I miss your posts and the laughter in your garden… I miss the way you hug your plants… I miss the birds, the blommies and even your moles… I miss the fun in your voice when you blog about Dex and Hercules… but most of all I miss you!
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Love in my garden[/one_half]
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Homemade fence[/one_half_last]
I stood on my deck this morning looking out into the garden and marvelled at all that has been achieved this past year and had 100 ideas of what I still want to do. I always thought that there was an end to what you do in a garden, once you have ‘landscaped it’. This, I have now learnt, is not so. There is continuous change, always new growth and even more new things to try. I have come to understand the way I work in my garden. It comes from love and it comes from trying something new. It starts with an idea. I have the freedom to do as I please – thanks to my non-gardening hubby who is always there to help – when I ask! I build and dig and play and through all this a wonderful place emerges.
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Wild flowers in my back garden[/one_half]
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Buffy wanting a picture taken[/one_half_last]
My gardening friends always on the ready. Sometimes too enthusiastic but always by my side when I am playing in the garden.
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New rose buds -with pesky critters to boot[/one_half]
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My fig tree is in bud[/one_half_last]
Everything is starting to bloom – all brand new. Here are my two favourite plants – my roses and my fig tree. You can feel the love! Here are some more new growths.
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Guara in bloom[/one_half]
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Lavender still a winner[/one_half_last]
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A brand new corn flower[/one_half]
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Jasmine’s are everywhere[/one_half_last]
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Planter full of love and bulbs[/one_half]
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Quince tree with new leaves[/one_half_last]
I love spring xx
Happy gardening
“If you’ve never been thrilled to the very edges of your soul by a flower in spring bloom, maybe your soul has never been in bloom” – Terri Guillemets
Plant, care, watch, wait, stand back and admire … repeat.
How immensely satisfying it is to plant a bulb, seed or seedling and watch it develop and finally bloom. Had I known all this 30 years ago I may well have made very different career choices in life. How I envy those who chose the road of Horticulture or gardening as their profession. Don’t get me wrong, I love my work, but oh my! I admit to loving my garden a whole lot more! What a Joy it is to step outside on a Spring morning and discover new blooms and fresh new shoots on plants. From bulbs that are blooming to plants specially selected for foliage … add some loving care, a good downpour and then a bit of sunshine and … Ta Da!!
[one_half]First Asiatic Lily in bloom
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[one_half_last]Freesias wherever you look…
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[one_third]Ixias about to flower
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[one_third]Sinfonietta Iris bud
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[one_third_last]Lemon tree covered in buds
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[one_third]Sigh, I love them … so pretty
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[one_third]The first Lily in all her glory
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[one_third_last]All these colours on one plant
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Today the first of the +/- 80 Liliums I planted is blooming, and how gorgeous it looks. Of all the bulbs I planted I am finding the Liliums the most satisfying. All the bulbs have come up, some are standing 1.5m high and all are covered in buds. The Lilium Longiflorum (St Josephs Lilies) bulbs were planted towards the back of the bed and the slightly shorter Asiatics were planted slightly forward. The overall look of the bed is fabulous – even without the flowers.
The individual plants are strong and standing proudly upright (no staking required although I’ve read it is sometimes required) and I enjoy the shiny green foliage that has filled the bed and makes it look most promising. (I will do a post soon to show before and after photographs of this bed – It’s an amazing transformation – my absolute favourite right now).
Wherever you are, I hope you are enjoying the fruits of your labour, regardless of the season!
Happy Gardening
xxx
I’m linking this to Weekendflowers # 10! Click to visit!
In South Africa we celebrate the first day of September as Spring Day marking the coming of the spring season. It is the only day that most schools allows casual dress instead of the normal school uniform and many primary school children will be taking flowers to the eldery in homes, young girls (and some older ones) will pin a flower in their hair and generally we all welcome the anticipated coming of warmer weather with a spring in our step (pun intended!). Birds are making nests, and deciduous trees are sprouting new growth and love is in the air!
I’ve finished my fertilising, most of the composting and I’ve spent the last few mornings checking all the flowering plants for new buds and flowers and I’m being richly rewarded. To celebrate the the first day of spring I’m sharing my favourite buds – the ones I’m most excited about seeing in bloom …
[one_half]First Oriental lilies in bud
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[one_half_last]Ixia buds
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[one_half]More Ixias in bud
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[one_half_last]Ranunculas in bud
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[one_half]Buds and berries on the Nandinas
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[one_half_last]The Clivias are about to bloom
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[one_half]Murraya Exotica covered in buds
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[one_half_last]First Delphinium blooms
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[one_half]First blossom on the Prunus sp.
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[one_half_last]Tibouchina bud
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[one_half]Makhaya Bella buds
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[one_half_last]Mandevilla Splenens
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[one_half]Love all the new foliage
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[one_half_last]Freesias are in bud or flowering
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PS: According to Wikipedia, In South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand, spring begins on 1 September, and has no relation to the vernal equinox.
