My Kiepersol died!

My Kiepersol (Cabbage tree - Cussonia paniculata) is dead. Yea, dead.

The first signs were leaves drying out and then all the leaves dropping to the ground every day - and large gouges in the trunk of the tree. Like some animal has been eating the bark. But there are no large animals in my garden. So that was not the problem.

Then, a couple of weeks later, I discovered that I had a Ground Squirrel living in my garden.

(I did not manage to get a photo of him, this one is from Google)

Ground squirrels are primarily herbivorous, and their diet changes with the season. After emerging from hibernation, they feed almost exclusively on green grasses and herbaceous plants. When annual plants begin to dry and produce seed, squirrels switch to seeds, grains, nuts and roots, and begin to store food. They are a bit bigger than a large rat with a fluffy tail and are regarded as troublesome rodent pests for many home gardeners.
Although ground squirrels look similar to tree squirrels and can climb trees, when frightened they generally will retreat to their burrow, and I did find his burrow under all the ferns surrounding my Kiepersol.

So I concluded that he was the culprit causing the early demise of my lovely Cabbage Tree...

My Kiepersol in better days...

A beautiful, large Kiepersol which I photographed at the Randfontein Private Hospital (Gauteng, South Africa) in 2017.

Going indigenous

Masked Weaver (Ploceus velatus) building his nest. 

Camera : Canon EOS 550D
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We’ve all met different kinds of gardeners. There are ornamental gardeners who aspire to have a garden worthy of showcasing in the pages of gardening magazines. There are vegetable gardeners who proudly feed their families (and neighbourhood) with the bounty of their land. And there are passionate wildlife gardeners who find great joy from a new bird or butterfly who has chosen to visit their wildlife garden. I am a wildlife gardener. Personally, the entire reason that I garden is to create habitats for wildlife, and every choice that I make in my garden is made with the needs of wildlife as a top priority. What is beautiful to me is not the individual “specimens” of plants scattered through a garden, but the birds, butterflies, bees, insects, lizards, frogs and toads, and other wildlife who make their home in a garden that I have created. And happily, my garden will never appear in the pages of Garden & Home!
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2006 - Young Acacia's and Celtis's at my wildlife pond
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2006 - Young Acacia's and Celtis's at my wildlife pond
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2009 - Young Acacia's and Celtis's at my wildlife pond
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By 2011 the Acacia's, Celtis's and Karee's were fairly well-established at my pond
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2011 - starting to take shape
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The White Karee's in my garden when planted in 2005
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The Acacia karroo (Vachellia karoo) and Karee's in 2009
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Planting mostly indigenous has really paid off. When my Celtis's, Acacias and Karee's were small, most of the birds, besides Sparrows and Weavers, were only occasional visitors to my garden. Since the trees and shrubs have become 'grown-up', an amazing array of birds have moved in, living and nesting here. Black-eyed Bulbuls, Olive Thrush, Ground-scraper Thrush, Robins, Mynah, Black-throated Canary, Fiscal Shrike, Crested Barbet, White-browed Sparrows, Red-headed Finches, Red Bishop, Golden Bishop, Bronze Mannekins, Greater-striped Swallows, Rock Pigeons, Laughing Doves, Ring-neck Doves and White-eyes. Daily visitors (don't know where they live!) are the Black Sunbird, Black-headed Oriole, Bokmakierie, Diederick's Cuckoo, Wood Hoopoe, Redbilled Woodhoopoe, Fork-tailed Drongo, Redwinged Starling, Glossy Starling, Arrow-marked Babbler, Grey-headed Bush Shrike, Mousebirds, Red-faced Mousebird, Red-chested Cuckoo (Piet-my-Vrou), Cape Turtle Doves and the occasional Paradise Flycatcher, Grey Lourie and Pin-tailed Wydah. I've even had a couple of King Fishers, although goodness knows why, I don't keep any fish.
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Black-headed Oriole (Oriolus larvatus) at one of my feed tables
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Ground-scraper Thrush (Psophocichla litsitsirupa) keeping an eye on me as I walk through the garden. they just love scratching through the loose leaf litter
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Laughing Dove (Spilopelia senegalensis) fledgling - these little birds are SO trusting and unafraid...
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Masked Weaver (Ploceus velatus) contemplating a nesting site in one of the Acacia's (Vachellia karoo)
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Red-faced Mousebird (Urocolius indicus) - they are daily visitors now and I still don't know what attracts them as I never see them at the fruit tables
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Grey Lourie (Corythaixoides concolor) visiting
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A Glossy Starling (Lamprotornis nitens) making use of the bathing facilities
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Indigenous planting has many benefits. Besides drawing birds, wildlife and insects endemic to your area, there is less chance of losing any plants due to extreme heat or cold. Planting indigenous species provides a living environment that is part of the local natural system. Indigenous plants have evolved as part of the entire biological population of an area. A strong interdependence exists between indigenous plants, animals, insects, and micro-organisms. Planting indigenous species can contribute to the maintenance of a balanced and diverse eco-system.
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With habitat disappearing at an alarming rate, you can help provide wildlife with an oasis of the habitat they need to thrive. The native plants that you use can meet the needs, including food and cover, of native wildlife without causing long-term damage to local plant communities. With the right diversity of native plants in your urban landscape, you can provide:
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• Protective cover for many animals.

• Seeds, nuts, and fruits for monkeys and other mammals.

• Seeds, fruits, and insects for birds.

• Nectar for Sunbirds and butterflies.

