The tree fuchsia (halleria lucida) has been appointed as one of the two rare trees of the year for 2009, by the Department of Water and Environmental Affairs.

This beautiful tree, with its lush, wide-spreading canopy has shiny, bright green leaves and is an indigenous evergreen tree.  Birds love to gather in this tree, so it will be ideal to plant in your garden, if you want to attract birds.  Insects also enjoy feasting on the flowers, which are very rich in nectar. 

It has elegantly drooping branches and normally has more than one stem.  Bright orange, red or yellow tube-shaped flowers – which grow on the stems and in clusters of leaves – bloom in summer and from early spring this decorative tree carries round black berries, which are clustered together.  The bark of the tree fuschia is a dull grey to brown in colour and has vertical grooves.

These trees occur naturally in coastal areas, near water and on stony mountains or hills.  The tree fuchsia can grow between 12 and 20 meters high in ideal conditions, and up to 5 meters in less favourable conditions, such as in exposed areas.  They require a lot of water.

Historically, the wood was used for tools, spear shafts and for the construction of wagon poles, as the wood is strong and hard.  Traditional medicinal uses included treatment of ear aches, by infusing the dried leaves in water. 

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.

Young plants and frost-sensitive plants need to be protected from extreme cold. 

You can cover these plants with frost guard or Hessian, which you can buy at a garden centre, hardware store or nursery.  These materials allow air and water through, so it is safe to keep your plants covered until spring. 

Saplings can be protected from frost by wrapping straw bundles around the stems.

You can also protect your plants from frost, by not watering in the late afternoon, as the wet ground will make the frost even more severe.  It is best to water your garden in the mornings, to allow the excess water to dry during the day. 

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.

Succulent plants are excellent for using in landscape design.  They are water saving plants, because they retain water in their leaves, stems and roots.  This means that they require very little watering and are, therefore drought resistant.

Water retention gives succulents their fleshy appearance, hence the name succulents.  Fat plants retain water because they are compact and have either waxy, hairy or spiny exteriors which reduce water loss and the stems of these plants comprise the main site for photosynthesis.  The leaves on these plants are either reduced, spherical, cylindrical or completely absent.  This also contributes to their water wise qualities.

Succulents have very varied and interesting shapes and sizes, making them ideal decorative plants.  A dry bed, planted with succulents, create a bold and interesting focal point in any garden.

Aloes, cacti, and agaves are all succulent plants.  Kingfisher Landscaping frequently uses variegated tulbaghia (tulbaghia violacea), fox tail agave (agave attenuata), tree aloe (aloe barberae “bainesii”), Cape aloe (aloe ferox), mountain aloe (aloe marlothii), golden barrel cactus (echinocactus grusonii), rubber bush / finger plant (euphorbia tirucalli), halfmens (pachypodium namaquanum), and stalked bulbines (bulbine frutescens).

Succulents stay green through the whole year and many flower during the winter months, which means they add a splash of colour to your garden during winter.  These are also very low-maintenance plants.