Happy Spring Day to all!
xxx
As I was pottering around my garden today I had the sweetest childhood memory of being a very young child (must have been before school-going age), picking flowers and giving them to my Mom which always made her smile. And so it is today, my lovely, supportive Mom is probably my gardens’ biggest fan and often I catch myself thinking “Mami will love this!” when I spot a new flower in the garden or find a lovely plant at a nursery. A lot of what I plant is in anticipation of the joy I know it brings to her when she reads this blog, all the way in Germany!
So today’s floral show is just for you Mami! Thank you for all your love and support and mostly, thank you for being my Mom!
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All my love
xxx
When I look past all that still needs to be done in terms of preparing my garden for the imminent arrival of Spring and Summer, it gladdens my heart to see buds, buds and more buds all over the place! If you had told me two years ago that I would get excited about seeing buds on plants, I would have asked you what you were smoking, but that’s exactly how it is right now. I’m like a child in a candy store, jumping around from bed to bed and getting excited about the buds I see and the promise of things to come, just a few short weeks away!
Buds are everywhere and in my enthusiasm I must have taken about 200 photographs yesterday of all “my buds”. Whilst not all the plants and bulbs I planted are “budding” yet, most are and I am really thrilled.
I thought I would share some of my favourites with you …
[one_half]The first Ranunculus Bud
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[one_half_last]On the Lemon Tree
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[one_half]Murraya Exotica buds
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[one_half_last]Cinerarias (I think thats what these are)
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[one_half]Nandina (heavenly bamboo) blossoms
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[one_half_last]Heliotropium arborescens ‘Marine’
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[one_half]Madevilla splenens always in bud
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[one_half_last]Pink Azaleas are everywhere
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[one_half]Yipee! Tulip buds …
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[one_half_last]Oh my … what have we here?
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[one_half]The first of the Tulips opens
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[one_half_last]So excited about my first ever Tulip
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I’ve excluded photos of the buds on the lime tree, the snow drops (Leucojum aestivum), Freesias, Dietes grandiflora, Viburnum tinus ‘Lucidum’, Impatiens, Liliums and the Camellia buds which are not giving up just yet. Also flowering are Hellebores, Violas, Dianthus, Alliums and Lobularia.
What’s “budding” in your garden right now? What are you excited about?
Happy Gardening
xxx
I did a walk about the garden this morning to access and photograph the storm damage as well as the damage to the back garden after the plumbers redid the french drain. The photographs I took are all so bleak and unattractive that they have been relegated to a “before” file – no brag-worthy photos today unfortunately. Now usually Dexter (the 65 kg Rottweiler) accompanies me when I’m in the garden and my sweet little kitty stays well away, but as Dexter was away on a play-date today, Hercules got to enjoy gardening time with me without being harassed by his ‘big brother’.
I thought I would share my photos of him – he absolutely loves spending time in the garden with me and follows me around, stopping to smell the flowers, digging when I dig, tip-toeing around in the grass. Its too cute! Here he is smelling the potato bush.
[one_half]Stopping to smell the flowers
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[one_half_last]This one smells good!
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And then there is a lot flowering again. We have flowering Camellias all over the place, lots of red berries on the Nandinas, lush growth after the rains … and as I’ve keep being told by my fellow garden-bloggers, I really have nothing to complain about (even if my back garden looks a bit like a dump site right now). I am blessed to have a lot of prettyness going on in the garden right now, even though its the middle of winter.
[one_half]Camellias and Nandina berries
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[one_half_last]Iceberg flowering again
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Happy Gardening
xxx
Our fourth combined post for the monthly Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day, here’s whats happening in our Gardens in June 2011. With Winter cooling the earth and sending many of our plants into hibernation, there are no mass displays of beautiful blooms, but we do have a few lovelies to show off this month. We hope you enjoy our “June blooms”.
A week ago I was complaining that there would be no blooms to show this month for Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. Then, a fair amount of rain mixed with warm sunny days in between and what a surprise when I went to look for blooms to show. Lots of Camellias (pinks and reds), pink and maroon Azaleas, the first Narcissus bulbs are just opening their pretty faces (Yay!), my very first “grown from seed” Nasturtiums are blooming … all in all not a bad display for a winter garden. Condsidering that June has been a month of planning and some major changes have taken place in my garden including a drastic cutting back of overgrown trees, has sadly left my garden looking quite bleak. But when you get down to it there is lots of pretty in my garden – that is, if you look past the bare branches and sawn off tree tops, there are enough blooms to make me smile…
[one_half]First Narcissus blooms
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[one_half_last]Narcissus Cantabricus
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[one_half]Rosa ‘Iceberg’ blooming again
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[one_half_last]Cerise Azaleas blooming
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[one_half]Red Camellias blooming
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[one_half_last]Purple Ribbon Bush
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[one_half]Sweet Alyssum never stops
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[one_half_last]Lots of pinks blooming
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[one_half]First Nasturtium bloom
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[one_half_last]Lots of bright red berries
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Lets pop over to Barbie’s garden to see what she has to show …
Chris, I had no doubt that you would have a beautiful show of winter flowers – your garden is alive with new shoots and anticipated bulbs and I love my visits and the “show-and-tell” as we wander around. They are just lovely! Thank you! My garden tends to hide the small blooms and my usual favourites never disappoint! I did find something blooming, even though I had to go on my hands and knees alot! In between my veggies and herbs were the flowers of these plants. This brought a whole new perspective and the close ups allow me to really see how perfect each flower in my garden can be! And talking about bees…… I caught a happy workers in the act!
