Southern Spring

18 Sep '07 2:17 am

Another huge "Wow" to you Jack - so far, you and Liza are combining to make me SO jealous!! (in the nicest possible way, of course!). I've always loved wisteria as it grew against our house when I was growing up, but I don't think I'd fit it in my garden right now - it's another "one day" plant! Wink

All your gorgeous varieties are...well...gorgeous!

Oh, and the azaleas, the acer (hmm, looks a bit similar to my own, although quite a bit taller by the looks of it, plus I've no idea what variety mine is either!) and the puppy-dog (so CUTE!), all are wonderful - thanks so much for sharing!

19 Sep '07 7:03 am

Hi again all, especially Bambi who has rejoined us! Most of my Wisteria are seed-raised from a good parent plant some 12 or more years ago - perhaps even 20. I'm just lucky that there were worthwhile variations along the way! I am all but over the crest with the term's work - so I'm off home and to bed early after a total of 11 hours sleep over the last 3 nights!

Here is a link and a single photo from one of my all time favourite sites:
http://www.invectis.co.uk/sissing/sswall.htm

Enjoy this wonderful tour of Sissinghurst!

19 Sep '07 8:05 am

I have nothing more to add!! A dream garden !! Thank you Jack !! And take care, relax...

21 Sep '07 5:04 pm

Wonderful pictures. Good find. I'll have to go back and try the other tours. Lia is in London right now getting killed financially with the poor dollar to pound exchange. She'll be back Saturday. We're still planning to go to England in June but it may be time for a diet if things don't improve. You were just in England. I suppose London is always steep. I think it is the country in the southern part that we'll explore.

I can remember going to France for the first time twenty odd years ago at a time when a dollar got you just over 7 francs. We ate out a bunch. Ah well, pay back time.

21 Sep '07 6:23 pm

Hi Mark
If you think the doller is weak, try the rand... for the cost of a take-away sandwich in London I could sit down to egg and bacon and a coffee at a diner in South Africa. Bottomline is we simply stop converting - and I go into student mode when I get to Europe. There is no way I would be able to afford to travel if I wasn't staying with friends, and I am just fortunate that some of my dearest friends over many years live in London and Paris. Not to mention a wonderful new friend in Waterloo! In 1995, realising that 3rd world currencies were very vulnerable, I put all into buying a camper and travelling for six months, mainly in the UK. The rand was then worth 3 times what it was at its weakest against the pound - and that after a dramatic crash in the late 80s as apartheid started to crumble. I remember when the US doller was worth 73 of our cents in the 60s. Now it is over 7 rand to the doller...

The whole of the South of England is expensive compared to the North. In Aberdeen I remember finding a place where for £2 I could buy a very good soup of the day and two slices of buttered toast; very welcome on a cold day! Do you have an idea of specific gardens to visit or do you want a few pointers? I'm quite an expert, even if perhaps a little outdated now Smile

I'm on holiday now. There will be time to catch up on posts; quite a bit to go here, the visit to the Kruger to report on, as well as a wonderful garden nearby I saw for the first time yesterday... But now Mother Hubbard's cupboard is bare, and so I'm off to Tzaneen, 40km down the mountain, to do some shopping for the first time in weeks, as well as more mundane things like a haircut!

22 Sep '07 1:20 am

Wow! I cannot believe I've missed this one! Sissinghurst is only an hour away, and yet I don't think I've ever been there (unless I did as a child and don't remember!). Well, there's nothing else for it but to make a point of visiting asap! I'll make sure I take at least some sort of camera when I do (even if it's just my phone camera!) and promise to share the pics with you all.

You're both right, by the way, the South of England, and particularly the South East, are extortionately expensive compared to virtually anywhere I think! I notice this particularly in my work as an estate agent, as people find it so hard to buy in the area if they are moving from elsewhere as they just don't get nearly as much house for their money down here. And Jack, you're absolutely right with you "take-away sandwich" comparison - it's just crazy how much they charge, particularly in London. But, having said all that, it is a fantastic city and the South East is wonderful too (ok, I am biased - I've lived here all my life so far!); there are some great places to visit, Mark, and I hope you enjoy it when you do come over - I second Jack's offer of any advice you may need.

23 Sep '07 5:22 am

The tree wisteria is an indigenous tree, no relation to the wisteria. I should have posted these pics on my sub-tropical plants and gardens thread, but they follow so beautifully on my wisteria pics, that I include them here. I took them yesterday in Tzaneen.

25 Sep '07 7:00 am

It is a week since last I wrote here, a week when things change faster than at any other time of the year. I have taken literally hundreds of photos in my garden as well as in other people's...

Here is a series of similar shots taken over the last days to show the change.

25 Sep '07 7:38 pm

On several walks I've almost randomly photographed what I saw. I'll try to organise the results a little!

25 Sep '07 7:58 pm

Spring has already been showing her splendor , there again Jack!! I loved the scented Violettes and that lovely Rose, La Follette (= the little crazy lady, in French!).Those bold orange Clivias are really something!