Chances are some South African beauty is nearby. You just don't know it. Calla lilies in bloom? How about trumpeting clivias? The strappy leaves of agapanthus? Those potted "geraniums" by your front door? They're not geraniums at all, but Pelargoniums from South Africa. Take almost any freeway, and a South African daisy offers a splash of color along the way.
Many plants of South African origin fit so well in Southern California that we may not realize they aren't native to our own Mediterranean-climate region. But there are many lesser-known South African plants that can contribute color, texture and interest to gardens here.
The western tip of South Africa is in one of five Mediterranean climate zones in the world. The area also is known as the Cape Floral Kingdom, one of the six recognized floral kingdoms on our planet and the largest of all in terms of plant variety.
The major vegetation type of the Cape Floral Kingdom is fynbos. "That's fain-boss," explains Laurence Nicklin, a botanist and garden designer in Ojai, a transplant himself from Cape Town, South Africa. "It's derived from the Dutch and means 'fine bushes.' Think of it as a collective term for a group of plants -- like 'chaparral.' "
Seven years ago Nicklin was asked to design the South African demonstration garden at Seaside Gardens nursery in Carpinteria. Four beds of South African plants are one of several gardens on display.
Though many of the specimens are drought-tolerant, one finds an unexpected element of lavishness in their color, texture and form. Colors include rose and dark pinks, lavender and lilac, which are complemented by corals and apricots, testament to the designer's eye. It's the long-season color of South African plants and their short dormancy periods that appeal to the Southern California gardener, Nicklin says.
The 7,700 plant species of the fynbos include almost 1,000 species of daisies, plus the heath, reed and protea families.
One standout in the Seaside South African section is the evergreen shrub Leucospermum, known as "nodding pincushion" or "pincushion protea" for its distinctive, spiky, bright flowers. The cut flowers are astonishingly long-lasting, and various species can bloom for up to three months.
Leucadendron, known as "cone bush," requires male and female plants for seed propagation, and they "color up at this time of year to attract pollinators," Nicklin says. "The tops become bright yellow or red to bring insects in."
The ericas, or heaths of the fynbos, include 650 species of different colors and forms. Among the species at Seaside are the red-blooming Erica speciosa and the pink-lilac Erica hirtiflora.
The lovely Cape rush, a fine-leafed, flowing grasslike plant with arching, rounded stems and deep mahogany color, is a fluid architectural asset to a garden of Mediterranean climate plants.
Many fynbos species may not be for beginning gardeners or throw-it-out-the-window-and-see-what-happens freewheelers.
"Plants from the cape area do naturally well here in Southern California," Nicklin says, "but there are a few things you have to do. The soil is more alkaline here so one needs to acidify the soil, but it is an easy process. The plants are drought-tolerant once established and are low-maintenance, but choosing the right species is important."
Nicklin says proteas, for example, have delicate roots that do not like to be disturbed. Mulching is important because it keeps the soil cool, forms a natural weed barrier, cuts down on watering, and as it breaks down, feeds the plants. (Man-made nitrogen in fertilizer will kill these plants.) "Drainage is important," Nicklin says. "I like to do raised beds -- it gives a bit of definition to the landscape, especially in flat areas."
Kathy Musial, curator of living collections at the Huntington Botanical Gardens in San Marino, is a bit cautious about home gardeners tackling proteas. "The western cape region is a Mediterranean climate, but with very different geology and soil types from Southern California," she says. "Proteas are fussy and difficult. They like acidic and sandy soils; if you live in the flatlands or in the valley with heavy clay soil, you will have more difficulty. Better luck might be found in the sandy soil areas around the coast."
Musial also worries about the alkalinity of water as well as soil in many parts of L.A. The key: "Old geology and lean and mean, nutrient-poor, sandy and well-drained soil," she says. She seconds the idea of raised mounds or beds.
The plant palette of South Africa is enormous. A Southern California gardener's education might start with the well-organized site www.plantzafrica.com. Among the lovely specimen plants at Seaside is an 8-foot honeybush (Melianthus major). With its play of surfaces -- blue-green on one side of its pleated leaves and gray-green on the other -- and its spiky burgundy-bronze flower stalks in spring, the honeybush is a striking accent plant. Hummingbirds flock to its nectar, and it's known to attract orioles.
