It is less than two weeks to us leaving our home and garden and moving 1700 km (over 1000 miles) across the country to an entirely different environment and climate zone. Of the wild creatures that have visited our garden over the years, we will particularly miss the vervet monkeys.
Continue reading “On living harmoniously with vervet monkeys”
In our spring equinox week we have had rain, snow and temperatures falling across parts of the country. It has been a bit of a mixed blessing but new growth is very evident including in our garden and sunshine is back today.
Continue reading “Southern equinox after springtime September rains“
Following last week’s post showcasing the large wild iris (Dietes grandiflora), this post features the other two wild irises in our garden: the yellow wild iris or peacock flower (Dietes bicolor) and the less well-known forest wild iris – or simply forest iris – (Dietes butcheriana), which is also known as the broad-leaved dietes.
Continue reading “More on our wild irises: The yellow and the forest wild irises”
Shorter days and cooler nights bring changes as the daytime temperatures vary between hot and mild. With the dryer air the sunshine has a golden clarity enhancing the colourful winter flowers and mellow berries, and brightening the visiting birds and insects in the garden.
Continue reading “Meanwhile back in the garden: Images of early winter”
With attractive flowers, heady scent, glossy leaves and unusual fruit, it is perhaps surprising that the wild gardenia is not more commonly used as a garden staple. It also makes a good container plant and it does well as a flowering bonsai plant. Continue reading “Wild gardenia: At home in forests and gardens”
This springtime, at first we didn’t have rain. Then we had a lot. And one morning a favourite old tree, sodden with the weight of the water, fell with a shuddering thud. Continue reading “Owed to a tree: For its beauty and bounty many thanks”
This young Vervet monkey is part of a group enjoying early morning winter sunshine while eating berries from the Pigeonwood (Trema orientalis) tree. I like how the youngster is taking advantage of a wild banana (Strelizia nicolai) leaf as a partial hammock. Continue reading “Winter in the garden: a selection of photos”
Skeletons of a botanical kind caught my attention in the form of fallen leaves that were gently disintegrating at the base of a White Stinkwood (Celtis Africana) growing just outside our garden. As the soft pulpy part of the leaves decompose and return to the soil, the leaf skeleton of intricate veins is left intact. Following the example set by the cicada terracotta army featured in last week’s post, I collected some leaf skeletons to photograph on a background of white paper. Continue reading “Skeletons in the garden Pt 2: Paisley pattern leaves”
The shortest day in the south and the longest day in the north, the Solstice reminds us of the balance in the seasonal cycles.
letting nature back in 