Water-Smart Plants

Lavender 'Margaret Roberts' is a South African lavender variety known for its resilience, delightful fragrance, and nearly year-round blooming. To cultivate its best performance, plant in full sun, allowing adequate spacing for proper air circulation between the plants. 

Ideal for low-maintenance borders, herb gardens, and waterwise landscaping.

Adapts well in full sun and well draining soil, making it perfectly suited to the Western Cape's dry summers and coastal conditions.

While Lavenders can thrive in pots, ensure you use high-quality, well-draining potting soil. For optimal growth, consider fertilizing Lavender 'Margaret Roberts' from spring to autumn with products like Atlantic Bio Ocean or Vigorosa 5:1:5.

Clivia – Indigenous Spring Bloomer for Shade or Under Trees

The Clivia is a beloved South African classic, ideal for planting beneath trees or in shaded spots where few other plants thrive. With vibrant trumpet-shaped blooms in spring and bold, strap-like leaves year-round, it makes a striking feature plant for any garden.

Once established, it’s low maintenance and drought-tolerant, making it perfect for Cape Town’s waterwise gardeners.

• Indigenous and shade-loving
• Spring-flowering with bold blooms
• Excellent in mass plantings or containers
• Grows well with minimal care
• Ideal for Western Cape’s winter rainfall gardens

Salvia Leucantha, an evergreen perennial, features fuzzy white stems, grey-green leaves, and velvet-like purple flower spikes. This tough and wind-resistant shrub blooms in late summer, reaching its peak beauty in early autumn.

For optimal growth, plant it in well-drained soil with full to partial sun. Ensure proper spacing and enrich the soil with organic compost.

To care for Salvia Leucantha, water regularly without over-soaking the soil, apply balanced fertilizer in spring, and prune in late winter. Adding mulch around the base conserves moisture and reduces weed growth.

This low-maintenance beauty is perfect for effortless landscaping.

A clump-forming perennial with narrow leaves and large clusters of fragrant, violet flowers from midsummer to autumn. Very striking when mass-planted in your garden to create a colourful display. The leaves are edible and can be used as substitute for garlic and chives in cooking. It can be used as an edging plant, along a pathway and displayed in a rockery. Drought -resistant , low-maintenance and easy to grow.

An evergreen perennial, this plant is widely cultivated for it’s dramatic, colourful flowers and structural shape. The beautiful orange, blue and white flowering display can be admired during May to December.

Strelitzia is a bold structural plant that is wind resistant and grows well in coastal gardens too.   Provided that they are given lots of bright light with some direct sun they can be successfully grown indoors.  Feed with compost in early spring before new growth begins and then fertilize during the growing season. Indigenous.

Princess Lavender, also known as Butterfly Lavender, is a compact, eye-catching variety of Lavandula stoechas with vivid pink-purple flower heads topped by wing-like petals that resemble butterflies in flight. This fragrant, evergreen shrub brings long-lasting colour and charm to pots, pathways, borders, and small garden spaces.

 A sun-loving plant, it thrives in well-draining soil and is well-suited to waterwise and coastal gardens in the Western Cape. Princess Lavender flowers generously from spring to early autumn and attracts bees and butterflies with its aromatic blooms. Light pruning after flowering encourages compact growth and more blooms.

Brachyscome is a compact perennial with tons of flowers from spring to summer and on to autumn. It is a great plant for containers and for flower gardens and grows easy.

Known as Spekboom, this easy-to-grow indigenous plant typically reaches heights of 2 meters in garden settings. Its small, non-invasive root system makes it perfect for poolside or boundary planting. With its compact structure, it's an excellent choice for accent planting, bonsai enthusiasts, and hedges, and it readily accepts regular pruning. These truly 'green' succulents play a vital role in combating air pollution by acting as carbon sponges, effectively removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

This dwarf cultivar of Carissa macrocarpa is a popular groundcover which seldom grows more than knee height. It forms a dense mat of attractive, glossy emerald green foliage. Fragrant, starry white flowers and edible red fruit occasionally throught the year. Also looks great in a container. Due to its hardiness, drought-resistance and evergreen nature it is widely used in commercial landscapes, along road sides and in parking areas under trees. Indigenous.

Highly recommended for its prolific growth, Salt Bush (Rhagodia Hastata) lends itself beautifully to marvelous formal applications, including crafting shaped balls and clipped hedges.

When planting, choose a well-drained soil location with full to partial sun exposure for optimal results. Its fantastic silvery-grey foliage not only adds its own allure but also showcases the colors of the plants planted around it, creating a visually stunning landscape.

The 'Grande' version of the spekboom has slightly larger leaves than the rest of its family. This versatile plant is considered by many to be a miracle plant and is highly regarded for its ability to fight climate change. This plant acts like a carbon sponge and statistics indicate that a spekboom thicket is 10 times more effective per hectare in carbon fighting than any rainforest.

