What to Plant Where

To help you choose plants for your own indigenous garden at school, at home or in your community, go to

List of South African plants for Cape Town gardens

• What the plant looks like

• Whether or not the plant is indigenous to Cape Town

• What type of soil the plant grows best in

• Whether the plant likes to grow in full sun or shade

• If the plant attracts birds or insects

Make your garden water-wise by choosing plants that can survive Cape Town’s long, dry summers without much watering. The water-wise gardening tips below will help you to design a garden that uses as little water as possible.

Water-Wise Gardening Tips (From: Water-wise gardening for winter rainfall areas )

• Grow water-wise plants.

• Grow plants with similar water needs together, so that you don’t over-water plants that need little water.

• Lawns are very thirsty, so keep your lawn small. Don’t plant Kikuyu grass - it is a declared invader plant and should not be planted. It needs lots of water in summer and invades natural vegetation, wetlands and streams. Buffalo grass is a better lawn for Cape Town gardens.

• Remove weeds - they will compete with your garden plants for water.

• Add compost to your soil - it holds water in the soil.

• Put a layer of mulch on top of the soil to stop sand blowing around and to reduce the evaporation of water from the soil.

• Grow a “living mulch” of water-wise groundcovers.

• It’s best to plant your garden in about March or April, at the beginning of the rainy season. The rain will do most of your watering for you while the plants are small. By the time summer comes, they will have a better chance of surviving.

• Water in the early morning or late afternoon, and water well to encourage the roots to grow deep.

Click the buttons to find out more about planting Indigenous.

	Why plant indigenous?
	A school greening experience
	What to plant where