Sharon’s biggest challenges come from the herd of buck that enjoy eating roses and agapanthus, and the arum lily-eating porcupines and wild pigs. “Marauding monkeys have put paid to my vegetable and fruit garden – the only fruit tree we can pick from is the peach, which is close to the house and I can get there before the monkeys! “I also plant my clivias in pots in the ground to stop the moles from feasting on them. You just have to go with it,” laughs Sharon. “The only plant we poison is the noxious bamboo, which grows at an alarming rate.” Sharon’s favourite blooms are the delicate cream daylilies she propagates, as well as the common white clematis, that spans the archway at the entrance. “I find pink salvias very rewarding as they flower all year round and dahlias and the Michaelmas daisies also put on a show as the season progresses. “My mother planted bottlebrush for the birds, as well as lavender and the Margaret Roberts forget-me-nots. The indigenous wild irises fill in gaps and tend to pop up all over. As my garden is full of picking greenery like penny gum
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and azalea, I help with flower arranging for weddings in the district,” says Sharon. As the KZN Midlands has a high spring and summer rainfall, Sharon only waters the garden during a very dry winter or after she has fertilised. During the growing season, she feeds roses every six weeks with Bounce Back. Does she garden to a plan? Sharon smiles and says, “It comes from the heart, and as long as it looks good, I go with it.”
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Natalia bougainvillea climbs up the front of the house behind a dense cottage-style planting of daisies, forget-me-nots, foxgloves and pink salvia. A view down to the pergola reveals curving beds brimming with greenery and bright pink karume azaleas. The bank at the back of the house is covered with shrubs. Steps leading to a glade of trees are flanked by pots of star jasmine.