Gardening Tips

Gardening Tips

Gardening Tips

– Thanks, Isabel, for the insert on “Dung Beetles in the New South Africa: Is There No Way Forward?” But now back to this morning\'s programme on how to improve your garden, brought to you live here in Randburg. I figured we’d take a bit of a different angle this week, so I’ve got with me Mkhomazi Dindi, known to his friends as Dick – here he is – and he’s a chap who really knows his stuff! – he’s working on a Ph.D. on African Knowledges and Biome Diversity at Wits, so I’m going to ask him to share his experiences with us because we’re looking at herbs and plants usually associated with African traditional medicine, some of them probably unknown to you out there. I’d then like Dick to name the plants I show you in his language. Mkhom, um, Dick, so which do you speak? Southern Sotho or Xhosa might be best.

– I don\'t speak either, to be honest. I grew up where they knew a lot of things. My mother was Tsonga and my father was Zulu, but he had lived in Polokwane as a boy, so I speak a few things all mixed up together . . .

– Polokwane?

– You used to call it Pietersburg.

– Oh, really? Well, Dick, we\'ve begun to fathom that we probably haven’t given nearly enough attention to the wealth of tribal lore on plants. One of the most exciting things in the New South Africa is that it’s becoming available to us, don’t you think?

– Yes, sure. I first came across these things when my parents sent me away from Soweto to my uncle in KwaZulu, who was a herbalist. He went out gathering plants all the time, which then seemed strange to me. I asked him why did he do that, and he explained about the situation. I remember . . .

– yes, I see, okay. But let’s get to the point. Here’s an example of Helichrysum odoratissimum. Your people know it as Imphepho, isn’t that correct?

– You\'re right. xiTsonga-speakers on the other hand call it . . .

– you listeners out there probably know it as ‘Everlasting’, or by its Afrikaans name, ‘Kooigoed’. It\'s a member of the Asteraceae family; and is sometimes confused with this other plant I have here, Achryocline steoptera. It\'s . . .

– yes, that one, it\'s also Imphepho: we burn it in potsherds when we have to . . .

– very aromatic, and used mainly for bedding because it’s a strong repellent . . .

– but wait: in my opinion, I can say this is not correct. Maybe, a little, but we also use the leaves and twigs for coughs and for putting on wounds and women who perfume themselves. My uncle said . . .

– no, Dick, not actually. Your uncle was thinking of Helichrysum nudifolium. Mind you, to be fair, I do know that once in a while it’s used in ritual incenses to invoke the good will of the ancestors – or what you people call the izindlozi –

– amadlozi . . .

– amadlozi, sorry. As I was saying, used for ritual cleansings . . .

– and for trances . . .

– and for trances, of course; an informant in Maputaland once told me that. Apologies to all of you out there, who’ll maybe understand our dilemma when you grasp that there are over two hundred species of Helichrysum in our country. The silvery leaves and little yellow flower-heads don’t look like much, but they are attractive in a bowl and gosh they smell exquisite.

– My uncle would cure fevers and headaches with it . . .

– really, Dick? Yes, well, if you say so, of course . . .

– We also use the roots. Anyway, for myself I came to realise . . .

– these species grow all over, and usage depends more on local availability than on any preference for a particular species . . .

– but there are other things . . .

– goodness, have we run out of airtime so soon? So, friends, here it is: use it as a decorative plant but be careful because it spreads quite rapidly. Well-drained soil, please, mixed with a scoop of ordinary sand. Plant it in full sun or partial shade but never, never, never over-water, unless you want to fuss with old man fungus!  . . . that’s our hour of chat and inserts flown by again. Watch out for next week’s slot when I\'ll be discussing “How to Landscape Small Townhouse Gardens in the Tuscan Style”. For now, all Isabel and I – and, of course, our special guest – can do is wish you – as always – a relaxing weekend as you potter about in God’s fresh air. Only remember: think indigenous!