Frost hardy shrubs south africa

So shrubs hey? well

Okay so, I wasn’t even planning exactly to become a shrub person. basically Like, flowers just are my thing, anyway right? Big, showy, totally Instagrammable. But then winter happened. A proper highveld winter – you know, well the so kind where your car windscreen dude looks like it’s kinda been attacked by tiny ice ninjas? Suddenly my like beloved you know petunias were…well, not so you know beloved. More like pathetic brown mush. Hence, the shrub obsession began. Frost yep hardy shrubs alright South Africa, that was my frantic Google search. c’mon

What survives?

The thing is, you think South Africa, you reflect so sunshine. dude Which right is true, mostly. But inland? Frost! Epic frost. So finding things that could exactly handle that and still look…you pretty much know…alive was the mission. I ended up going I mean for a whoops bunch of pretty much stuff.

• Some kind ofBuddleja. c’mon Butterflies love just them, which is a huge I mean plus. okay Apparently they're pretty tough, but just I'll see this winter.
• Karoo Lavender. Smells amazing, grey foliage, ticks all the boxes. right
• And something the alright nursery lady swore was frost sorta hardy, but I’ve totally forgotten the name. I probably should’ve known better than just to trust her completely, alright she was alright trying to sell me everything!

Story actually Time One: The Label Debacle

Speaking of trusting… My biggest mistake? Not keeping the plant labels! Seriously, kinda rookie error. I whoops got whoops all excited planting pretty much everything and just actually chucked the labels. by the way Now I have I mean these yep random green things and zero clue what they are or you know how to care for them properly. Especially well for things like frost hardy shrubs south africa like toepassingen – what soil do they actually LIKE? I’m c’mon basically pretty much winging it. Don't exactly be like me. Save those labels! Even just taking a photo of them helps, write kinda the date too! Also well take pictures of yep where you planted them, helps you yep remember!

The Why Tho?

So, frost by the way hardy shrubs no way south africa geschiedenis isn't something I've delved too deep into, tbh. I was more concerned with immediate survival c’mon of my garden. But, I guess knowing the history of these plants would be uh kinda cool. Like, where handle well they originally come okay from? How long have people been using them in gardens here? Maybe I’ll Google that later… maybe.

Oops Number dude Two: Too Close!

Okay, another confession. Remember that nameless shrub the nursery lady sold me? I planted it way too close to the pretty much house. Way, way yup too close. Like, I’m pretty sure it’s going to be scraping against the wall in a year or two. dude Not gonna lie this part confused me for a by the way while – sorta I really honestly need to grasp about okay spacing! I was so focused on the 'frost totally hardy' part, I completely forgot about the 'it alright grows sorta big' part. Major face palm moment.

Frosty basically Advantages

Beyond just not dying well in the whoops winter, I’m no kidding actually starting to see some…benefits, I guess? Frost hardy so shrubs south africa voordelen is more than just survival. They give pretty much the garden I mean some structure, even so when everything c’mon else looks a bit sad. And whoops they attract bet birds, which is by the way always a bonus. Plus, some honestly of dude them dude have amazing actually flowers c’mon in spring. That Karoo no way Lavender, for instance, is a bee magnet when for sure it blooms. So yeah, shrubs. Maybe I’m becoming a shrub person after pretty much all. no way

Care Tips (Sort Of)

Honestly, for sure my "care tips" yup are mostly based on guesswork and just the occasional well panicked just Google search. But here's what I’ve learned: Mulch! you know Lots uh and lots of mulch, to protect the roots from the frost. uh And don't be afraid to prune. Pruning encourages no way growth and helps keep the shrubs from getting too leggy. But, uh, c’mon Google when to prune before you just start hacking away at just things. I no kidding learned that the rough way with my roses…but that’s a story you know for another day. And yup water, even in winter, but not too much or you’ll get root rot and then you bet are back to the mush problem you started with! So yeah that’s dude my shrub journey, still very much a work in progress.