Oh yes – I also have my first Nasturtiums from seed!!
Happy gardening to all our friends! xxx
[one_half]My first Fuchsia!
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[one_half_last]Delicate and beautiful
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[one_half]My first Nasturtium flower
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[one_half_last]Violas still looking gorgeous
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[one_half]Delicate coriander bloom
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[one_half_last]Broccoli flower!
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[one_half]Protea still in bloom
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[one_half_last]Roses still delight
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[one_half]Sugar herb in bloom
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[one_half_last]Busy Bee in my lavender
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Join Carol and friends over at May Dreams Gardens to see what other gardeners around the world have blooming in June and then pop over to ‘Garten Blogger Blüten im Mei‘ over at Seepferds Garten for the German version of Garden Bloggers Bloom Day! And if you haven’t joined yet and have some blooms you’d like to show off, please join in the fun of showcasing your blooms! We’d love to see what other South African’s have blooming in their winter gardens
Thank you for joining us!
Happy Gardening
xxx
A friend of mine brought me a gift in the form of a Peony, all the way from overseas, so I am now the proud owner of my very own Peony. As with all plants that are new to me, I always have to do at least some research before planting, so once again, knowing less than nothing about peonies I needed to find out where and how to plant it and how to care for it. All I know for sure is that mine is a red peony and that I should probably plant it up in a pot for starters. That way I can test where it will fare best in the garden as I move it around. Unfortunately my track record with plants in pots is not good (I tend to kill pot plants) and I consider this too special to let it “go to pot in a pot” – so I needed to find the right spot for it. And I need to get it right as I believe they don’t enjoy being transplanted (that is what I’m reading).
My endless searching on the internet had me totally confused and then, quite by chance, Master Gardener and architect, Donna at Garden walk Garden Talk published an article about her Peonies. (How lucky was that?). Her photographs are beautiful – if thats what I can hope for then I am really happy to have this new addition to my garden! What I found really useful in Donna’s photographs was seeing the plant size in relation to the others she has planted them with, as I can now see how much space I need to allocate to mine. This is not always easy to figure out by looking at photographs on the internet as they tend to show close ups of just the flowers or foliage, and not a whole established plant, planted in and amongst other plants. Thanks Donna!
[one_half]Peony in the packet
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[one_half_last]When it grows up I’m hoping for …
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[one_half]Newly planted
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[one_half_last]Looking good …
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So with my newly acquired knowledge I’ve found a spot for it and have planted it where it will receive at least six hours of afternoon sun (as I’ve learnt it needs), in well drained soil, in a spot where it will have space to grow and where it can be admired.
Do you have any advice for a newbie Peony owner? I’d love to hear!
Happy Gardening
xxx
My Notes on Peonies:
Peonies are grown as ornamental plants for their very large, often scented flowers. Due to their colorful and attractive flowers, Peonies have gained a huge popularity these days and are also made available in artificial form which are used as indoor decoration. Peonies are extremely long-lived plants lasting up to 50 to 70 years, so once you get them planted correctly, you will enjoy them for years and years. Peonies are gorgeous perennial flowers that grow as a herbaceous cultivar and as a peony tree. Peonies should be planted away from large trees or shrubs because they will have compete for root space and nutrients, resulting in the size and the quantity of the flowers being reduced.
Our third combined post for the monthly Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day, here’s whats happening in our Gardens in May. We hope you enjoy our “May blooms” and then join Carol and friends over at May Dreams Gardens to see what other gardeners around the world have blooming in May and then pop over to ‘Garten Blogger Blüten im Mei‘ over at Seepferds Garten for the German version of Garden Bloggers Bloom Day! Enjoy!
With the weather changing and the days bringing unusually warm temperatures and then turing icy cold the next, brings the most interesting flowers. I had little hope of anything exciting. With a busy work schedule, I had little time in the garden this past week so when I stepped out with my camera I found flowers in the smallest of places. Hidden in the tomato patch and high up in the protea bush… enjoy my garden selection!
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Lets check out whats happening in Chrisine’s Garden in May…
With cooler temperatures and a fair amount of rain, growth in my garden has been great resulting in lots of lush green growth, but very few “spectacular” type blooms. The Camellias are flowering, some Azaleas are putting on an early show and the Murraya Exotica (Orange Jasmine) are blooming. Looking around for blooms to give you a good show, here is what’s blooming in my garden in May; lots of pink and white, but the overwhelming theme in my “May Garden” is Green!
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The last photograph is not a “bloom” as such, but I wanted to show the beautiful variegated leaves of my Chameleon Plants – Pretty, no?