Landscape architect Bernice Rumble shares her tips for choosing the right trees and maximising space in your garden.
Bernice Rumble is a landscape architect at Land Art Studio and the driving force behind the landscaping at Zululami Luxury Coastal Estate. As part of her work on the estate, she curated a selection of trees that echo the heartbeat of coastal living. “Biophilic design is about creating landscapes that draw people to the outside, connecting them with nature,” she explains. This philosophy reverberates through her designs, where every leaf and bloom serves as an invitation to the outdoors. She is committed to creating sustainable and harmonious environments that ultimately provide resilience to the greater community. We asked her which trees are worth planting in our North Coast gardens…
TREES WITH FLOWERS:
A BURST OF COLOUR AND LIFE
1. Buddleja saligna – the False Olive
The false olive is a very hardy evergreen tree characterised with a much-branched crown and drooping branches. Buddleja saligna is a common tree found in dry, deciduous woodlands especially along drainage lines. When in flower, the blooms appear in a clustered manner and it creates a superb focal point in the garden.
2. Calodendrum capense – Cape Chestnut
Although originating from the Cape, Calodendrum capense is a semi-deciduous tree that can be found growing naturally in other parts of South Africa. The large, sweet scented pink flowers turn the whole canopy pink during early summer.
3. Erythrina lysistemon – Common Coral tree
Widely grown and best known for its pretty blooms in winter and early spring, Erythrina lysistemon is an indigenous tree that provides year-round interest in our gardens. One of the showiest trees in the world, the common coral tree shed their attractive autumn foliage to reveal a bare skeleton before the striking scarlet flowers cover the branches during winter to early spring.
4. Grewia occidentalis – Cross berry
Grewia occidentalis is a scrambling shrub or small tree, reaching about 3m in height. The tree has shiny, dark green leaves and produces distinctive star shaped purple flowers during summer. The tree is a must have for a wildlife friendly garden as it attracts butterflies, insects and birds alike with its flowers and fruit.
5. Halleria lucida – Tree fuschia
Halleria lucida is an indigenous tree of Southern Africa that bears trumpet shaped flowers from April to December. The flowers are either orange to brick-red or yellow in colour and are very rich in nectar.
6. Nuxia floribunda – Forest elder
Nuxia floribunda is an attractive moisture loving tree characterised with a dense rounded crown. The white showy flowers produced by the Forest elder tree in winter attract many insects which in turn attract many insect eating birds to the garden.
7. Ochna natalitia – Natal plane
This tree can reach an average height of 2 – 3m and its branches are close to ground level making it an ideal screening tree with yellow scented flowers that have wavy edges and fluffy centres. The Ochna natalitia is ideal for limited spaces like small gardens and courtyards.
8. Terminalia sericea – Silver cluster-leaf
Foliage of this tree consists of grey-green leaves clustered at branch ends and are covered in shiny, silvery hairs, making the whole tree look silvery from a distance. When planted for shade in the garden, it must be at least 3m away from buildings or paved areas.
9. Strelitzia nicolai – Natal Wild banana
Strelitzias are commonly known as the ‘Bird of Paradise’ plant and are distinguished by their showy flowers. The tree-like Strelitzia nicolai, or ‘Giant White Bird of Paradise’, differs from other Strelitzias in that it has a compound flower-head that usually has blue petals with white sepals and a dark blue purple sheath.
10. Dombeya rotundifolia – wild pear
The wild pear is a beautiful specimen tree characterised by masses of pinkish white, scented flowers which appear on the tree from July to September and contrast dramatically with the dark trunk and branches. This tree attracts butterflies to the garden. The dried flowers are used in floral decorations.
TREES FOR SMALL GARDENS:
SPACE-SAVING WONDERS
1. Allophylus natalensis – Dune Allophylus
The Dune Allophylus is a very decorative, evergreen shrub or small tree, which produces tiny, sweet-scented, white to cream-coloured flowers in autumn. This tree loves to grow in coastal dune forest and bush and is perfect for small gardens.
2. Chionanthus foveolatus – Pock Ironwood
The Pock Ironwood is a fairly hardy, attractive, evergreen, forest tree with beautiful glossy, dark green leaves and a rounded crown. The tree varies in size, depending on where it grows – in the wild it can grow up to 30m and cultivated specimens grow up to 10m with a spread of 3 – 6m.
3. Clausena anisata – Horsewood
This is a very neat and attractive small tree, that can be planted if you want to attract birds and butterflies into your garden. However, it gives off a strong scent that is considered by many to be unpleasant. The cause of this smell is also the reason for its numerous healing properties. This tree can be planted in small backyard gardens and near paving as the roots are not aggressive.
4. Deinbollia oblongifolia – Dune Soapberry
This shrub or small tree has masses of pale yellow fruits during the winter months and is an excellent plant to feed garden wildlife, such as birds, bees and butterflies. Its compact size and has the ability to thrive in coastal conditions making it a practical choice for limited garden spaces.
5. Dovyalis longispina – Coast Kei-apple
With its bright orange-red, edible fruits and very formidable spines, Dovyalis longispina is an attractive, small to medium, glossy tree. Its distribution is centralised only in KwaZulu-Natal and is a resilient choice for small gardens in the region.