For care, provide well-drained soil and ample sunlight. Water sparingly, as it's drought-resistant. Occasional pruning helps maintain its shape and promote branching.

Indigenous, neat, evergreen, decorative tree for medium-large sized gardens.  It is a useful screener tree and provides contrast in the garden due to its grey-green foliage. Thrives in large pots and responds well to pruning. Hardy and drought resistant. Withstands coastal and windy conditions. The wild olive has beautiful wood for furniture making. Has many medicinal uses.

Africa's tallest aloe, forming branches with orange spikes as flowers, forms an excellent focal point in any garden. Widely used for its architectural shape. Often used in office parks and commercial sites. Young trees do well in pots but ensure the pot is sturdy and wide. 

The fire sticks plant resembles sea coral and is a striking evergreen succulent shrub. It is resilient to most pests and diseases. Water hardly at all in winter and moderately in summer. Let the soil dry out before watering again. 

*Please note this plant is toxic.  Use with care.

A best-seller. Popular due to its attractive foliage, drought tolerance and pest free nature this plant looks fantastic in hanging baskets or containers. Widely used as a quick spreading ground cover for outdoor garden landscaping. The variegated leaves brighten up a shady area. This favourite prefers partial shade, especially in hot climates.  The plant produces long, slender stems which carry white flowers and plantlets at the tip of the flowers.  A single plant with its stems soon become a mother plant surrounded by its 'babies' and therefore the name 'hen and chickens' Water regularly during the growing season but sparingly in winter when the plant is dormant. They prefer being watered from the bottom and not from above. Indigenous. 

Tall growing variety, ideal for screening or hedging. Bright yellow flowers in spring.  Ideal for low maintenance, low water use gardens. Great cut flowers

This proudly indigenous plant is also commonly known as the "Natal Plum"or large"num-num". An extremely easy-to-grow, thorny shrub often used for hedges. It produces shiny, deep green leaves and perfumy,snowy white flowers in summer. The ornamental plump, round, crimson fruit appears in summer and autumn at the same time as the blooms.

A popular indigenous, evergreen choice for coastal areas.

Low maintenance and easy to grow. Plant 1m apart to form impenetrable hedge.

A garden superstar and a landscaper's favorite! This vibrant evergreen mat rush in lively lime green adds life to your landscape. As a clump-forming ornamental grass, it blooms with delicate pale yellow flowers in summer. What makes it special? 'Lime Tuff' isn't just visually stunning; it's a robust choice. Ideal for mass planting along borders, it brings both color and texture to your garden. A true standout for creating stunning, low-maintenance landscapes.

This colourful crassula is a firm favourite as it sets your garden alight with its fleshy propeller-like leaves that mature from bright lime-green to bright red. Also very pretty in containers or hanging baskets. 

The pencil-thin conifer works great in restricted spaces or spaces where shade is not desired. It can be planted in groups to create a hedge or screen. Effortless with minimal water requirements once established. Wind and coastal tolerant

Tiny blue blossoms blanket these silvery-leaved plants for extended periods. Evolvulus 'Blue my mind' is an ideal choice for ground cover in gardens or containers, creating a mound of vivid blue blooms. These resilient plants thrive in heat and drought conditions, making them excellent ground covers and companions for mixed baskets and pots. They thrive in scorching temperatures and shine in full sun. Furthermore, once established, they require minimal watering due to their drought tolerance.

‘Frantoio’ is the most noted olive oil variety of Tuscany, Italy and makes an excellent potted specimen.  White flowers in spring produce small round to oval black fruit in Autumn.  Self-pollinating, but can be used to pollinate other cultivars. Plant in well-draining soil.

Excellent for use in difficult spots where nothing else can survive, this fast-growing daisy bush will give immense joy with a profusion of yellow flowers.  This hardy perennial responds well to pruning. Yellow daisies from mid spring to mid autumn.

Often mistaken for a palm, the Cycas revoluta, or Sago Palm, is in fact an ancient cycad species native to Japan and Taiwan. With its perfectly symmetrical rosette of dark green fronds, it adds bold structure and timeless elegance to any garden or indoor space.

This slow-growing but striking plant is highly valued in landscaping for its sculptural form and evergreen foliage. Watch in wonder as new fronds emerge soft and curled before stiffening into their classic, glossy shape.

• Ideal for rock gardens, containers, or indoor display
• Male plants produce cones; females may form bright orange seed masses
• Grows best in bright, indirect light or morning sun
• Protect from harsh afternoon sun and frost
• Water moderately—keep soil moist but never soggy
• Feed only when new leaves begin to grow

A truly low-maintenance showpiece, Cycas revoluta is as ancient as it is modern—perfect for contemporary garden design or indoor greenery.

