There you will find me...

... on my knees, in the garden, sprinkling handfuls of Marigold seeds in the moist soil.

It's summer and what could be more blissful than lovingly tending to your flock of flowers? Just like our children, they thrive on tender care and love.

Many of us have Marigold flowers (Tagetes) growing in our gardens, but did you know that marigold flowers have great healing abilities? It’s true, these beautiful golden flowers will heal your body in many different ways. Marigold flower tea has great antioxidants that help to prevent cardiovascular disease, strokes, and cancer.

To make tea or infuse the flowers, boil the water and then add 1 tablespoon of the flowers to the pot of tea and let it steep. Do not add the dried flowers to cold water and then let it boil. The tea purifies the blood, so drink this tea regularly.

Marigolds are also great insect repellents, mosquitoes hate them! By growing these flowers in your yard, you can be assured that mosquitoes will leave you alone and you’ll be helping out your local bees, too.

My Marigold kitchen

Just outside my dining room I have this wonderful clump of Marigolds (Tagetes). The flowers are tasty, fresh and couldn’t be more local: straight from the garden! There are some cookbooks out now which show how edible flowers on food are more than just pretty. The use of fresh herbs has come back into fashion and has proven to be more than a passing fad: edible flowers are all the rage.

Many of us have Marigold flowers growing in our gardens, but did you know that marigold flowers have great healing abilities? It’s true, these beautiful golden flowers will heal your body in many different ways. Marigold flower tea has great antioxidants that help to prevent cardiovascular disease, strokes, and cancer.

To make tea or infuse the flowers, make sure that you boil the water and then add 1 tablespoon of the flowers to the pot of tea and let it steep. Do not add the dried flowers to cold water and then let it boil. The tea purifies the blood, so drink this tea regularly.

Marigolds are also great insect repellents, mosquitoes hate them! By growing these flowers in your yard, you can be assured that mosquitoes will leave you alone and you’ll be helping out your local bees, too.

Aloes sharing space

Aloes sharing space with Marigolds and two Cocos plumosa palm trees at the beginning of this winter (2014) in my garden.

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Too much rain!

I never thought I would EVER utter those words - too much rain. For a gardener there can never be such a thing as too much rain!

But my garden has been flooded with rain over the past 3 weeks and yesterday I noticed that many of my Echinopsis cacti weren't doing too well because of all the water, some of them turning yellow and rotting from the inside. In a panic I lifted them, only to find that I had no pots to put them into! This calls for drastic action, so I scouted around my store room and found this fan cover from a fan that wasn't working any more (how come we don't throw those things away...?). A piece of plastic in the bottom with some holes punched in and bob's your uncle! I had a temporary place to plant the cacti (which might just become their permanent place!)

They are now under cover until all signs of rain is gone, when I'll move them back into full sun.

However, the rest of the garden is not complaining. In fact, my garden seems a bit confused - autumn was already really showing and the Marigolds are all but dead and on their last legs with seed heads everywhere. And now their are hundreds of new Marigold seedlings coming up everywhere which, of course, will not survive the winter.

The lawn is loving all the water and we can't keep up with mowing it. I actually would like to get rid of all the lawn for two reasons - one, it is an enormous water-sucking monster and in drought times looks really terrible and two, to cut out the hours spent mowing it. But unfortunately this area is part of our entrance and drive-way to the garages so if I took it all out, it would mean having to make a concrete drive-way, which could end up looking terrible.

Below : Thankful for all the rain...

 

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Autumn is on the way

Life without a garden would be empty 

Klisgras (Setaria verticillata)

As the weather pulses cold and warm and cold again, it is apparent that autumn is close here in Gauteng. For some time I have resisted cutting the grass so as to provide the natural flowering of Dandelions of different kinds, and the other smaller flowers that only grow with the grass. I do enjoy seeing what emerges when nature is left to itself, and that it provides for the tiny creatures that persist throughout the season.

A lot of the grass in my garden has already turned yellow or brown, I came upon this Klisgras (Setaria verticillata, a beautiful grass with spiky tussles) which had escaped the wrath of the lawnmower by growing close to the fence. It was glittering in the late afternoon sunlight with shades of yellow, green and brown.

