It's Agapanthus time!

Every summer I look forward to the few Agapanthus (A. praecox) that I have, flowering. I say “few”, because I struggle to grow these beauties in my garden (Tarlton, Gauteng, South Africa) – too much shade. I have found that they prefer full sun and not too much water.

The evergreen species is indigenous to the winter rainfall Western Cape and all-year rainfall Eastern Cape and shed a few of their old outer leaves every year and replace them with new leaves from the apex of the growing shoot. The deciduous species come from the summer rainfall Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Swaziland, Free State, Lesotho, Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and Mozambique, and grow rapidly in spring with the onset of the rains, and then lose their leaves completely and lie dormant during winter.

Agapanthus species are easily able to hybridize with each other, particularly when grown in close proximity and as a result, a bewildering array of garden hybrids have arisen.

Insects just absolutely love Agapanthus and the Agapanthus is undoubtedly one of our indigenous botanical treasures. It has been exported to all corners of the earth, but occurs naturally only in Southern Africa, where it grows in the wild in all our provinces except the Northern Cape, as well as in Lesotho, Swaziland and Mozambique.

I doubt that there is a South African gardener alive that has not come across an Agapanthus somewhere! They line our roads, and are in most gardens and parks, from the tall globular-headed ones to the ever-shrinking dwarf cultivars now available at garden centres. This one above is the smaller praecox minimus species I have in my bathroom court-yard garden.

Here's to another bloomin' blue summer!

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I have this dilemma...

I’ve got too many interests.

I love painting and sketching. I love gardening. I love nature. I love succulents. I love my memories. I love chickens. I love books. I’m interested in simple living, I’m interested in the health and well-being of the mind and body and our planet, I like home-made remedies and love deep discussions on religion (or the lack of it) and I love doing various crafts, like making jewellery and every now and then I love a good recipe.

And I’ve got a blog for each one. Seventeen of them to be exact. And a few in Afrikaans. Plus ten that I’ve made private. I love blogging, writing and sharing my interests, and I’m blessed that I do actually have the time, but it’s killing me, trying to keep up with all of them! I feel guilty when I neglect one of them and then will probably end up posting any drivel just so the blog can stay alive.

And you might ask, “Why?! Why so many? Why not just have one blog for all of it?” And I actually do feel a bit silly having so many blogs, even Blogger is getting suspicious, wanting to know whether I’m a Robot when I post a lot! Even though the limit on the number of blogs one can have is 100. I wonder if there is anyone that has reached that limit…?

Well, here’s the thing. I feel that, when I subscribe to a blog, it’s because I’m interested in that particular topic, say for example chickens or art, and if there is all sorts of other random topics included, I probably won’t subscribe. There’s a gardening blog I love, but every now and then (in fact, more often than not!), the lady includes posts on do-it-yourself furniture making and restoration, and I’m not interested in that at all. So eventually I unsubscribed from her blog. And the people that are subscribing to and reading my various blogs are, so I presume, doing it because they’re interested in that particular topic.

So here’s my question - how do you feel about the matter? To do or not to do so many blogs? Should I just have one blog and combine everything in there? Would the regular readers of say, my Nature Journal or my gardening blog, still visit my blog?

I would love to hear what you think!

Tread softly!

If you want to live and thrive, let the spider run alive. 

Our egos tells us we're the only ones that have any kind of feelings. We're the only ones with a relationship. We're the only ones with family. You know, I think that, if you kill a spider, there is a relationship that you're ruining.

There's a conversation going on outside with the other spiders.

"Did you hear about Chris?.... Killed! Yeah.... SNEAKER! And now Stephanie has nine hundred babies to raise all alone. Well, she's got her legs full I'll tell you that right now. Chris was so kind, wouldn't hurt a fly. It's just been tough for them lately. They just lost their web last week. Those humans think they're so smart. Let them try shooting silk out of their butt and see what they can make!”

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A splash of White

Not much gardening has been happening over the past couple of weeks - raking up leaves, tending to the compost heap, neatening edges, nothing exciting.

I've got no Shasta daisies in my garden this year, but I've always had a patch somewhere. What happened? (Note to self: get some more Shasta’s). As a child I always admired the Shasta Daisies in my father’s garden. What I remember most was the dazzling brightness of the white blooms that always offset the bright colours of the dahlias, larkspur, gazanias, arctotis and zinnias that grew so prolifically under the African sun.

