Hi all my gardening friends!!!! I have been re-vamping the garden so that 2014 is going to be a water-wise and energy efficient year! One of the reasons I fell off the radar!! All the work was done by my hubby, Hannes, and myself so any extra free time was spent fixing and building!
I am going to share with you the front garden changes and the new addition of our rain harvesting JoJo tanks. We have made them a feature of our garden with a gable to hide the downpipes from the roof. The tanks are in a very attractive sand colour and fit beautifully between the veggie patch and the front garden.
All of the plants and raised beds come from the back garden. In the next post, I will highlight the back area! But for now, here is the best way to show you the front of the house – with photos.
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Raised beds and JoJo Tanks in background[/one_half]
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The Raised beds now a front feature[/one_half_last]
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Raised Bed 1[/one_half]
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Raised Bed 2[/one_half_last]
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Raised Bed 3[/one_half]
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All plants are thriving-so glad![/one_half_last]
The rain water harvesting tanks by JoJo are 2500litres each. These will be used to water the veggie patch and the front garden.
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First we needed to build a platform[/one_half]
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Tanks side-by-side[/one_half_last]
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The tap combines both tanks[/one_half]
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Here you can see the pipe from the roof[/one_half_last]
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The pipes are hidden behind the gable “bling”[/one_half]
[one_half_last]These tanks are already 1/2 full with 1 rain[/one_half_last]
Here are some water facts (courtesy from JoJo Tanks website):
- Some 1.1 billion people, or 18 % of the word’s population, lack access to safe drinking water, and over 2.4 billion people lack access to adequate sanitation.
- More than 2.2 million people in developing countries, most of them children, die each year from diseases associated with lack of access to safe drinking water, inadequate sanitation.
- A report released in early October 2009 by the Water Research Commission of South Africa found that South Africa has 4% less water than 20 years ago.
- Rand Water is predicting that demand for water in South Africa will outstrip supply by 2025. It also believes that Gauteng is potentially facing a water shortage as early as 2013.
- In Cape Town the scenario is not much better with a water shortage prediction by 2016
- If South Africans continue with their wasteful water practices, there simply will not be enough water to meet the country’s future needs and, we may have to start paying even more for water!
- South Africans can change the scenario by changing their behaviour towards water usage and becoming water wise and savvy about rainwater harvesting.
Harvesting Rainwater:
- 1mm of rain allows you to harvest 1L of water per m2 of roof area – just allow for a 15% wastage factor.
- Make sure that your gutters are installed to direct rainwater to rain water tanks.
- An annual rainfall of 500 mm on a roof surface of 50 m² amounts to 25 000L of potential safe drinking water that can be preserved (40L per day for 625 days) or wasted! In South Africa, the water allocation per day per person is 25L
My favourite tree – The Leopard Tree. I have added a bottle feeder for the sunbirds!
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My azalias with The Leopard Tree[/one_half]
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The Mugwood tree still there[/one_half_last]
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Well-used wheelbarrow out to pasture[/one_half]
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The front deck with roses in the background[/one_half_last]
The cold weather is setting in and the rains have started – all is wet and very autumny. The roses have had a soft prune and a good dose of worm tea! They did not have a good show this year – I don’t know why!!
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The indigenous confetti bushes like the buckets![/one_half]
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The whirling butterflies – gaura[/one_half_last]
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Just a few roses peaking out[/one_half]
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Full view of the front from the deck[/one_half_last]
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The mighty Mugwood tree! Still a hit with the visitors[/one_half]
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From the bench looking to the Leopard Tree[/one_half_last]
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Love my new planter from my best friend![/one_half]
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Onto the next project!???[/one_half_last]
Well, lots of photos and lots of changes still to come!!
Happy gardening xxxx
