The Sunday Mail
Andrew Mangwarara
IF you love nature like l do, you have probably visited the forests of Chimanimani, Nyanga, Vumba and of course, the smoke that thunders, Victoria Falls.
The magic and awe of these places will stay with you long after you have left.
The beauty and grandeur of these sites might even inspire you to create your own tropical shade garden.
It is quite possible to do just that! But before proceeding, ask yourself if you have enough water for this project. You will need a good supply of water.
Also ensure that you have enough shade in your garden. However, the shade must not be too dense. Some light must permeate your garden.
Plant the right size of trees in your garden. Large trees like trichelia emetica, albizia gummifera and khaya anthotheca suits large gardens whilst medium sized trees like croton megalocarpon, fernandoa magnifica and syzygium guineense suits small yards.
Trees can take a couple of years to grow, but if you are fortunate to have a garden that already has some trees, then your work is almost done.
Designing your shade garden is equally important. Decide where to place your pathways, benches and flower beds. Railway logs can enhance your walkways. Wood benches will also appeal in your setup.
The shade garden must look like a forest with plenty of new discoveries around the corner.
Incorporate medium sized shrubs such as widdringtonia nodiflora (mountain cedar), strelitzia nicolai, pordocarpus latifolius (yellowwood tree) and ensete ventricosum (wild banana) into your garden.
The charm of a shade garden is usually in the smallest elements that bring colour into the picture. Plants like impatiens spp (buzzy lizzie), clivia miniata, dietes iridoides (wild iris), zantedeschia albomaculata (arum lily) and scadoxus pole evansii (nyanga fireball) can bring life into the mundane greens.
The ferns, cycads and orchids can also create your shade paradise. For that forest come alive, install micro-jet sprinklers that are timed to release misty water at certain intervals. Your visitors will be intrigued by this and your plants will thrive with the high humidity generated.
lf you have the gradient, you can also construct a stream that will flow through your forest. If you cannot add the stream, consider a fish pond.
Plant the right type of trees around the water body. Deciduous trees will constantly litter your water with leaves.
Take note of the fact that some plants will need routine prunning, particularly if you have included some heavy climbers or lianas such as the rhoicissum rhomboidea (grape ivy), podranea brycei (Zimbabwe creeper), combretum paniculatum (burning bush) and clematis sinensis.
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