In response to Les from A Tidewater Gardener “Winter Walk Off Challenge”, here is my “neighbourhood walk” photo essay. The objective is to leave the house and share what can be seen within walking (or biking) distance of your home. Being in the Southern Hemisphere we are at the end of our summer so showing a very different picture to our Northern Hemisphere gardening friends.
Before you join me on my walkabout, let me explain something very briefly – For those who don’t know much about South Africa, crime is an issue here. Even in the suburbs where I live, we all (mostly) live with six-foot walls surrounding our properties topped with electric fences to keep the criminal elements out of our homes. Whilst our neighbourhood is considered very safe and incidents here are few and far between, it is a precaution we all take to protect our private sanctuaries. So my walkabout is not particularly interesting as very few homes allow us a glimpse into their lovely gardens. And the gardens here are wonderful – when we do catch an odd glimpse of them through opening gates and the few whose walls we are able to peek over they are quite magnificent.
So here we leave our front gate and this is the view of the home opposite our house and looking down the street …
A closer view of the trees that were teeming with birds …
Ivy and Dietes Grandiflora on the verge …
I love the Bougainvillea growing in the tree at the bottom of our road …
Turning the corner we see this peeping up above the next six foot wall …
And then someone who is less concerned with crime shows a bit more …
And on the next verge a glorious old tree …
I can’t show you their beautiful gardens but I can show you the wonderful view of “our” mountain we all share …
We walk up the next street to see this …
And then a closer view of the Bougainvillea and Cape Honeysuckle which was full of bird life – we stood and watched the Sugar birds for about ten minutes … they were having a ball in there!
We carry on further up this street to show you the Hibiscus on the next verge …
A sure sign that summer is over – a spent Agapanthus going to seed, a common site on verges and road sides around the Cape at this time of year …
Down one more street because I wanted to show you this one … I think its a lovely street with the Hibiscus that seem to flower all the time
And then around the corner we go back home …
Thank you for joining me on my Neighbourhood Walk! Why not join in – visit A Tidewater Gardener for details about the “Winter Walk Off Challenge”, visit other neighbourhoods around the world and then show us your neighbourhood! But hurry up, it closes on the 19th March, the last day of winter (or summer), depending on which side of the equator you are on đŸ™‚
xxx