Full Circle Digital Magazine March | April 2014 | Page 15

ENTREPRENEURSHIP • FYNBOS GARDENING

only open if the plant is in a full-sun position, closing up
at night and re-opening each morning. It flowers from
mid- to late-summer in water up to about 120cm deep.
Suitable for a smaller or shallower pond is
geelwateruintjie (Nymphoides indica), a small water
lily with rounded floating leaves and numerous small,
bright yellow, star-shaped flowers with feathery edges. It
flowers throughout summer and also does best in a full
sun position.
Waterblommetjie (Aponogeton distachyos) is a wellknown water lily with lanceolate leaves (narrowing and
tapering to a point at the end), which grows rapidly and
has very attractive white flowers in winter. It is widely
enjoyed in the Western Cape in waterblommetjie bredie.
It seeds itself and is very easy to grow.
An extremely good oxygenator among the deepwater aquatics is Vallisneria spiralis. It has a grasslike
appearance and spreads along the bottom of a pond
by means of stolons. It absorbs redundant dissolved
minerals, thus keeping the water clear. Algae also benefit

from these minerals and would increase rapidly were it
not for plants like Vallisneria spiralis.

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