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 the lower branches, not too many, it's still a young tree and I first wanted to see the result when the leaves appear, and I'm glad I did, the tree seems to be fuller and very happy. Unfortunately I lost one of my White Karee's (Rhus viminalis) to the right of her, have no idea why. It's going to be a big job taking it out, but another thought is to just leave it, the Fiscal Shrike absolutely loves surveying her surrounds from the top of the dead branches. Maybe planting an Hedera Helix ivy at the base would also be a good idea as I can train it up the trunk to cover some of the 'deadness'. But I've also experienced what the ivy can do to a dead tree - when it gets big, and HEAVY, it can bring the whole tree tumbling down, causing absolute havoc in the garden!

There's something I love about how stark the contrast is between July and October, from brown and dusty to clean and sparkly green after the first rains. Our rain has been very late this year, had our first shower last week, but already everything is starting to go green. All the greenery also inspired me to clean up the space between two trees and spruce it up with an ornamental twig basket and some crusher stone and river pebbles. Two little terracotta pots filled with some Sempervivums and a driftwood found on the beach completes the picture.

I lost six of my Clivias due to the heavy frost a year or two ago, so I placed a vintage hand planter amongst them to temporarily fill the spot. Maybe a coat of paint would be in order...

 

 

However, surprisingly enough, most of my nasturtiums survived the winter, adding a lovely splash of colour to the otherwise winter landscape. They're already sporting lots of large seeds, which I've already started pushing into the ground in some sunny, empty spots.

I'm never actually sure when to trim the Hydrangeas down, but this year I did it right at the beginning of winter and it seemed to have worked. They've sprung back to life with a vengeance and I've already got a couple of first flowers. And every year my flowers seem to be a different colour - whether I add compost or not seems to have a lot to do with it. Unlike my previous garden, which had a very acid soil and I mostly had blue flowers, now I'm blessed with lovely pink ones, obviously the soil here is much more alkaline.

My Geranium, placed on some wooden pallets together with some cacti and succulents, also survived the winter and is now ready for transplanting into the new garden I will be landscaping in the chicken run.

A garden ornament hanging from a branch of my Acacia karroo (Sweet thorn). Amazingly, the first green leaves on the Acacia appeared within hours (it seems!) of the bit of rain we had a couple of days ago.

Yellow Wood Sorrel (Oxalis stricta), commonly called Oxalis or sour grass, is a vigorous weed. It is a summer annual -- sometimes perennial -- that thrives in fertile, warm and moist soils and likes shade. (Identified by MyBlueDaisies in the comments below - Thanks Daisy!)

This little weed, which can spread like wildfire if left unchecked, covered most of my dead lawn during the winter, so I left it as it provided some sense of greenery in an otherwise dead scene. I'm sure I'm going to be sorry, because last summer I sat for hours on the lawn, pulling them out root and all, otherwise they just grow again. I did actually find it rather therapeutic sitting on the soft green weeds, taking in the scenery and just letting my thoughts wander. Have no idea what it's called, still doing some research to try and find the name.

Unfortunately the winter also killed off most of the plants around my pot feature (and the chickens played a great part too! You can see ChickyBoo above trying to find some greenery!), so I'll be choosing something more hardy to fill up with here again - the Hen & Chicks that filled up this spot is much too tender for winter and also much too tasty to the chickens!

My pot feature just before winter.

It's the middle of October and I'm only half-way through the chores I set for myself - soon November will be too hot to do anything but water the garden, so I'll have to hurry to finish off and fill in the empty spots before winter catches up with me again!

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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 Gazanias, to my utmost chagrin! All my conditions seem to be right - LOTS of sun, also available part-shade, they need little in the way of watering or fertilising and are said to be pest-free. 

Well, the truth is that, in my garden, they die no matter WHERE I plant them. In part-shade, they do not flower at all. In full sun, they shrivel and die despite all my efforts to water them well. So I've ALMOST given up on EVER having any Gazanias in my garden, but have decided to give them one more chance before I totally ban them from my garden for ever! I planted four plants, in full sun, over the week-end, one of which is flowering, but I'll be keeping a close eye on them! What happens over the next few weeks will definitely decide their fate...

This genus of 16 species of annual and perennial daisies in the family Asteraceae hails mostly from South Africa, with one species extending the range to the tropics. They feature lovely showy flowers, which are large and brightly colored, and in favorable climates they can be relied upon to flower over a long period — in the southern Hemisphere from August till January reaching a peak in October and November. The species usually produce yellow or orange flowers, but the plants seen in cultivation are mainly hybrids and there are countless colour forms and seedling strains.