 This evergreen shrub resembles rosemary but lacks its fragrance and culinary value. It excels in coastal gardens, withstanding salt spray admirably. It thrives in sandy, well-drained soil and becomes relatively drought-tolerant once established, requiring less water than other plants. Additionally, it responds well to pruning, allowing you to shape it into beautifully pruned balls, hedges, or lollipop standards. During spring and summer, it adorns itself with dainty white or blue flowers.

A favorite of ours, this charming evergreen succulent with petite variegated rosettes has spoon-shaped leaves that turn a vibrant rose red in the sunlight. Plant it in well-draining soil and provide a minimum of 6 hours of daily sunlight. Water sparingly.

Excellent used as a windbreak or hedge. Can be cut to any size. Indigenous.A strikingly attractive and hardy drought resistant tree, with an uncommon silvery-blue appearance that contrasts beautifully with surrounding, darker green foliage. Well suited to harsh coastal conditions. It has a non invasive root system and can be used close to walls. Easily trained as a shrub or screening plant that can provide privacy in a short space of time due to its fast growing rate.

 Prune off the lower branches to form a shade tree; and if space is limited, grow it in a large pot.

Reaching a height of 5m+ with a non-aggressive root system, the Kei-apple is an extremely versatile all-rounder that lends itself to many applications: it can planted on its own, in a border or as a screen. It can be pruned to create a compact neat shape which makes it ideal for confined areas, container planting or as a bonsai. The evergreen foliage is dense and the branches have thorns which make it a good choice for a security hedge

 Birds such as the louries and the black-eyed bulbuls love the unusual fruit of a Dovyalis caffra. 

A popular and award-winning succulent shrub with glossy, rounded, fleshy green leaves adorned with golden yellow tips and red edges. Clusters of small white to pale pink flowers bloom from fall to spring. As it ages, the stout grey trunk and limbs become massive and thick.

This succulent has a lovely medium sized rosette and unusual colouring of chocolate-grey green leaves. Perfect for growing in containers on its own or as part of a mixed succulent arrangement.

Provides a striking colour contrast in rock gardens and adds interest and variation in succulent gardens.

Water-wise,prefers full sun /part shade.

This shrub is native to the Eastern and Western Cape and does well in sandy soil. It has a spectacular bronze colour and produce yellow feathery flowers in spring to summer.(November to February). Ideal for low maintenance, water-wise gardens. Also known as “Geelveer” in Afrikaans.

This small compact shrub provides a variation of colour with bright red foliage in autumn to yellow highlights in winter. Great in containers or gardens.

The gorgeous glossy leaves of the mirror bush make them an excellent choice for gardens large and small. They add interest and contrast to garden beds and are excellent for coastal gardens. They are wonderful planted underneath trees and if used as a filler plant underneath palms, they create a tropical look in your garden. Water wise once established. 

Drought-resistant, evergreen shrubs and trees, with handsome, glossy foliage and fragrant, starry-white, jasmine-like flowers. Ornamental and edible, scarlet to crimson oval fruits are produced after flowering. Carissas are attractive, ornamental shrubs and make excellent hedges. Does well in coastal areas. Plant 1 m to form an impenetrable hedge, they have thorns. 

Clusters of flowers cover this popular vine-like shrub for many months of the year. Often used for covering garden banks but can be trimmed beautifully for use in pots. Flowering mainly from November to May. Indigenous.

An unusual male hybrid, produces showy red foliage in early spring and into summer. Ideal for low maintenance, low water use gardens, once established.

A hardy, evergreen creeper traditionally used to make jam and rope. Attractive foliage. Indigenous, fast grower for covering fences or pergolas. Can also be used as a ground-cover. Small green-yellow flowers in late summer, followed by tart ‘grape-looking’ berries. The flowers will attract insects to your garden. It can be used as a screen.

This pink, white or purple flowered buchu is an eye-catcher in a pot or in the garden when flowering.

Tube like leaves resembling little hunting horns. Grows upright.

Fast growing and vibrant trailing succulent. In lower light areas they maintain a green shade with purplish highlights especially along it’s stem. In bright sun the stem and the bean shaped pudgy leaves will turn ruby red!

This genus is an excellent garden plant, as a focal point or planted in groups, and provides stunning long-stemmed cut flowers. They produce large orange flowers in Spring and turn a vibrant red colour after flowering. Ideal for low maintenance, low water use gardens and equally beautiful as a container plant. Also commonly known in Afrikaans as “Speldekussing”

Very popular evergreen succulent of striking beauty. It forms a solitary rosette of rounded, pointed pastel grey leaves adorned with lavender-pink highlights. The overlapping leaves are delicately dusted with a fine white powder which adds to the plant's unique appeal.One of the most prolific echeverias, producing generous flowering spikes of coral pink flowers yearly. Highly valued in floral arrangements, wedding bouquets and an excellent container plant.Adds beautiful colour and contrast to your garden landscape.

