Cape Town - July 18 is Nelson Mandela International Day, and among the plants named to honour this great statesman is the king protea (Protea cynaroides) “Madiba”.
The large red blooms flower from August to October with a plant height and spread of one metre. Proteas need sun, good air circulation and acidic soil. Do not disturb their roots, and do not use chemical fertilisers.
Plant groups of Strelitzia “Mandela’s Gold” in a yellow-and-blue water-wise garden with euryops yellow daisy bush, blue/purple agapanthus, pokers of yellow kniphofia, cushions of blue felicia and clumps of Bulbine frutescens and yellow arctotis.
Rose “Madiba” is a shoulder-height hybrid tea rose with fragrant, deep maroon-pink blooms that change to deep lilac. Echo this rose’s colour with companion plants of Plectranthus “Mona Lavender”, catmint, lavender angelonia, globe thistle (echinops) and silver-grey foliage plants.
One of Nelson Mandela’s favourite plants, the aloe, is in bloom in the veld and at specialist nurseries and garden centres. Modern aloe cultivars, that have been bred for an extended flowering season and better cold tolerance, come in many unusual colour combinations and heights.
In the garden, your choice of aloes need not be restricted to orange and red. You might prefer a less fiery colour scheme of pink and white Aloe “Fairy Pink” (small) or medium-size “Diana” with waterwise grey foliage, yellow-green Aloe “Greengage” and Aloe “Saffron” with maroon grasses, or yellow/gold Aloe “Bafana” and Aloe “Bush Baby Yellow” with orange/yellow Bulbine frutescens and Carex “Frosty Curls”.
Weekend Argus