The Gazania flower grows easily in full sun, but can also do well in part-shade so long as they see a majority of sun during the day. Caring for these plants is very easy as they require very little in the way of watering or fertilising and they don't attract many pests. They are one of the ultimate waterwise plants and they flower prolifically.
The plants are relatively short-lived, up to about three years depending on various conditions. 

Gazania is pollinated by a number of insects: bees, bee flies, beetles, butterflies and ants, have all been seen visiting its bright flowers. This is another reason why they are able to thrive in most environments (except here in Tarlton it seems!), as they do not have any specific pollinators. 

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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 brought this home to me is the fact that a couple of months ago I decided, while my trusty Chrissie (garden manager) was off for the day, to start a new pathway. I had most of the major materials - paving blocks, river pebbles, some plants I could use from other areas - even the area had already been demarcated, this was a cinch, it was just a matter of doing it, quickly. Or so I thought.

Donning my sun hat, sunscreen and gloves, I carried the 14 paving blocks, one by one, and laid them in an order that pleased me. Then I carried all the river pebble bags and emptied each one, one by one, spreading them nicely and interspacing them with some bigger rocks. Then I scrounged round the garden, taking some Echeverias and Aloes from shady areas and putting them on the right-hand side of the new path.

The Erigeron already growing on the left-hand side of the path formed a nice contrast against the pebbles. 

Chrissie had already transplanted some Hen-and-Chickens from another area that she had decided was overgrown! against the wall where they received a bit of shade, so that area was sorted out. I would just have to decide what to use to fill the rest of the space, which gets full sun, but also a lot of rain water run-off.

I decided to lift all my Echeverias (which were now in too much shade on the other side of the garden), a fairly easy job, and brought them all over to the new path, dug the holes, threw in some compost and planted them closely together. A few Aloes were added and I also carried over two metal birds from another part of the garden and placed them amongst the Echeverias. This was at last starting to take shape!

Next was to steal some Marigolds and a few other plants from other sections of the garden - thank goodness for Marigolds! They always make a good filler, are easy to transplant and give an instant splash of colour! Some more river pebbles and a few rocks and we're on our way.

Some Marigolds and a Festuca grass taken from another part of the garden. 

Another trusty standby is old logs or wooden poles - they give an instant facelift and provide nice little features in empty spots. 

After carting a couple of wheelbarrows (about six!) of crusher stone to fill the rest of the empty spot, making a nice little pathway, I stood back and surveyed my handiwork for the day, ignoring the gnawing backache, satisfied that I had made great progress for the day. A long, soaking bath was in order (as it was already 6pm) and decided to have an early night as well.

Well, the next morning was a different matter altogether! I could hardly get out of bed! There wasn't a bone or muscle that didn't ache! It took another soaking warm bath, a good rubbing of Arnica oil all over and three cups of tea before I could even venture into my studio.

What happened to the good old days of easy and relaxed gardening?! I know what happened - the years have a way of catching up with one!

But in just a few weeks I was rewarded for all my aches and pains. It definitely was all worth it and I will be repeating the exercise again shortly!

Chrissie, my trusted garden manager, without whose help my garden would really be in trouble! 

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I took a stroll

I took a little stroll 

along the pathway 

and observed the wild flowers blooming. 

It was a very fine day.

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Alluring and healing Agapanthus

Easy-to-grow Agapanthus (African Lily) produce glorious clusters of lily-like blooms that last throughout the summer.

I guess, as I live and garden in South Africa, the native home of Agapanthus, I have tended to take this amazing plant for granted. The gardens of my childhood home always included masses of both blue and white varieties. As children we loved to use the tall flower stems (after the flowers had withered) for Zorro style sword fights! My garden now has a number of the indigenous species all of which give great pleasure.

Agapanthus is of the family Agapanthaceae and some of the common names are common agapanthus, blue lily (Eng.); bloulelie, agapant (Afr.); isicakathi (Xhosa); ubani (Zulu). Most of the agapanthus that are grown are cultivars or hybrids of Agapanthus praecox, which is endemic to the Eastern Cape. It is generally 0.8 to 1m tall and flowers in mid to late summer (December - February) in South Africa.

Agapanthus praecox is easy to grow and it does well even in the poorest of soils, but it must receive some water in summer. To perform at its best, give it rich, well-drained soil with ample compost (decayed organic matter) and plenty of water in spring and summer. As with most plants, they benefit most from regular (e.g. weekly) deep drenching as opposed to frequent superficial waterings. It prefers full sun and some cultivars will flower in semi-shade. All the evergreen agapanthus are best lifted and divided every four years or so to ensure flowering. A. praecox will tolerate light frost, but in areas with extreme winter temperatures they are best grown in the cool greenhouse, or in containers that can be taken into a greenhouse during winter.

