Why You Should Have an Indigenous Garden

Indigenous gardens are sustainable and allow you to have a beautiful garden all year round. Indigenous plants only grow in a particular region and this means that you will have a unique garden. Below we inform you on why you should have an indigenous garden.

Saves water

Indigenous gardens are the best to have when one wants to save water. Indigenous plants are already adapted for the environment which means that you do not have to water them as much as you would water a normal garden. It is only the first three months when you would need to water it constantly but after the three months you would not have to worry. With the water shortages that South Africans are currently facing, indigenous gardens are the best gardens to have.

Attracts insects

Indigenous gardens attract insects and butterflies and this means that you will also have a garden filled with various birds. These gardens attract all kinds of species because they are indigenous to the area and this means that the animal species in the area will be well catered to. The indigenous gardens allow your yard to be an entire new ecosystem and this in turn provides you with an interesting garden for the kids and family picnics.

Low Maintenance

If you are one of those people who would love to have a beautiful garden but the maintenance was always a problem, worry no more because Indigenous gardens are very easy to maintain. The only maintenance that you would really need to do is to keep the soil moist and then it would be an advantage if you could prune the plants after they have flowered. 

Starting an indigenous garden

• Plan your garden

If you are about to create your indigenous garden then it would be advisable to plant in spring or autumn. In order to plan your garden you need to take note of what areas get the most sun, where the wet and dry places are, and then you can create a layout of your garden. This will help you to know where each plant has to be planted and the spots will cater to the needs of each plant.

• Prepare your garden

Prepare your soil by digging the entire garden and loosening the dry parts of the sand. If your garden is full of dry sand then add organic matter to it so that the sand can gain healthy nutrients and gain moisture which is good for your plants.

• Choosing your plants

It all depends on what region you live in and what plants are indigenous to the area. Your layout plan will help you with allocating what plants can grow where.

Common Indigenous plants to have in your garden:

• Proteas
• Shrubs
• Bulbs
• Orchids
• Maintain

You will only need to trim your plants occasionally, maintain the moisture of the soil so that you can have worms and other insects that will provide your plants with all of its needs.