Beyond PSHB: Five fun ways to favourite trees

Tree Canopy at Pretoria Botanical Gardens

Asking yourself what trees you would like to plant is as important as finding out what trees we as local communities should prioritise in our urban reforestation efforts. Sometimes there is an overlap between the two. Yet I do not take this for granted. Nor do I consider it the only way in which to approach […]

Beyond PSHB: Trees For Bees

Noltea africana

Contemplating bees buzzing around a tree I wondered how the PSHB infestation might affect our dwindling bee populations. What trees might one thus consider planting to attract bees?   Bee Trees For Small Spaces Besides feeding bees, Soap Bush (Noltea africana) has the following attributes:  Attract butterflies and birds  Twigs and leaves rubbed […]

PSHB: Growing Resilience?

Pine Nut Tree

I was invited by a friend to accompany her to a site where the owners want to transition into a more extensive, self-sustaining permaculture practice. This required re-envisioning their space. The first thing I noticed were pine trees. These were the happiest pines I had ever seen. Usually their leaves are dark, sombre, and so […]

Growing Spekboom

Addo elephant eating spekboom

Last week I had the great pleasure of taking cuttings from spekboom from a garden where a diversity of carbon sequestration plants grow in abundance. I prefer this way of sourcing spekbbom plants for it creates a virtuous cycle of sharing that supports the sustainability of the earth at many levels. Given that June is World […]

PSHB: Light at last?

Wild Olives in pots along Grant Avenue, Norwood

The Forestry & Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI) website page on PSHB has been updated. It provides a history of the infestation, the lifecycle of the PSHB beetle, and lists funded projects that tackle the challenge from different angles. It also provides strategies on how to respond to the infestation that echo some of those I […]