The simple white flowers with yellow button centres are a symbol of purity and are perfect for cutting. Easy to grow, they are a favourite for beginner flower gardeners and are effective when planted in small groups.

Crab Spiders seem to favour Shasta's as their favourite while ambush-hunting their prey in flowers. These tiny spiders take on the colour of the flower they're sitting on and it's wonderful to come across a pure white or bright yellow little specimen on your flowers.

A white crab spider catching a butterfly on some Shasta daisies

Yellow crab spider

Until recently, Shasta Daisies were considered members of the Chrysanthemum family. But the daisies’ lack of fragrance and hairless stems caused them to be recently reclassified to Leucanthemum, the Sunflower family.

These Daisies like rich, fast draining soil, ample water and lots of sunshine. However, they are hardy and will tolerate poor soil conditions and partial shade. Work some old animal manure or compost into the soil to help promote abundant blooms. Picking often and cutting off dead flowers will extend their bloom period.

So do yourself a favour and get some of these easy-growing, sun-loving daisies for your garden and you'll always have an abundance of butterflies and ready-to-pick flowers for the vase.

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Shasta Daisies at my pond a couple of seasons ago. Every summer I SO looked forward to when my Shasta's would appear again. With their splashes of white they brighten up any corner of the garden and the more you pick them (they look lovely in a simple glass vase!), the more prolific they get.

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"If you want to live and thrive, let the spider run alive."

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Pachypodium lamerei up-date

My Pachypodium lamerei, which I acquired in January 2009 at only 9" tall, has now grown into a magnificent 53" (1.35m) specimen and he had his first pot change last year in April 2013. At the rate he has grown over the past 18 months, I think he is going to need a new pot early in the new year! But I can't go too big with a pot, otherwise I can't bring him in for winter. A bit of a dilemma... I lost my first one due to the fact that he got too heavy to carry in and was thus taken out of the pot and planted directly in the garden, attaining a height of almost 2m before being killed by one extreme winter we had. At that time I swore I wouldn't get another one, but who can resist a beautiful Pachy smiling at you in the local garden centre?

My Pachy last year November 2013

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This popular Pachypodium from Madagascar, Africa, has a shiny silver trunk covered with long, sharp spines. The trunk may branch out, making it even more attractive. A tuft of long, narrow leaves grow only at the top of the trunk, like a palm tree, and it is also known as the Madagascar Palm. However, it isn't a palm at all, but a succulent from the Apocyanaceae family.
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In the summer, clusters of fragrant, white flowers will appear on mature plants that are grown outdoors. Don't expect it to bloom indoors, unless you can provide plenty of direct sunlight. You may want to move this sun-loving succulent outdoors to your porch or patio for the summer. Mine spends summer in my garden, but just remember to bring it back inside when the temperature drops -- it won't tolerate frost.
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My Pachy in April 2013, just before being re-potted and very top-heavy for his current pot.

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Repot in spring every 3-4 years or when it outgrows its pot. It's a good idea to use a heavy container to prevent toppling. This thick-trunked tree can get top-heavy. Also, be careful of those spines when handling this plant. Wear thick garden gloves and wrap a newspaper or old towel around the trunk when repotting it to protect your hands.
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Leaf drop in winter is perfectly normal. It may even drop all its leaves. But, don't worry. It'll grow more leaves in spring when it gets the sunshine and warmth it loves. When it comes out of dormancy and you see new leaves growing, that's your cue to resume normal watering and fertilizing.
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This Pachypodium can reach 6 ft (1.8 m) indoors, much taller if grown outdoors in a frost-free climate. It does require full sun. Water thoroughly and allow top half of soil to dry out between waterings. In winter, water sparingly just to keep the soil from drying out completely. Plant in a pot with drainage holes to prevent root rot. Cactus mix works well to provide fast drainage. Or you can use 2 parts all-purpose potting mix with 1 part sharp sand or perlite.
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Feed monthly in spring and summer with a balanced liquid fertilizer diluted by half. Sow seeds in spring. Offsets can also be cut away from the parent plant and potted up separately.
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My Pachy in February 2010, a year after I got him.

If you live in a frost-free zone in South Africa, this is a beautiful succulent to consider for your garden. It's water-wise, doesn't need much care and remember not to over-water in winter.

