Lewisia cotyledon ‘Elise Mix’ is a strikingly beautiful addition to the range of flowering succulents for low-water gardens and containers, as well as for indoors as a long-lasting decor plant. Originating from the USA’s Pacific Northwest and the Rocky Mountains, it needs well-drained, moderately fertile, gritty soil that provides perfect drainage around the plant’s crown, […]
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Lavender is trending
Lavender is trending TEXT Alice Spenser-Higgs All the trends for 2018 point to lavender. Purple is the ‘new colour of health’, as well as the choice of Pantone’s trendsetters. Foodies flirting with ‘botanical’ flavours are experimenting with lavender lattes, and the world-wide focus on wellness underscores lavender’s pre-eminent position as one of the best natural […]
Noble Bay
Bay, the noblest of leaves It may come as a surprise, but sweet bay (Laurus nobilis) has a long association with December festivities, even predating Christmas. In Roman times branches of bay were used to decorate homes during the festival of Saturnalia in mid-December, coinciding with the winter solstice. Bay leaves werealso burnt as a […]
Wonders of Lovage
The Wonders of Lovage Use lovage to revitalise your meatless Mondays! The strong, meaty taste of its leaves is a delicious base for soups, stews, tomato-based sauces, and stock. A little goes a long way. Lovage (Levisticum officinale) is a lesser-known Mediterranean herb that is also under-rated. This may be because it looks like a larger […]
Lusty Leeks
Lusty Leeks Essential flavourings for cold season soups and stews, garlic, leeks, chives and onions are the kitchen garden’s storm troopers against winter colds and influenza. All members of the genus Allium, they have a long list of medicinal properties that include antibiotic, anti-inflammatory, analgesic and expectorant actions. Growing leeks Leeks can be sown any […]
Lachenalia
Cape Hyacinth In a country blessed with many horticultural treasures Lachenalia, the Cape Hyacinth, holds a place of its own. Lachenalias may be short in stature, their flowers growing on spikes about 25 cm high, but they more than make up for this with their vividly coloured blooms. This makes them ideal subjects for pots […]
Lantana montevidensis
Trailing lantana Lantana montevidensis Lantana montevidensis is a trailing, semi-woody evergreen that can either be used as a ground cover or to create small hedges. Unlike other Lantana species that become frantically overgrown and horribly unwelcome in any garden, Lantana montevidensis has a dainty nature and delicate stems that rarely become troublesome. It bears delicate […]
Lavandula angustifolia
English lavender No cottage garden can be complete without copious amounts of Lavender sprawling about the place. The aromatic grey foliage is the perfect complement to all the pretty flowers that abound in the cottage garden. The lavender flowers themselves add interest to the garden; the stately, wiry, stems are topped with fragrant flower spikes. […]
Ledebouria revoluta
South Indian squill South Africa is blessed with a wide and varied array of little bulbous plants, many of which are overlooked, from an ornamental perspective, due to their relatively small size. One of these little gems is the relatively common and widely distributed wavy-leaved ledebouria that is found growing in grasslands and woodlands. The attractive, […]
Leptospermum scoparium
‘Cherry Brandy’ (Miniature tea bush) The dark, plum-coloured leaves and dense foliage of the miniature tea bush make it a superb little shrub for sunny gardens. The richly-coloured foliage is shown to best advantage if contrasting pale yellow, gold and silver plants are grown next to it or around its base. In winter and spring […]
