Johannesburg - Each year, representatives from 10 garden clubs across Joburg come together to organise the annual Gardens of the Golden City programme.
Established in 1996, Gardens of the Golden City has raised R1.75 million over 17 years through the opening of hundreds of gardens across Joburg. Last year, R140 000 was raised for charities including Johannesburg Child Welfare, Meals on Wheels and Ubebele, Alexandra.
This month, a host of gardens will be opened in Midrand, Senderwood and, by far the biggest event, in Jukskei Park (103 Robyn Street), where a largely indigenous, water-wise garden with a spiral vegetable garden will be open between 10am and 5pm next Saturday and Sunday (March 9 and 10).
Owned by Alan and Angelique Gravett, the Jukskei Park garden includes indigenous sections of garden next to lush corners. Being holistically inclined, and with the help of Jamie Shepherd, they created a spiral vegetable garden, complete with companion plants, which wraps itself along the edge of the property.
The spiral vegetable garden feature makes this an interesting site for the food security-conscious visitor. Some parts of the garden are a work in progress to show innovative ideas. Shepherd, the designer of this garden, will talk to visitors throughout the weekend.
A host of experts have thrown their weight behind the concepts of indigenous, water-wise, and permaculture gardening. To explain these concepts, a series of talks has been arranged at the Jukskei Park garden.
There are only 50 seats for each lecture, and booking is essential. Telephone Shelley at 083 409 7927. Cost: R40.
Celebrity gardeners have donated their time to this open garden charity venture. This is the programme:
Saturday, March 9
2pm: Alan Buff will give a talk on Effective Microbes. A horticulturist, Buff joined the Johannesburg Parks Department in 1970 and is one of the most senior executives in the organisation. “Effective Microbes is an absolutely fascinating concept for any gardener and is used widely throughout the world”, he says.
3pm: Leon Kluge will talk on landscaping. As part of the successful South African team at Chelsea in 2010 and 2012, Kluge is an award-winning landscaper who is known for his contemporary landscapes.
4pm: Jamie Shepherd will talk on how to create a vertical garden. Shepherd has designed and built permaculture gardens in home gardens for 15 years.
Sunday, March 10
10am: Leslie Hoy will talk on water-wise gardening. As an environmental services manager for Rand Water, Hoy has been associated with water-wise gardening since 1994. Over the past two decades, he has managed the growth and development of Rand Water’s water-wise gardening education.
11am: Tess Raynor will talk on the use of biomimicry in the garden. Raynor is an expert on the concept of nature-inspired innovation.
“Biomimicry is the practice of learning from, and then emulating, nature’s genius to solve human problems and create more sustainable designs,” she says.
2pm: Paul Fairall will talk on wetlands. As an award-winning wetland warrior, Fairall will talk on how water moves through and over the landscape in northern Joburg.
Create a permaculture garden
Are you interested in creating a permaculture garden? These are based on the ecological principles of sustainable gardening. Included in the principles are concepts such as placing a chicken house on a platform above a pond containing indigenous tilapia fish. The idea is that the droppings fall into the water, providing food for the fish.
Food gardens are a keystone to permaculture and are created with an informal design of stepping stones among herbs, strawberries, vegetables and fruit trees.
Wild garlic (Tulbagia violaceae) and marigolds will help to keep some of the plant-eating bugs away and compost for the vegetables is produced using the leaf rakings and grass clippings from the garden. All organic material waste from the kitchen is used for the production of compost.
Ponds and wetlands are important and should be situated at the lowest part of the property. All the water off the house roof and the hard landscape (driveways and patios) should be directed into the pond which can be sealed using bentonite clay or a PVC liner.
Open gardens
Interested in attending charity gardens? All gardens open from 10am to 5pm. Entrance R20. Children under 12 free.
* March 9 & 10
Spiral Vegetable Garden, Alan and Angelique Gravett, 103 Robyn Street, Jukskei Park (Parking In Platina Street). 10am-5pm. Tea garden.
March 16 & 17:
Digby and Penny Hoets, 125 Springfield Road, Midrand.
Tuareg Guest House, 44/1 Norfolk Road, Carlswald.
Thula Manzi Guest House, 68/1 Norfolk Road, Carlswald. Tea garden.
Candice and Alan Fuller, 94/1 Norfolk Road, Carlswald. Telephone Addis at 083 409 7927. - Saturday Star