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It's Friday!

I crept out of bed early with the sound of the roosters crowing to one another - 4am - put on the kettle, made my coffee and came to the computer. By the time hubby surfaced around 6.30am, I had already updated a couple of blogs, up-loaded some artwork to RedBubble, let the chooks out, fed Solly's chickens and filled all the bird feeders in the garden. Time for another cup of coffee.

It's the end of the week and the weekend is lying ahead as an extra bonus, the hours are mine to do with as I please. No need to rush and open the doors for business, no staff coming in, just two lovely days of spending time with my chooks or whatever else takes my fancy.

But today ended up being busier than usual, with a constant stream of customers and eventually, when I did manage to join Chrissie in the garden, she informed me that Missy had been sitting in one place all morning. Very worried, I approached her to see what was the matter and was greeted by her screeching like a banshee! She fluffed herself in a threatening manner and I immediately knew what the 'problem' was - when I picked her up, I saw what all the melee was about - she was sitting on a couple of eggs. She had obviously been gathering them for some time and now she was broody and ready to stay with them till the little darlings hatched...

I remove all the eggs that my chooks lay - I've got nine roaming the garden, causing havoc, and I really can't afford to have any more. Missy obviously got sick and tired of me removing her eggs out of the nest boxes in the chicken coop and decided to do the sneaky thing and find a safe spot in the garden!

Missy looking on in disgust as I remove her eggs

And I have no idea how 6 eggs escaped our attention what with Chrissie regularly cleaning up and me watering the garden every couple of days. But the girls can be very innovative when it comes to hiding their eggs!

We spent another couple of minutes searching to see if there were any more stray eggs we might have missed and that sparked a major clean-up of areas trampled flat by the girls - it is just beyond and above me as to why they would like to sit ON TOP of the plants in stead of next to or under them... .

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Setting your intention for a simple day

A leisurely breakfast of boiled eggs, which I get daily from my chooks, tea and toast and I'm ready for the day. Taking time in preparing a meal, no matter how simple, is one of the great pleasures I enjoy every morning.

I normally rise at around 4am and, with a steaming cup of coffee in hand, check my e-mail, connect with all my blogs I read and spend some time on FaceBook, catching up with family and friends. Around 6am it's time to open for my chooks and let them into the garden, fill all the bird feeders and do a quick survey of the garden to see if there's anything special that needs being done. These times are for summer, in winter it happens a bit later! At about 7am, a hot bath and getting ready for the day. Breakfast follows at around 9am, after which I'm ready to tackle all the necessary tasks that fills one's day.

Spending quality time with yourself goes a long way to increasing peace and harmony. There are many ways one can achieve this. Sketching and painting is an important part of spending time with myself, as is gardening, tending to my animals and spending some time in nature. We have enough everyday pressures of tending to a business, shopping, picking up kids from school and looking after a family, so it's important to look after yourself first in order that you can give your best to the rest of the world. Set your intention early in the day and life will be much simpler.

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As winter fades to spring...

… hangers-on will be forced to let go, 

making room for new growth 

fresh color, 

life. 

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 A little corner created in the shade 

It's almost August and the warmer weather has spawned an activity of going through my garden to check on what needs to be done and I was horrified to notice that the chickens had just about annihilated my whole garden - what the winter didn't get, they did! I haven't been totally oblivious of this, it's just that it's been too cold to do much about it.

 The start of a new garden 

First it was the major job of cutting down and/or removing dead stuff and then taking stock of what was left - lots of open space! Many of the plants I removed were those that needed sun and had totally deteriorated because of too much shade in my garden now that all my trees have matured to 10m beauties - it's amazing how things creep up on you without you noticing… 

 So some new spaces were created in the sun with old favourites. 

 Progress - a little pathway for easy access and still have to add a few more plants 

After removing Red Hot pokers from a shady patch and not having anything to replace them with, I thought it easier to create a feature for the time being, below, but will have to get to the nursery some time or another! 

A temporary feature in a shady patch It's amazing what a bit of crusher stone and things found will do to help out when you're stuck without any plants…

Joseph filling up an empty spot with some crusher stone and turning it into a new pathway.

 

 And of course, no day in the garden is perfect without our feathery friends enjoying a snack! 

Make way, I also need some!

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