A melt-down and a broken heart

I've had a melt-down. And I've got a broken heart. And so have my girls.

First, the melt-down. My girls have absolutely ruined my garden! In about two years they've reduced it to a barren landscape with all but a few of the hardiest plants gone. GONE! My prized Echeverias, which I started with just a few plants given to me by my dad shortly before he passed away in 1990, and which had grown into beautiful specimens which I had in various parts of the garden, are all but annihilated.

The same area as above before the girls arrived.

I've managed to rescue a few of my Echeverias and planted them in a basket and placed them in my bathroom court-yard garden. Hopefully they will recover to their previous glory.

Where there used to be a thick carpet of ground covers, now there's only dead leaves and a big mess. Not that Missy minds, she's quite happy to relax there with Artemis close-by, blissfully unaware of my melt-down.

Kiep takes time out on the rock just behind Missy.

Now for the broken heart part. I'm broken-hearted because I've banned the girls from the garden. Locked up in the chicken run. No more chickens happily doing what chickens do, scratching and foraging in the garden. Having gorgeous sand baths, chasing after grasshoppers and other bugs. One thing I must say, my garden is totally bug-free - no cut-worm, no fruit beetles, no plant lice. In fact, no anything. But I'm not so sure that's entirely a good thing either. I haven't seen a lady bug or a praying mantis for absolute ages. My lizard and frog population has also suffered tremendously. NOTHING is safe from these bug-devouring lovelies!

"Why, oh WHY can't we come out?!" In stead of scouring the grass for insects, the girls would spend hours at the gait, waiting for me to open up.

ChiChi and Snookums, who grew up in my studio, are totally puzzled with this new development. They've never been locked up and cannot understand what's going on.

A couple of months ago, I did start some landscaping inside the run and I presume that, shortly, there will also be nothing left of this.

Now, as I see the matter, I have three or four choices. One is that the girls stay locked up in the run forever. FOREVER! Or I can reduce the population and only keep three or four (that's not likely to happen!). Another option is that I adapt the garden to suit the girls - no beautiful, colourful borders, no tender Echeverias and give up my love for insects and all the other garden visitors.

Hmmmmmm... Decisions, decisions....

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Weeping Anthericum (Chlorophytum saundersiae)

Afrikaans : Watergras

Wow! We've experienced the first REAL cold of the season, last night temperatures dropped to 3℃ and this morning the lawn was absolutely white, covered in frost. I feel like covering my garden in one huge frost cover to save the plants!

But here's the thing. Have you ever planted Weeping Anthericum (Chlorophytum saundersiae)? This lovely, but unpretentious, plant flowers as it gets colder and colder. The Weeping Anthirucum is a graceful grass-like plant with mases of starry white flowers on slender stalks above arching green leaves. The flowers are very recognisable as belonging to the Hen & Chicken family although without the little 'chickens' this genus is so famous for. It is native to the Eastern Cape of South Africa, occurring naturally on forest floors and grasslands. Very easily grown, coping with both sun and shade, dry and damp conditions and is also frost-hardy. this versatility has made it very popular as both garden plant and for mass landscapings.

This plant grows about 40cm high with a spread of 25cm and is a very well-behaved plant, needing little in the way of maintenance. It tends to look a bit untidy towards the end of winter so cut it back and it will soon sprout new green leaves. It seeds itself very easily and the bright green leaves of newly-seeded plants will often be found all over the garden. that's not a problem, simply lift and re-plant where you want them, or bag them and give them to friends! It also grows very easily from seed you can harvest and will flower within a year of being planted.

The Nasturtiums are also still flowering, so even in these coldest of days there's some beauty in the garden and something to be thankful for!

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A list of things for gardeners to do in the real world

It's cold outside, the garden is resting and I'm waiting for the aloes to flower. In the meantime, here is some sound advice.

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Aloe ferox - a healing wonder

Aloe ferox (also known as Bitter Aloe) is a plant indigenous to one province in South Africa, and nowhere else on earth! There are over 100 species of aloe in South Africa, but Aloe ferox is the one that had been used by the indigenous people long before the arrival of Europeans to what is now the Cape Province.

Unlike most aloe vera products, aloe ferox never has to be filtered and thus retains all the natural present active ingredients. The bitter aloe is most famous for its medicinal qualities. In parts of South Africa, the bitter yellow juice found just below the skin has been harvested as a renewable resource for two hundred years. The hard, black, resinous product is known as Cape aloes or aloe lump and is used mainly for its laxative properties but is also taken for arthritis.“Schwedenbitters” which is found in many pharmacies, contains bitter aloe.

The gel-like flesh from the inside of the leaves is used in cosmetic products and is reported to have wound healing properties. Interestingly Aloe ferox, along with Aloe broomii, is depicted in a rock painting which was painted over 250 years ago.

• Aloe ferox - is a pure and natural healer 
• Aloe ferox - is herbal 
• Aloe ferox - is non-toxic and has no undesirable side effects 
• Aloe ferox - is renown for it's cleansing properties 
• Aloe ferox - is a natural detoxing agent 
• Aloe ferox - has more vitamins, minerals, amino acids and polysaccharides than aloe vera 
• Aloe ferox- is traditionally use to stimulate cell renewal 
• Aloe ferox - is better naturally 

(This info from Marvelous Aloe ferox)

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Autumn respite

The days are cooler, some actually cold and gardening has almost come to a stand-still, consisting mostly of clearing leaves, neatening borders and fixing up messes made by the chickens. The Marigolds are all but gone with the exception of a few new seedlings which are not going to make it as the days get colder. Our unusual autumn rains have definitely confused the issue as stacks of Nasturtium seedlings have also appeared - these might just survive the winter, I often have Nasturtiums flowering right through the year. But my garden birds are enjoying the  cooler days and spend a lot of time at the bird feeders and bird baths. During winter I always step up the amount of feeding as seeds and grubs get fewer and fewer.

