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(Not so!) Easy and relaxed gardening
I used to take gardening for granted - dig this up, move that, de-weed there, carry that. Did it all myself, with only major and heavy work undertaken by the gardener. It was easy. Now, not so!What...
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Gazania — an easy to grow gem from Africa
If you have a sunny, dry spot in your garden where most plants don’t do well because it is too hot, consider growing Gazanias there. Or so they say. Unfortunately I have never had much luck with...
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October gardening
October is a time when the Celtis africana (White Stinkwood) stands proud with brand new foliage. It's a sure sign that summer is now here. One of my chores this past winter was trimming away some of...
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My sedges (Cyperaceae)
Sedges growing amongst the paving in my gardenI have these beautiful, what I thought was grasses, springing up all over in my bathroom court-yard, but upon trying to identify them, found out that they...
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Planting for nature
We choose plants for the garden for a number of reasons, mostly colour, size, texture and how they will fit into the overall design. We tend not to give much thought as to the why's of colour and...
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Cares melt when you kneel in your garden
Soil . . . scoop up a handful of the magic stuff. Look at it closely. What wonders it holds as it lies there in your palm. Tiny sharp grains of sand, little faggots of wood and leaf fiber, infinitely...
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Bulbinella (Bulbine frutescens)
Bulbinella in my garden, Tarlton, South Africa Camera : Kodak EasyShare C195 Back-ground texture by Kim KlassenBulbine frutescens is a popular, waterwise garden plant, especially when planted en masse...
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Salsify (Tragopogon porrifolius)
They say you learn something every day. Today I learnt what Salsify is! Walking through my garden at the pond, where I have purely indigenous grasses and leave it fairly wild, I saw what looked like a...
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Summer's colours
summer’s colorsbending lightfinding beautytaking flight - unknown The season's first Marigolds have appeared after we had our (late) spring rains a couple of weeks ago. They are always first to add...
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Aloe ferox
The aloe seemed to ride like a ship with the oars lifted. Bright moonlight hung upon the lifted oars like water, and on the green wave glittered the dew. - Beauchamp A. feroxThis past winter my aloes...
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Building up a collection of Succulents and cacti
(A warning: If you have any propensity towards cactus love to begin with, moving to the desert will increase it exponentially!) Echeveria elegans A long-standing passion - a passion most people find...
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Going indigenous
Masked Weaver (Ploceus velatus) building his nest. Camera : Canon EOS 550D We’ve all met different kinds of gardeners. There are ornamental gardeners who aspire to have a garden worthy of showcasing in...
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Art & Gardening
“To ‘bee’ in nature is to experience one of our planet’s most awesome gifts. Spring makes its own statement, so loud and clear that the gardener seems to be only one of the instruments, not the...
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A change in scenery
My first Hydrangeas of the seasonWe all know that the ph of the soil affects what colour your Hydrangeas are - in most species the flowers are white, but some species (notably H. macrophylla), can be...
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Mother Nature is awfully ingenious
Mother Nature is awfully ingenious; she has come up with quite a few methods to keep bugs away and plants healthy and thriving. It turns out that plants, like people, prefer certain company.One of the...
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Country Diary - The Works of Nature
I know no subject more elevating, more amazing, more ready to the poetical enthusiasm, the philosophical reflection, and the moral sentiment than the works of nature. Where can we meet such variety,...
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Queen of my own compost heap!
"I'm queen of my own compost heap; I'm getting used to the smell!"A couple of months ago I started a compost heap again. Can't remember why I gave up the last one... Probably when I got my chickens and...
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Remember the birds in winter
In winter the wild birds can have a hard time finding enough food. Turn your garden into a haven which they will frequently visit for something to eat.Fill a pine cone with peanut butter and then roll...
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Shasta daisies in the garden
Not much gardening has been happening over the past couple of weeks - raking up leaves, tending to the compost heap, neatening edges, nothing exciting.I've got no Shasta daisies in my garden this year,...
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Late-November in the garden
A lost Salvia springing up amongst some fernsWe've had HOT temperatures this November, mostly exceeding 30℃ but luckily we've also had a fair amount of rain and everything is green and sparkling, my...
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