Categories
Barbie's garden Gardening Home page features Miscellaneous

Neighbourhood walk in Philadelphia, Cape Town

When I saw that Christine took part in the Neighbourhood Walkabout, I was so keen to show my side of Cape Town – the rural village of Philadelphia, deep in the heart of wheat country. As we are coming to the end of summer, the gardens all seem a bit tired. The wheat fields are dry and it really is not very interesting in terms of what’s growing. But it is a pretty village with all of 25 houses, a Post Office, a Church, a corner store, coffee shop and crystal shop! So, sit back and enjoy the walk through my simple village life.

This is the front garden of my house situated in a cul-da-sac. No traffic and just the place to relax and unwind.

[one_half]My front garden[/one_half]
[one_half_last]Front of my house[/one_half_last]
Right next door to me we have garden lovers and this you can see with the beautiful urns by the front gate. Right next to that we have the horse stables where animals run free and the sheep eat everything in sight.
[one_half]Philla Villa[/one_half]
[one_half_last]Stables[/one_half_last]

Bougainvillea abound in our village and these are still in full colour.  Here we have the bougainvillea just at the beginning of our street, behind the local store.

[one_half]Bougainvillea[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Bougainvillea flower[/one_half_last]

This red bougainvillea is next to the famous old Mill that has been converted into a fuction venue – De Malle Meul (this means The Mad Mill). It is also  next to the old Dutch Reformed Church which always gets a new coat of paint every year!

[one_half]Malle Meul[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Church[/one_half_last]

The Main Street bustles on the weekend with town folk shopping in our local mineral shop and enjoying the shade of the huge Pepper Tree at the coffee shop.

[one_half]Magic Minerals[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Pepper Tree[/one_half_last]

Then here are a few sneak shots of my neighbourhood gardens. I just love the old fashioned-ness of the place. Roses and lavender seem to be common in all the gardens.

[one_half]Blikhuisie[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Malle Madonnas[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Roses[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Madonnas garden[/one_half_last]

Then, in between the begonias and pansies, the neighbourhood birds are always looked after by the locals – well fed and watered. The doves and pigeons seem to hang out at my watering hole!

[one_half]Bird feed[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Doves[/one_half_last]

The Pepper Tree seems to be a favourite in Philly. Giving shade against the harsh summer heat.

[one_half]Pepper tree[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Shade of Pepper Tree[/one_half_last]

The Philadelphia buildings have become well-known amongst Film Companies, using them in many local and international movies. Just an interesting snippet!

[one_half]Post Office[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Hoekwinkel[/one_half_last]

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 globe and then let us sneak a peek at your neighbourhood! I hope I made the deadline – 19th March, the last day of  summer here in South Africa xxx

Categories
Christine's garden Gardening Miscellaneous

Neighbourhood Walk in Cape Town

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 …

Neighbourhood Walk

A closer view of the trees that were teeming with birds …

Neighbourhood Walk

Ivy and Dietes Grandiflora on the verge …

Neighbourhood Walk

I love the Bougainvillea growing in the tree at the bottom of our road …

Neighbourhood Walk

Turning the corner we see this peeping up above the next six foot wall …

Neighbourhood Walk

And then someone who is less concerned with crime shows a bit more …

Neighbourhood Walk

And on the next verge a glorious old tree …

Neighbourhood Walk

I can’t show you their beautiful gardens but I can show you the wonderful view of “our” mountain we all share …

Neighbourhood Walk

We walk up the next street to see this …

Neighbourhood Walk

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!

Neighbourhood Walk
We carry on further up this street to show you the Hibiscus on the next verge …

Neighbourhood Walk

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 …

Neighbourhood Walk

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

Neighbourhood Walk

And then around the corner we go back home …

Neighbourhood Walk

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 🙂
xxx