.  We offer all the products and services associated with creating a peaceful, and aesthetically pleasing outdoor living space which will complement the style of your home and in which you can relax.

Pot – or container – gardening is a very low-maintenance way of creating a garden and is also ideal for small areas.  Another advantage to pot gardening is that you can bring the outdoors indoors.

Sansevierias, with their clean, sword-like leaves are ideal pot plants for our stunning range of Cubedec pots, designed and manufactured by our in-house décor company, Badec Bros Deco.  We commonly use Mother-In-Law’s Tongue (sansevieria trifasciata) as feature plants to complement our unique and chic range of Cubedec pots.  We also enjoy planting them in front of a Cubedec gabion wall, to juxtapose aesthetically with the hardness of the steel and rock filling.

Mother-In-Law’s Tongues grow both indoors and outdoors, and therefore are not fussy growers and their varigated leaves enhance their beauty.

The landscaping experts at Kingfisher Landscaping design and implement exceptional and beautiful gardens in a professional manner.  We pride ourselves in providing our clients with excellent, efficient and comprehensive service.  We offer all the products and services associated with creating a peaceful, and aesthetically pleasing outdoor living space which will complement the style of your home and in which you can relax.