Perhaps what most gardeners fail to give much thought to, is the wonderful medicinal properties of so many of the plants we grow in our gardens. In South Africa, many of the indigenous African people consider Agapanthus to be both a magical and a medicinal plant, and the plant of fertility and pregnancy.

Traditionally Xhosa women (of the Eastern Cape) use the roots to make antenatal medicine, and they make a necklace using the roots that they wear as a charm to bring healthy, strong babies.

Margaret Roberts, a renowned herb grower, author and specialist in the use of herbal remedies, advises hikers to put leaves in their shoes to soothe the feet, and to wrap weary feet in the leaves for half an hour. The long, strap-like leaves also make an excellent bandage to hold a dressing or poultice in place, and winding leaves around the wrists are said to help bring a fever down.

However, Agapanthus is suspected of causing haemolytic poisoning in humans, and the sap causes severe ulceration of the mouth so the plant should not be chewed or swallowed.

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A shelf in my garden shed

Gardening is about enjoying the smell of things growing in the soil, getting dirty without feeling guilty, and generally taking the time to soak up a little peace and serenity. 

- Lindley Karstens 

 

A shelf in my garden shed where I keep my collection of Terracotta pots and watering cans, seedling trays, egg shells to plant seedlings, tools, hats and all else a gardener needs to make her life easy! 

 (W & N Watercolours on Bockingford 300gsm)

I think the true gardener is a lover of his flowers, not a critic of them. I think the true gardener is the reverent servant of Nature, not her truculent, wife-beating master. I think the true gardener, the older she grows, should more and more develop a humble, grateful and uncertain spirit.

One of the most delightful things about a garden is the anticipation it provides and my green thumb came only as a result of the mistakes I made while learning to see things from the plant's point of view! When one of my plants dies, I die a little inside, too. On every stem, on every leaf, and at the root of everything that grew, was a professional specialist in the shape of a grub, caterpillar, aphid, or other expert, whose business it was to devour that particular part. 

Despite any gardener's best intentions, Nature will improvise. It takes a while to grasp that not all failures are self-imposed, the result of ignorance, carelessness or inexperience. It takes a while to grasp that a garden isn't a testing ground for character and to stop asking, what did I do wrong? 

Maybe nothing.

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A wildlife pond and Winter Bullrushes

“Never cut a tree down in the winter time. Never make a negative decision in the low time. Never make your most important decisions when you are in your worst moods. Wait. Be patient. The storm will pass. The spring will come.” 

- Robert H. Schuller 

 A watercolour sketch of the Bullrushes at my pond a couple of winters ago.

I absolutely LOVE Bullrushes (Typha typhaceae) and used to have them growing at my pond until I discovered how quickly they take over an area, killing everything in their path. I also used to cut the velvety flowering spikes to arrange in a vase, absolutely gorgeous!, also only until I discovered that, when they're ripe and ready to disperse their seeds, the velvety spike would burst open, covering the house with bundles of dense, cottony fluff! Only the female flower does this, the male withers and dies once it has dispersed its pollen. (Some interesting information : the dense cottony fluff was used for stuffing Futons in Japan before the advent of cotton.)

 

Image credit

 

My wildlife pond is looking extremely dull after this winter, even though it was very mild. All the water lilies are gone, the Pontederia has died down and all the Red Hot Pokers have finished flowering. The Buddleia salvifolia (butterfly bushes) at the back of the pond are sparse and leafless and the only green around is the Kei Apple, which has also finished fruiting.

The Wild Olive (Olea africana) behind the waterfall provides some greenery throughout winter

 My Red Hot Pokers (Kniphofia) with their last flowers. I transplanted these from a shady corner last summer and because they get enough water when the pond over-flows, they have grown extremely well.

The fountain at my pond 

The waterfall in the back-ground 

Having a pond in your garden has quite a few benefits. It attracts lots of wildlife and many water-loving birds are nesting in the trees surrounding my pond - Red-headed Finches, Wydah's, Weavers and Bronze Mannekins are but a few. When I built the pond, I created quite a few shallow bathing areas for the birds, which is constantly in use. And there is nothing more soothing than the sound of running water and frogs croaking at night! 

Bronze Mannekins will make use of any available water!I have these little fellas nesting in the Butterfly bushes and in the Wild Olive (Olea Africana) behind my pond and what a racket they can make! Music to my ears! Unfortunately I don't have my own photograph of them as they are busy, busy, busy little bodies and much too fast for my photographic skills!

The Redheaded Finches, on the other hand, are a different matter. They will calmly sit and watch me as I take photographs or do some sketches. This is a Journal sketch I did when the Red-headed Finches started moving into the pond area in 2009.

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