The use of hedges in your garden has numerous advantages.  They can be used to create privacy in your garden; as dividers to create different areas in your garden; to muffle noise and act as a windbreak; to create mazes; to attract birds and butterflies to your garden; to hide ugly walls; to improve your security around your home and garden; and to act as a green background for other plants in your garden.  Hedge plants are relatively cheap and low-maintenance.

The maintenance required once you have planted your hedge plants, involves pruning when the plants are still small.  This will encourage the plant to grow dense.  You also need to pinch the tips, while the plants are still actively growing to promote the growth of side shoots.

If you want to plant a hedge for security – along your border walls – you can use a paper flower bougainvillea (bougainvillea glabra), num-num (carissa bispinosa) or natal plum (carissa macrocarpa).

Other plants that can be used as security measures include aloes, cacti, agaves, and any other plant that has thorns.

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.

Ultimately the design and type of plants selected depend on the architectural style of the home and the home owners’ preferences.

We are all constantly waging war against weeds in our gardens…in our garden beds, in our paving, in our lawn…

This war increases in intensity during spring and summer.

Weeds are in direct competition with your plants for water, sunlight and soil nutrients. 

As with most things in life, prevention is better than cure.  In order to discourage the growth of weeds in your flower beds or between you paving, stepping stones and gravel strips, you should lay down sheets of weed guard (biddum cloth) before planting and before laying out your pavers or gravel.  This helpful product is available at most garden centres.

When you lay down weed guard in your garden beds, you can cut out holes for where you would like to plant your seedlings or other plants.  Then you can cover the area with mulch or decorative stone.

Preparing your soil properly before planting will also reduce the risk of weed infestations.  Till the soil properly and pick out all weeds, root systems and seeds that you can see.  Mix in a healthy blend of fertilizer and compost; making sure that it is a reputable product and will not introduce more weeds to your soil. 

To get rid of weeds, you will need to loosen the soil and pull the weeds out roots and all.  Ideally you should do so before the weeds have had the chance to produce seeds.  This process can be somewhat time-consuming and arduous, but if you look at it in a positive light, it will be great to be working outdoors with your hands.  You can even work on you suntan – provided you are wearing a hat and sunscreen. 

Finally, applying layers of mulch is also a good anti-weeding measure.  As we have informed you before, mulching has many benefits for your garden, such as retaining water and protecting the roots of your plants.

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.

Spring is the season of regeneration.  You can get the best out of your garden by doing the following during this invigorating time of year.

First of all you should prune all the plants in your garden that have suffered frost damage.  This will promote new growth.

Remove dead leaves and branches from your plants and trees to stimulate growth.

You should divide your perennial plants in order to multiply them and fill your garden beds with more lush growth.

Apply mulch to your plant beds and feed your plants and lawn with fertilizer and compost.

Have your irrigation system checked out and maintained.

You can start to water your lawn and garden more regularly again – two or three times per week.

You can also plant bulbs, which flower in summer, such as arum lilies (zantedeschia species), sword lilies (gladiolus species), and dahlias.  Sow flower seeds and plant seedlings to add vibrant splashes of colour to your garden.

Once your spring flowering plants have finished blooming, you can prune them back to ensure strong growth during the next spring period.

Finally, you should check all of your plants for diseases and treat them accordingly.

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.

Spring time is a good time to prepare your lawn for summer. Mowing, watering and feeding are all important aspects to lawn care during spring. Your lawn has probably started turning green again, after being dormant during winter.

You can mow your lawn at a height of between 2cm and 2½cm. You should mow your lawn once a week to stimulate blade growth. After the first mow of the season, you should feed your lawn. Lawn dressing or organic compost is ideal lawn food. Cover your entire lawn with either lawn dressing or organic compost, and make sure to water the lawn properly afterwards, to ensure that the compost goes down all the way to the roots and soil.

Lastly, you should water your lawn two to three times a week. Do not water it more often than that, as the lawn is likely to rot or attract weeds and diseases. Irrigation is the best option for watering your lawn, and the rest of your garden. Irrigation saves water and time.

