Page 17 - Kyalami Issue 4 December 2025

The striking minimalist: Pair up pure white pebbles with
contrasting black tiles or black painted pavement slabs to
give walkways and entrances a sleek look. Alternatively, go
for equally bold black pebbles with a few summer flowering
ornamental grasses to set off the contrast. The indigenous
and sun-loving white button sedge is a good choice; it is
evergreen and produces a clustered white flower head that
is carried on a long, slender stem.

Earth child: Pink rose quartz, both pebbles and rough
stones, can be used as centre piece stone mandalas or
walkable labyrinths. Pair the crystal arrangements with other
softer stone shades (such as river rocks) and introduce Bris-
tle Leaved Red Top to complement the pink shades of the
rose quartz. This hardy ornamental grass thrives in full sun
and produces plumes of fluffy pink to red seeds that appear
all year round and attract
seed-eating birds.
Rock balancing: This is a
recreational activity where
different sized stones
or pebbles are precisely
stacked on top of each other
to create a work of art. It is
practiced around the world
and promotes calmness and
focus, adding height and
intrigue to a garden. Create
multiple towers around your
space – it’s challenging but
worth it!
Colour is everything: If you
love colour in the garden,
stones are your crayons!
Create flowing stone spirals
along the edges of flower
beds to bring in movement
by using grey-blue, white
and green pebbles. Highlight containers with a design using
stones of various sizes and bring it all together by planting
Krantz Aloe for shades of orange and red, Rock Sage for
magenta pink and Brandy Bush for blue-green foliage with
stunning, large yellow blooms.
Top Tip: The overuse of gravel can increase the soil tem-
perature around plants. Rather use gravel in areas that are
further away from beds and not directly in containers.
XERISCAPING EXPLAINED
Pronounced zeer-e-skay-ping, this creative gardening tech-
nique is less of a mouthful than it sounds. Simply put, it is
intentionally designing a landscape to minimise watering,
reduce maintenance and optimise a garden’s seasonal
longevity. A common misconception is that this method is
all about cacti, succulents and gravel, but in fact there is
much more to it. Marionette Hoffman from Plant Paradise in
Pretoria explains: “This new ‘lock up and go’ movement en-
courages people to opt for this style as it provides a beautiful
garden with lots of colour but less maintenance.
Jargon check: Xeric plants are those which have developed
a number of possible strategies for coping with low moisture
environments such as reduced leaf size, far-ranging or deep
root systems for penetrating soil in search of water.
GUIDELINES TO SUCCESSFUL XERISCAPING
Follow these pointers to create a modern, environmentally
sustainable and low maintenance garden feature or en-
trance:
• begin by deciding on the look and theme you want and