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Leonotis leonurus is commonly known as wild dagga. It is a robust shrub which grows up to 2-3m tall and 1.5m wide. It is common and widespread throughout South Africa and grows amongst rocks in grassland. Stems are velvety and woody at the base. The leaves are long, narrow, rough above, velvety below, with serrate edges. The wild dagga flowers profusely in autumn with its characteristic bright orange flowers carried in compact clusters in whorls along the flower stalk. Apricot and creamy white flowered forms are also found. This is an excellent plant for attracting wildlife to your garden as the flowers profuse copious nectar which attracts birds, bees and butterflies. The wild dagga is fast growing and is frost hardy. It should be well watered in summer but does not require much water in the winter months. It is very easy to grow but will do best in well drained loamy soils with plenty of compost added. Plants should be cut right back at the end of winter. Propagate from seed, cuttings or by dividing up large clumps. The wild dagga is widely used in traditional medicine to treat fevers, headaches, coughs, dysentery and many other conditions. It is also used as a remedy for snake bite and as a charm to keep snakes away.

USDA Zone - 9

Season to Sow - Spring

The genus is named in honour of Swedish Botanist Carl Thunberg who travelled as a doctor with the Dutch East India Company ships and did extensive botanical exploration in southern Africa. The specific name is derived from the province of Natal (now Kwazulu-Natal) where the plant occurs naturally. The dwarf thunbergia is a shrub up to 1 metre in height. The slender stems arise from a woody base and are mostly unbranched. The leaves are dark green, ovate (slightly broader at the base) to elliptic (broadest part of the leaf is in the middle) in shape and the margins may be toothed. The leaves are arranged opposite to one another on the stems. The flowers are large, tubular, pale blue to mauve with spreading lobes. The tube is bottle-shaped and yellowish-white inside. Flowering takes place throughout summer. The seeds are borne in club-shaped capsules that explode when ripe, scattering the seeds. The natural distribution is throughout the eastern regions of South Africa, from the Eastern Cape, through Kwazulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Swaziland, Northern Province, Zimbabwe and north into east Africa. The dwarf thunbergia occurs naturally along forest margins, in bush and in grassland. It occurs in the higher summer rainfall areas of South Africa and is adapted to dry winters by going dormant.

USDA Zone - 8

Season to sow - Spring

Acacia is a genus of shrubs and trees belonging to the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae.

This shrub to small tree may reach up to 7 m in height, branching from near ground level and is often wider than high, occurring generally in hot, dry areas, often forming thickets. Its growth form can vary considerably. Over large parts of its distribution range it occurs as a prostrate, spreading, multi–stemmed shrub with dense branches near ground level or with stems rising from branching underground stems. In this form it may be no more than 1 or 2 m high, but can achieve a diameter several times its height. In appearance it is thus often reminiscent of a large, flattened cushion. In some areas it occurs as a more upright shrub or small tree 3 to 8 m high with rounded, spreading crown and drooping branches, also with a considerable horizontal spread. As a low shrub it is found in dry savannah and grassland areas and on soil ranging from Kalahari sands to sandy alluvium soils, often associated with calcrete. As a more upright shrub or tree it is usually found on more moist soils with higher clay content. It is considered to be a good indicator of calcium–rich soils. It is fairly tolerant of cold.

USDA Zone - 9

Season to Sow - Spring