Kingfisher Landscaping has been installing state of the art irrigation systems for many satisfied customers over the years. An irrigation system takes away the need to water your garden the old fashioned way with a hosepipe and sprinkler, which is time consuming and wastes water. It is a much more convenient and effective approach to ensure your garden stays alive and healthy.

You can choose between a manual or computerized system. The former being less expensive, with the latter being automatic and, therefore more convenient. Our irrigation specialists can install a watering system which would perfectly suit the spread of your garden, as well as, the varying water requirements of all the plants in your garden. Kingfisher Landscaping will take into account the amount of watering stations you would need on your irrigation system. Each station will cover a specific area in your overall garden layout. Should you prefer a computerized system, our irrigation experts can set the times of your watering according to the length of the watering period, as well as, the intervals between watering, depending on the water requirements of the plants in any specific area. This feature gives you peace of mind that your garden will be watered often enough, while you are away on holiday.

With a manual system, you will need to operate the system by hand. It is still, however, much more effective than watering your garden with a hosepipe and sprinkler, which needs to be moved continuously. Furthermore, you can choose between rotary and pop-up sprinklers. Pop-up sprinklers are the better choice, as they are concealed in your lawn or plant beds, and only “pop up”, when the watering period commences. Both types of sprinklers can be set to cover only a specific area, preventing water being wasted by having a sprinkler spray against a wall or onto a paved area. This element adds to the water saving benefit of an irrigation system.

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.

Mulching is very important during winter.  It is a process by which you place a protective cover over the soil in your plant beds.  By mulching the plant beds in your garden, you protect the roots of your plants from soil frost.  Mulching has many advantages.  It moderates the soil temperature; stores moisture; enhances the nutrient count in your soil; prevents soil erosion; improves soil texture and prevents the growth of weeds.  Generally, mulching will improve the health and growth of your plants.

There are many types of both organic and inorganic mulch materials to use in your garden. 

Organic mulching materials include leaves, hay, bark chips, lawn trimmings, saw dust, shells, nut shells and tattered newspaper.  Should you use hay or straw as mulch, you need to make sure that does not contain any weed seeds, as this will cause rapid weed growth in your plant beds.

Inorganic mulching materials include, plastic mulch (such as plastic sheeting used in agriculture), gravel, stone chips, pebbles, rubber mulch (manufactured from recycled tires) and weed guard sheeting covered with a decorative layer of pebbles, gravel or stone chips.

You can also plant ground cover plants, such as dymondia margaretae (Silver Carpet), mazus reptans “white” and phyla nodiflora (daisy lawn) to act as living mulch in your plant beds or around trees. 

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 use of hedges in your garden has numerous advantages.  They can be used to create privacy in your garden; as dividers to create different areas in your garden; to muffle noise and act as a windbreak; to create mazes; to attract birds and butterflies to your garden; to hide ugly walls; to improve your security around your home and garden; and to act as a green background for other plants in your garden.  Hedge plants are relatively cheap and low-maintenance.

The maintenance required once you have planted your hedge plants, involves pruning when the plants are still small.  This will encourage the plant to grow dense.  You also need to pinch the tips, while the plants are still actively growing to promote the growth of side shoots.

You will find hedge plants for any height of hedge you would like to grow.  Low-growing hedge plants include duranta “Sheena’s Gold” (duranta erecta), Cape leadwort (plumbago capensis), Mexican abelia (abelia floribunda), dwarf boxwood (buxus), and glossy abelia (abelia floribunda).

Tall-growing hedge plants include Cape-Forget-Me-Not (plumbago auriculata), Cape honeysuckle (tecomaria capensis), honey bells (freylinia tropica), large leafed privet (ligustrum lucidum), and sweet viburnum (viburnum sinensis).

If you want to plant a hedge for security you can use a paper flower bougainvillea (bougainvillea glabra), num-num (carissa bispinosa) or natal plum (carissa macrocarpa).

The landscaping experts at Kingfisher Landscaping make use of hedge plants in the soft scaping aspect of our garden designs quite regularly.  Ultimately the design and type of plants selected depend on the architectural style of the home and the home owners’ preferences.