Aloe arborescens hedge

Aloe arborescens is one of the few aloes that can be planted to grow a substantial hedge. A big sunny garden, public park or boulevard at a town entrance may benefit much from a sight as imposing as this, which promises to look even better in the flowering season.

This picture was taken at the De Hoop Nature Reserve in the southern Cape. This has been planted in the garden by the main buildings. The indigenous plant list of the Reserve contains more than 15 000 species, that apart from the animals, birds and insects found there make a visit very worthwhile.

The first hedges were used to enclose cereal crops on small farms, maybe as long as 6000 years ago during the Neolithic Age. These farms were between 5 and 10 hectares and all the work was done manually (Coates Palgrave, 2002; iNaturalist; Wikipedia).