Southern Spring

26 Sep '07 11:56 pm

Enjoying being alone with the dogs after a wonderful long weekend, I took another walk on Monday afternoon. Now, after 40 hours of rain and mist, I am finally catching up on my posting, whilst I keep myself snuggly busy inside! After this there is one more post, to go onto the Garden Forums page, of my visit to Kuhestan Farm Gardens at the top of Magoebaskloof - there you will see just how the lowveld falls away!

28 Sep '07 2:01 pm

When I first started reading these latest posts I thought I had stumbled into a Food Forum. Jack, your lunch sounded fantastic and I was very impressed with your beautiful table setting. And Liza, the photo of the beautiful Greek salad set my mouth to watering.

Isn't it wonderful to be able to share your garden in it's spring glory with good friends, both in person and over the airwaves of the internet?

28 Sep '07 7:59 pm

Hi, Jack! Well, I've been home for a couple of days now and finally am getting around to checking up on everyone else's threads. How dreamy your garden looks with all the pastel pinks, blues and assorted reds of the maples! And Taubie certainly looks the part of a queen of her realm!

Of course, here the autumn rains have begun. And my roof is leaking!! Evil or Very Mad

So today I arranged with a roofer to have the entire roof redone. We're scheduled to pick up the materials on Saturday and his crew will do the work as soon as we have a couple of clear days. Let's hope that the really heavy rains don't arrive for a few weeks!

I've been slowly bringing my more tender plants indoors for the winter. I think that tomorrow I'll bring the eucomis plants in to be sure that the seeds ripen. They sure are taking their own good time!! I think that some of the succulents (agave & aloe) should come in as well, before it becomes too wet for them. By the way, the euphorbia seeds that Mark sent me have all sprouted and are happily growing under a light in my living room! They now each have at least 4 leaves, and I'm a very happy camper!!

If it is dry enough tomorrow, I should take some pictures of my garden, especially of the new front one, where the Michaelmas daisies are now in full bloom!

Until then, take care!!

gordonf

28 Sep '07 8:52 pm

Hallo everybody and thanks for the comments!

Here are a few 'add-ons'; the promised picture of the roses in the arboritum taken from my parents' stoep (verandah), and two more showing the progressive greening of the view from my window.

My cousin and her husband, with whom I go up to the Limpopo, were here for two nights. Unfortunately the weather rather restricted photo opportunities.

The roses (Rosa laevigata) started off, if I remember correctly, with only five plants, struck from cuttings. You can see just how big an area they cover after 10 years, stretching from near the left of the picture to in behind the left hand gum tree. My dad picks a stem of nearly two meters, wedges it in a heavy vase and the buds open progressively over several days. When caught at the right moment, they are exquisite. My little house is simply too small for such a show Crying or Very sad

30 Sep '07 1:24 am

Love your arboretum photos Jack. I don't know many gardeners who can say they have an arboretum. Your father was a very forward thinking man when he undertook the planting of so many trees. Now you get to reap the rewards. How nice.

1 Oct '07 4:43 am

Of course that totally appeals to me. Interesting that they bloom so early in what is your spring. My one old rambler doesn't do its thing until near the end of our summer. By the way my planting bible, the Sunset Western Garden book didn't have it listed but Flora did. Perhaps I can work one out along the creek where it can climb up into some trees and be seen from within the garden.

Sorry to be so scarce in the forums these days. Grades are due Monday and we're fundementally reworking our curriculum in response to changing standards so school is making a bigger claim on me than usual. I am planning to attend a garden design talk this Thursday after school which is timed to coincide with a Garden Architect Annual Convention that's happening in San Francisco. I just got an email from a Flickr friend from Faith's state of Alabama that she and a friend are coming out to San Francisco that very day. All I know is that she does garden design professionally but I didn't think she was an architect. Anyhow, I hope to have her over on the weekend. I'm at the point in the season when I tend to let brush piles pile up and the paths need sweeping, the lawns a little long, there are too many spikes of grass emerging above other plants in the garden beds and there sure are a lot of rose hips that I haven't pruned. With the excuse of school in session, its easier to wax philosophical about nature reclaiming her own than it is to find time to take her on. Now with someone coming over who has only seen the bits I've pointed the camera at ... hmm. Judging from past behavior I'll probably tell myself I'll just let the garden and I be 'ourselves' .. until the Friday after school and then I'll come home and blast away at the last minute just in case.

Hey, I sure am rambling on for someone with so little time and all. No more talk of lean Winter times for you I'd say. There is lots in flower in your latest pictures. Nice to see the dogs posing among the posies. I've been able to read some posts at school during lunch but the last time I tried it wouldn't let me send a message from there. Weird, hey? I still have a lot of catching up to do from your safari! Honest to god, the thought of sleeping in a vehicle even with only chain link between hyenas and me ... shudder.

Okay, ready, aim .. load those grades!

Take care Jack.

-mark

1 Oct '07 7:00 pm

And perhaps, in that time, an hour of sunshine. I just love it, and I know all the trees sprouting new leaves do to. This afternoon with friends we walked in my garden, then ventured up to Cheerio Gardens, and hardly a drop fell on us, although we had to constantly dry our cameras... Liza, it was like being at the Chateau! Tonight the frogs are singing hymns of thanks. (I'll be updating my Cheerio Gardens thread on Garden Tours with today's pics ASAP!)

Faith: I am indeed blessed to have the arboritum. Last week it was ten years ago that we celebrated the completion of the arboritum by each planting a tree. For those who have not seen it, I wrote about the arboritum on 10 May at http://forums.mooseyscountrygarden.com/garden1264-0-asc-50.html

Mark, Rosa laevigata is always the first to flower for us and despite the bitterly cold winter it was unscathed - perhaps when they say it likes a hot climate, they mean a summer baking - can you provide that? Good luck with completing the grades - nice thing is, it is always followed by a holiday. Tomorrow I go in to school and then I will download your lovely batch of pics from the shed roof (your water feature is looking SO established!) as well as Liza's colourful autumn pics and Gordon's wonderful trip. I too often can't post from school, but at least I can always download all the pics for free!

2 Oct '07 12:13 am

On a visit yesterday to the home where Shelley holidayed as a child, I discovered a most beautiful rose! Please help me identify it!

I have added it to a post on two similar roses I am trying to identify: http://forums.mooseyscountrygarden.com/viewtopic.php?p=11302#11302

2 Oct '07 1:07 am

Hi,again dearest!

Look, this is REALLY such a magnificent Rose heart! But, if we do not see a global photo of the plant, or, at least, the whole bloom, it is impossible to recognize it! This is the colour of my adorable Manou Meilland Rose,a Floribunda of 1m/3 feet, which is globally one of the best Rose shrubs I know! The bloom colour -- a glowing brilliant pink -- is called by the Meilland family "Indian Pink"--love this pink name!!

Your recent Spring photos are ALL lovely! Pup Abbey has grown up! A ...sexy lady (or lad??) at ....her(his) teens??

Here is Manou :

2 Oct '07 2:42 am

Hi Jack,

Yet more gorgeous photos, there are too many favourites to mention. You're being really snap-happy recently which I think is great! Very Happy

Ok, maybe one mention Wink

: the Sydney Opera House-Magnolia - v funny!

Southern Spring

Monday afternoon

Where am I?

Glorious Springtime!

Still it is wet

Arboretum

Wow, what a monster of a rose!

Six days of soft rain we've had

Shelley's Pink

Wow!! What a pink!