Marigold seedlings intent on facing the wrath of winter

Two metal birds standing watch over the newly-planted Kniphofia (Red Hot Pokers)

My Halleria lucida (Tree Fuchsia) recovered nicely from last winter's frost, but will soon be leafless again

My efforts at starting a compost heap has been a total failure. I followed all the guide lines and it grew bigger and bigger, turning into a huge pile of leaves and other necessary materials and no sign of the 'black gold' I was trying to cultivate! The only good that came out of it is that the chickens had a great time scratching it about! Oh my. So this week the whole heap will be spread around the garden as a mulch, hopefully protecting many of the plants' feet against the impending cold.

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You just gotta love garden tools!

I just absolutely love garden tools and garden sheds and watering cans! I have about 17 watering cans and I just cannot by-pass a set of hand tools in the garden shops! I do have my favourites that I use, the rest are displayed on shelves and corners in my house together with baskets and garden gloves, another favourite of mine. Not that I use them often, who can use the hose pipe or dig in a piece of earth with gloves on?!

"Where, but in a garden, do summer hours pass so quickly?"

Some of my favourite garden tools are my Lasher spade and fork (above) - petite and light-weight, they are ideal for the woman-gardener. I have had mine for many years now, and they're certainly showing wear, but they're still as sturdy as ever, taking pride of place in my garden shed. Nobody, not even Chrissie, my garden manager, is allowed to use them, she has her own set. Between the two of us, we make a mean team in the garden!

I prefer hand trowels with a wooden handle, they seem to have a better grip, especially when one's hands are wet. Besides the normal size, I have some very small forks and trowels for easily getting in between potted flowers for removing weeds or lifting a plant to transplant into the garden.

 

Some of my favourite tools ready for use on a potting table on my patio 

Some of the chores awaiting me this week are moving some of my tender succulents into the house for over-wintering, removing the last of the summer weeds and transplanting some potted plants into the garden, like this little Acacia karroo tree (above) that took root in this pot all on its own. I've been pampering it for a couple of months now, and soon it will be ready for its own space in the garden.

Geranium cuttings ready to go into the garden 

A weed growing from a rock on my patio - I'll leave it just where it is!

A watering can sharing space with some terracotta pots on a shelf in my potting shed 

 

 

These Echeverias (E. glauca) should be coming inside for the winter, just wondering where in my flower room I'm going to find space for them...? 

 Cleaning out the chicken coop 

The Nasturtiums are coming to an end and I will be removing dead stalks and creeping vines, but last winter a lot of them saw it fit to flower all winter long, maybe I'm lucky again this year!

Some of my girls helping with bug control...

 

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Aloe marlothii

One of the most stunning plants in Africa is the Aloe marlothii. It is found from sea level to high hills in South Africa, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Mozambique. The plant usually grows to a height ranging from 5-12 feet. (As it grows more tree-like, dead leaves remain on the trunk in habitat as a defense against animal munching.) They put out a flower that is a branched candelabra-shaped with yellow to orange flowers. The mountain aloe is undoubtablty one of Southern Africa ’s most rewarding aloes to grow and adds an interesting slant to aloe culture.

Given to me by a dear RedBubble friend, Antionette, who brought it all the way from Mpumalanga to Tarlton, I was absolutely thrilled to have it! After a recommended period of a few days of letting the roots dry out a bit, I planted it in my wildlife pond area, which receives full sun most of the day.

 8th February 2012

I prepared an area by loosening the soil to a depth of 40cm, leveling it and placing the aloe on top of that, covering the roots lightly with soil and used rocks at the base for support, plus two sticks for extra measure. it has now survived two Tarlton winters and heavy frost and I am absolutely thrilled that it is now established and I’m hoping for some flowers soon!

My Aloe marlothii showing signs of White Scale - Dec 2012 

Like most garden plants, aloes are susceptible to a number of pests and my aloe certainly did not escape an onslaught. A white scale often appears on aloe leaves, starting with what looks like a coin sized spot of white dust. It will gradually covers more and more of the leaf upper and lower surface until large parts of the leaf are affected. The insect involved is enveloped in a hard skin which protects it against predators (and treatment!) while it is sucking sap from the plant. Not only does this make the plant unattractive, but over a long period the plant can be killed slowly. Normally pesticides like Malathion are recommended, but I don't use any commercial pesticides in my garden at all, so my treatment for this pesky insect was to rub the infected parts with my thumb, removing most of the insects, but I wish I had a longer thumb! Marlothii even has spines in the centre of the leaves, which made the job rather torturous! I then wiped the infected leaves with a cloth soaked with dishwashing liquid and after an hour or so I wash away the residue with a strong squirt from a hose pipe. The treatment should be repeated until all signs of the scale disappear. Sometimes the dead scale insects might remain on the leaves, making the plants unattractive, the dead scale may be brushed off with a soft brush.

A mineral oil like Oleum can also be used. The oil in fact smothers the insect. When the problem is spotted early, the scale can even be treated by painting it with used cooking oil.

My aloe marlothii - February 2014, looking good and well to face the coming winter

Common names : mountain aloe (Eng.); bergalwyn (Afr.); inhlaba or umhlaba (Zulu)

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