My New Garden : Progress 14 - Apr to Dec 2010

"To find new things, take the path you took yesterday." 

 -John Burroughs 

 The garden at 7am after lots of rain

Autumn was almost finished and in April we were still having lots of rain! Even though the temperatures were cooler, the garden absolutely lapped it up. We have very deep and well-drained top-soil and the water seems to disappear like a flash, sinking deep down, leaving the top layers dry, so rain is never to be scoffed at!

The winter was fairly uneventful, the frost having killed a couple of my weaker plants, but by spring the Monkey Tail Cactus was in full bloom. It always seems the colder the winter (as long as it gets enough water), the more beautiful it blooms.

November 2010 was when I planted my first Agapanthus in the front of the garden, having rescued it from too much shade in my bathroom court-yard garden. I was hoping that it would spread and cover this bare area, which it actually did.

I also started a new herb garden, with Bulbinella (Bulbine frutescens) being the first. I put in about 10 plants spaced fairly far apart as I know how well they spread, but they looked so utterly lost in this big space. This wonderful indigenous plant is, like Lavender, an outstanding remedy for minor burns, cuts and abrasions, and insect bites. Simply break off a leaf and squeeze the juice or jelly onto affected areas.

November chores included transplanting my sorry-looking Echeverias from full shade to this sunny spot next to the herb garden in the hope that they will return to their full glory again.

For the first time in many years I also planted Hydrangeas again. The four (expensive!) little bushes looked all lost in the allocated space but I thought that, seeing as Hydrangeas can get quite large, rather suffer now than having to cut them down later. And by December the little bushes were already covered in many lovely flower heads!

 

My Cycas revoluta (planted in 2007) was still bearing witness of the winter in December, not having lost it's bottom leaves yet. But I don't cut those off, they serve as protection during winter time.

The spot that I had filled earlier in the year with Hen 'n Chickens and some indigenous grasses seemed to be a bit bland, so I added an old terracotta pot and a couple of stepping stones and pebbles, just to provide a bit of character. That ended the year off nicely for me and I was looking forward to next year's adventures, joys and mishaps.

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