Here in my garden I have planted a section purely with indigenous grasses in stead of Kikuyu, which uses enormous amounts of water and also needs to be cut very often. The indigenous grasses are also a good source of food for many birds and offers shelter to lizards, geckos, snakes and my tortoise, Torti.

The grasses also make great flower arrangements and I have picked quite a lot and placed them in vases throughout the house.

 

We've had non-stop rain for over two weeks now and the garden is light and bright. There is not much in the way of insects about although there are flowers still. The Marigolds have almost all gone to seed though they are still providing beautiful splashes of colour. They are still a haven for a few straggly bees, aren't seeing that many in the garden these days. It has been a tough season for the bees, with all the rain, and I really must plant more flowers this coming spring...

 

 

 

I've also picked the last of the Hydrangeas, placed some in vases and hung up a few for drying. Soon the main plants will be dying back and I'll be looking forward to their return in spring.

 

 

 

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My favourite plant in the garden (this week)

A garden of marigolds…. orange, yellow and rust,

Bright, soft and rich, touched with golden dust.

Quiet and regal, sun kissed and fair,

Basil-citrus fragrance that mellows the moist air.

A thousand smiling marigolds, a thousand smiling suns,

Sweet nectar, ambrosia, for natures gentle ones.

- Extract from ‘Marigolds’, Nishu Mathur, India

Wandering around my garden this morning it struck me how perfectly happy my Marigolds seemed. And it reminded me of a quote I once read,

all a morning glory 
needs 
to be happy 
is the sun.
so go ahead, 
tilt your face up!

We’ve had absolutely beautiful rain over the past couple of weeks and my garden is smiling! Nobody shows gratitude like Marigolds do!

My kind-hearted gardener, Chrissie, once strew a couple of seeds somewhere in the garden and since then I’ve had them come up in the most unexpected places! If you grow a vegetable garden, plant Marigolds amongst the vegetables. Marigolds are easy to grow and they help keep away aphids. The relationship between plants and insects is known as ‘companion planting’ and it’s by far the safest, natural way to garden organically.

The Marigolds are all seeding now and some have already died off. It’s one way that I know that the season is slowly shifting and that autumn is on our doorstep. My garden will be devoid of their lovely colour until September when all their seeds will once again pop up in the most unexpected places to honour me with their presence.

These often over-looked beauties are native to North and South America, but some species have become naturalized around the world.

 

 

 

 

 

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Exhausted, hot... and happy!

An African Skink enjoying the summer sun on my garden wall

We're heading towards the end of summer. I know it sounds a bit early, but the Marigolds are all seeding and some have already died off. It’s one way that I know that the season is slowly shifting and that autumn is on our doorstep. My garden will be devoid of their lovely colour until September when all their seeds will once again pop up in the most unexpected places to honour me with their presence.

Mid- and end-of-summer chores always include getting the garden ready for her winter siesta - the last composting is done, the edges and pathways are all neatened up, flowering plants are dead-headed and seeds harvested and collected, ready for use in spring.

The pathway Joseph so painstakingly created is now filled with Marigolds, Nasturtiums, Bulbinella and anything else that saw fit to take root. But soon it will be restored to it's previous glory (below) although I do love the randomness of the flowers all over the pathways ...

 

Borders have been fixed up and fresh crusher stone brought in to try and deter the chickens from destroying all semblence of a border!

 

 Some termites decided that my display log is the best thing since Christmas and soon there won't be much left of it...

 

 My water bottle hanging in the shade of a tree sporting some of the last Nasturtiums

 

It's always a good idea to have a few places to take a rest, cool off and have a nice cup of coffee

 

 This Hen & Chicks (Chlorophytum comosum) has managed to escape the onslaught of the chickens and hopefully I can harvest some chicks to plant in spring.

 

 Given good soil, lots of water during summer and some tender loving care, this succulent (Echeveria elegans) will reward you with beautiful, healthy looking rosettes and an abundance of flowers. Unfortunately they are not frost-hardy and every winter I bring them inside or under some cover for over-wintering.

 

 

 Marigolds everywhere!

 

 The insects are still enjoying the last of the Kniphofias (Red Hot Pokers) and I hope to be blessed with many more of their flowers this coming spring

 Some of my more tender succulent and cactus collection on a plant stand on my patio 

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