Beautiful Brumeliads

I am so proud to have grown such beautiful plants. The pink with purple edges comes from my neighbour 2 doors down.



This beauty (the large one) comes from my Mom from Amanzimtoti. Now Toti is on the coast so is very moist and humid. They took about 2 years to settle in and voila.... The little one on the left is from Santa - my hairdresser. They grew quickly in my garden.

This was a birthday gift from my wonderful hubby so I can't take any credit for this one as it came blooming. I had put in near the driveway but the afternoon sun was too hot and burnt the leaves. Now it is at the bottom of my garden it is as happy as Larry!

I may have mentioned this before but I love my garden. It gives me such peaceful joy.

And the time flies

We are on the other side of summer now. The days are still REALLY hot, there are stunning storms, it is darker earlier in the morning and I haven't posted a blog for months! It has been a busy season - in life as well as in the garden. I have loved my summer garden. My purple bed is beautiful and full. I had (am am still having) a great veggie harvest. Grey Hornbills came to visit and feast on the fig tree. I also realised I don't really like to do other people's garden - I am most satisfied in my own garden. Hmmm so I have lots of pretty GardenGodmother business cards.
Veggies galore. We feasted on beetroot (roasted and pickled), leeks (roasted and in soup), loads of red and brown onions, potatoes (baby potatoes boiled and served with butter, salt and herbs), gem squash. There are still more gems, butternuts and pumpkins. I have also just planted more onions, leeks, carrots and kale.


My purple garden is an on-going artists canvas. The dahlias were spectacular this year - they hadn't started flowering in this picture yet. I mulched with wood chips which really helped with moisture retention.

The plotting, planning and planting...

The best thing about spring is the potential. Ok and the thawed out toes are also pretty good!

My Namaqualand Daisies are being their usual cheerful chirpy selves.

I planted Sweetpeas using the seeds from last year. They have gone absolutely mad but no flowers yet - wait for that picture!














The Primulas are all pretty in pink at my front door (not to mention my sweet child!) and my veggie garden is all planted out. I am going to plant potatoes in the next couple of days and a tomato bush or 2 and then we are ready to rock'n roll. I have a real smorgasboard in the veggie garden - pumpkins, beetroot, mielies, leeks, onions, cucumber, beans, carrots, broccoli. Yum yum!

Hello! Anyone out there?

I haven't been hybernating... honest! Goodness life just flew by. The last post was the end of summer now we are almost at the end of winter - thank heavens! There were a few changes done this winter - moving plants around, preparing the veggie beds, cutting and trimming trees.

Well here is the veggie bed that Ronnix and I laid out and prepared. I planted leeks, red and brown onions and broccoli. I made the error of not noting the sun on this bed in winter - it doesn't get enough sun in winter but in summer gets a lot. So next winter I will let it rest. The result is the onions and leeks are growing very slowly which may result in a poor crop. The broccoli however seems to be doing fine. I want to prep to plant peas and beans so want to build a support system for them. I am also going to be planting potatoes in the next few weeks - as soon as I can get the seed potatoes.


I planted poppies this year and they are gorgeous. There are so many unopened buds so I am hoping for a profusion of poppies. I planted yellows, oranges and whites in the fairy area and some reds in my red bed.

Streptocarpus spleandor

This is Streptocarpus formosus. They are part of a large genus of plants indigenous to South Africa. They grow wild in Port St Johns in the Transkei and other parts of Kwa-Zulu Natal.
These beautiful old fashioned plants are sensitive to light and easily burnt by the sun but at the same time don't flower very well in deep shade. They have beautiful trumpet-like flowers in summer and large leaves. They are a low growing plant. They are in quite acidic soil as they are near my Hydrangeas and Azaleas.
Of course I just love the colour - deeply spiritual deep purple.

Bye bye Privetts

Yay finally bye bye Privetts - already the Lemon tree and the Wilde Als are smiling and reaching for the sun. These particular trees are invaders but not all Privetts are bad - I don't have the botanical names of these particular Privetts - so don't just haul out the electric hand saw without being sure. I did say a quiet sorry to them though.
I have plans afoot to move some of my newer roses to a sunny spot in the garden. When I started this current rose bed 5 years ago the trees were smaller and the sun got to them. There are a lot of shady spots in my garden so going to have to find lots of shade loving plants. The ones that come to mind are Plectranthus, Mayabella, Clivias, Strobilanthes, Zantedescia. Yummy!

Zubrant Zanny Zinnias

I love the wild cheerfulness of these Zinnia elegans and they love this sunny place in a wall. Peaking out are Argyranthemum frutescens. Even more hidden away are Gazanias - also in beautiful pinks.
I am regularly deadheading all of them to give a longer flowering period. None of these beauties like wet feet so do well together. Not to mention they are in a place that often gets overlooked when I water!