An April garden

My garden in April...

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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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My New Garden: Progress 2 : April to Aug '05

"Tread softly!" a signpost in my garden reads: "Your feet are killing me!"

The Garden on a quiet April night

Thank heavens this 2005 Winter seemed extremely mild, because our area, Tarlton, gets severe frost regularly, wiping out anything that's remotely marked as frost-tender, and by beginning-July most of the trees already had blossoms and tiny leaf buds.

The lawn is taking a bit longer and it's amazing that, no matter how much you water, with the first rains, no matter how little, everything springs to life.

The White Karees have done well this summer and are well-prepared for the coming winter.

Even the Euphorbia pulled through

July and mid-Winter - things are looking decidedly dry. the lawn is dry and yellow and didn't even put up a fight against the severe frost we're having.

It's August, spring is looming and the Sword Ferns and Hen & Chickens were almost wiped out completely.

Some of the Acacias look worse for the wear, but tiny green leaves are already sprouting!

I forgot to move My Old Man cactus under-roof, but didn't seem to mind the cold and even seems a couple of centimeters taller, but the frost got the one Coco Splumosa, below.

These little Phormiums are truly wonderful, don't seem to get affected by cold, wind, water or drought. Must actually plant some more of them.

The old peach tree, which I didn't have the heart to remove, was already covered in pink blossoms early in July and now, in August, already has most its leaves.

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