• Larval host plants for butterfly caterpillars.
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Caterpillars (larvae) of the Speckled emperor Moth
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Caterpillars (larvae) of the Speckled emperor Moth at the base of an Acacia karroo
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The adult Speckled Emperor Moth after hatching sitting on a Restios
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However, one of the most important advantages of planting indigenous is saving water – you also save yourself money and contribute towards overcoming the world's critical shortage of water.
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The beautiful pom-pom flowers of the Indigenous Acacia karroo (Vachellia karoo)
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Not only are indigenous plants water-savers and low maintenance but some also exude a wonderful perfume. A fragranced garden appeals to one of most evocative senses and with careful planning one can have a perfumed garden throughout the year. Use scented bulbs like freesias, scented agapanthus, night-scented gladioli, the wild honeysuckle tree, sweet salvias, jasmine and the lemon-scented pelargonium. Then there are those plants which release a strong aroma when touched. Pelargoniums (Geraniums) are best known for this. Favourites are the rose, nutmeg and peppermint scented.
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Indigenous plants can be used to create impenetrable barriers and block out sound, making your garden a haven of security and tranquility.
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Kei Apple
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Kei Apple - ideal as a hedge due to its density
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 The virtually impenetrable thorns of the Kei Apple
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An old favourite is the Kei apple, which can be trained very easily into a hedge plant. The lemon thorn is also an attractive intruder deterrent. Other types include the forest num-num, buffalo thorn, the common turkey berry, spiny gardenia, false forest spike thorn and prickly asparagus thorns.

Indigenous plants also make very effective windbreaks. It is a good idea to leave hedges in coastal gardens untrimmed and a bit wild so they act as wind breaks.
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The garden in 2012 with the trees now well-established
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Plant shrubs closer together so they can protect each other. The tick berry is ideal with its yellow, daisy flowered bush. It is quick growing and loved by birds for the fruits and by butterflies as a larval host plant. Try Honeysuckle and Plumbago (forget-me-not), both of which can be trimmed or left to scramble.
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 Bulbinella flower - attracts many insects and the leaves are useful for treating cuts and burns
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 Celtis africana (White Stinkwood)  and the White Karee (Rhus viminalis, below) providing shade, shelter and food to many species of insects and wildlife
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Weaver's nest in one of the White Karee's (Rhus viminalis)
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Nest of the House Sparrow in one of the Acacia's taking advantage of the safety of the thorns- they will use the same nest year after year, just adding fresh leaves, as can be seen here. These little brown jobbies are renowned for their messy-looking nests!
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So, if you would love to have lots of wildlife in your garden, then going indigenous is for you. I'm not saying that, if you are into neat borders, lots of colour and exotic plants and you hate leaves littering your lawn or garden beds, you won't have lots of wildlife in your garden - animals and insects are amazingly adaptive and resilient and make the most of whatever is on offer. The most important point is just that we carry on gardening and provide refuge and food for all the little creatures we share this planet with.

PS: Please excuse all the dots between paragraphs, but Blogger has been playing up lately and won't make paragraphs. In fact, Blogger seems to be totally out of sync, not quite the same since Google+ is taking over the world! 

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Setaria verticillata

Burn down your cities and leave our farms, and your cities will spring up again as if by magic; but destroy our farms and the grass will grow in the streets of every city in the country. 

- William Jennings Bryan 

 

Cluster grass (Setaria verticillata) in my garden in Tarlton, Gauteng, South Africa. It is an indigenous Spike grass and a weedy species. 

Afrikaans - Trosgras 

Camera FujiFinepix 2800Zoom 

I just LOVE this indigenous grass that took root in a corner of my garden. The birds actually go mad for it and it is such a delight to watch them hanging upside-down, picking at the seeds! It makes a lovely little display in that one corner and it also saves on buying seeds! 

This grass grows in weak tufts that can reach up to 1m, but are usually about 250mm high. Leaves are soft, hairy, pliable and few in number, giving the plant a rather loose, open appearance. Inflorescences are fairly short and distinctly spike-shaped. Neighbouring plants tend to become entangled in the finely barbed bristles of these spikes, creating the impression that they are 'sticky'. They flower from mid-summer to June. 

Occurs almost everywhere except for arid areas in Namaqualand and parts of the Eastern Cape. Seeds of the grass are used to make beer in South Africa and porridge in Namibia and has been used as a famine food in India. 

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Aloe splendour

 My aloes (this is Aloe ferox, also known as Bitter aloe) have started flowering and I'm beside myself with joy! Last year I had no flowers, an early frost annihilated the lot just as the buds started. I actually know what the problem is - since I planted them 7 years ago, the trees surrounding them have grown huge, resulting in a lot of shade. So I have two options - cut down the trees (no ways!) or move the aloes to full sun, which is going to be a huge task. As you can see from the photo below, they are very big and I'm not looking forward to this mammoth task. Wouldn't it be easier to lose them (sob, sob!) and just plant new ones in a sunny spot...?





So I'm hoping for no severe frost this winter. They're a bit big to try and cover with frost covers...





This hardy plant is indigenous to South Africa, and with its succulent leaves can survive the harshest conditions. When damaged by man or animal, the plant seals off any wound with a sticky, dark liquid that prevents infestation by virus, fungus or insect. This dark liquid has been successfully used by ancient inhabitants as a traditional remedy for many ailments.


The white inner gel of the leaf has the ability to hold and store moisture through hot, dry conditions and months of drought. Traditionally the local inhabitants use it to soothe burn wounds, cuts and abrasions. Today those same qualities are still the being used in a wide range of moisturisers and rejuvenating creams and gels.





The nutrient rich leaf is filled with the goodness of the earth and contains no herbicides or pesticide making it an ideal source of nutrients and helping your body to cope with modern day living in a gentle and natural way.


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.


The Aloe is winter-flowering and did you know that they flower in mid-summer in France, when it's Winter time here in South Africa? Isn't nature's clock just amazing...?


Camera : Canon EOS 550D


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