This evergreen, structural plant forms a bulbous trunk-like stem, resembling an elephants foot. The swollen base stores water and makes this an ideal waterwise option.  It's drought tolerant and hardy. Can be grown as an indoor plant but will require bright light. Will grow slower in a container than in the ground. Use potting soil that drains well. Waterwise, tough and ideal for a patio. 

A silver succulent that forms a small, clumping bush. Its oblong leaves are covered in white, waxy hairs that give it a “dusty” look. Small pink flowers bloom in the Spring. *Can be toxic to people and pets.

Chlorophytum comosum vittata stands out with its green-edged leaves, a deviation from the typical yellow variegation.

This indoor favorite excels in air purification and adapts beautifully to hanging baskets, containers, or as a ground cover in outdoor gardens, especially in partial shade.

Its slender stems produce delicate white flowers and 'babies,' earning it the endearing name 'hen and chickens.' Keep the soil consistently moist, avoiding waterlogged conditions, and water from the bottom. As an indigenous plant, it effortlessly blends into its environment

Amy is a stunning, medium sized and compact shrub, which will provide masses of bi-colour foliage from winter through to spring.  Ideal for low maintenance, low water use gardens.

This indigenous plant has bright yellow-green, rounded succulent leaves and a reddish stem. For gardening purposes the plant is grown for its striking leaf colour and water-wise attributes. The leaves are edible and the plant has marvelous air-purifying qualities. It helps fight air pollution in that it removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, acting like a carbon sponge. Easy to grow and low-maintenance. It works well in hot, dry rockeries or grouped with other succulents in drought-prone areas. Also happily provides bright evergreen leaf colour amongst plants receiving regular watering.

A succulent perennial with erect, fleshy , bluish-green pencil-like stems. They are adorned with purple-green patterns and lined with soft spines along the sides. Brilliant red to orange thistle like flowers appear in summer. Easy to grow, the pickle plant is great for containers and can be used as a houseplant. Slightly cascading when mature,it is also perfect for hanging baskets.Also excellent for rock gardens and succulent gardens to add colour contrast and interest.

A striking ornamental hybrid succulent with a unique form. The densely stacked leaves form a geometric square column shape.  The silver-grey-green leaves are flat and soft with upward folding edges. Can be grown indoors if given enough light. Small and low maintenance. Side branches may grow over time.  Water once the soil feels dry.

The evergreen False Olive is a tough, fast-growing, and versatile indigenous tree perfect for hedging, screening, or shaping into a small ornamental tree. It thrives in full sun, is both drought and frost resistant, and has non-invasive roots—ideal for small gardens, containers, and even bonsai.

In spring, it produces masses of fragrant white flowers that attract birds, bees, and butterflies. It’s low-maintenance, responds well to pruning, and offers medicinal uses and durable wood, making it as practical as it is beautiful.

This compact growing plant is ideal for small areas, rockeries and containers and fits well with low maintenance, low water use gardens. Spectacular autumn flowers fresh or dried.

With its tightly whorled rosettes of fleshy silvery, ice-blue leaves that freely produces offsets, this fast-growing and award winning succulent is a very attractive addition to one's succulent collection. Bright-pink blooms on long slender stems occur late winter and spring.

Deep orange flowers cover this plant in spring and summer attracting birds to your garden. Ideal for low maintenance, low water use gardens or containers. Great cut flower. Do not fertilize. Pick all flowers to maintain shape.

Purple Haze is a small evergreen shrub with silvery purple coloured foliage in winter and silver cones at Christmas. Ideal for low maintenance, low water use gardens. Water well to establish. Great for cut flowers.

A small to medium sized, evergreen tree with a graceful willow-like appearance and neat crown.  Fast and easy to grow, making it an ideal shade tree for a newly established suburban garden. Cut to any size. Dense growth habit makes it a good windbreak option. 

Wind and drought tolerant.  The leaves are fine and delicate. Tiny, green flowers in spring and summer are followed by edible red berries that will attract birds to the garden.

Indigenous, Waterwise, Wind-tolerant. 

Black Rose is definitely a show-stopper, its nearly black foliage and clusters of yellow flowers bring drama and contrast into any garden setting. Spectacular when used in containers, raised planters and in grouped plantings. A very unique and popular succulent to add to your collection. Grows well in sunny to partially shaded positions. Winter rains provide ample moisture for growth, little water is needed during the rest of the year.

This quirky and fun trailing succulent with leaves that look like little dolphins will bring instant joy to your surroundings. Easy to grow, waterwise and can be grown indoors or outdoors.