Country

South Africa: 18 ecoregions. Each with its climate now and toward 2050, and its conservation tier.

Eighteen ecoregions meet in South Africa, and the ones gardeners know best are the smallest: the Fynbos shrubland, Renosterveld shrubland, and Albany thickets of the winter-rainfall Cape, source of proteas, restios, and countless bulbs. Eastward and inland the country shifts to summer rainfall - Drakensberg grasslands and Highveld grasslands on the high interior, Central bushveld and the Limpopo lowveld in the north, and subtropical coastal forests from Knysna-Amatole to Maputaland. The arid west belongs to the Succulent Karoo xeric shrublands, Nama Karoo shrublands, and Kalahari xeric savanna. Planting well here starts with knowing which rainfall regime you are in; a Cape fynbos palette and a Highveld grassland palette are almost opposites in watering rhythm.