Three icons of the Karoo

The Aloe, the Windmill and the Donkey

Worcester Botanical Garden last July

The Aloe (not Aloe vera which comes from North Africa, and is widely cultivated for use in cosmetics). These pictures were taken last July at Worcester National Botanic Garden. This is in the Klein Karoo, which is also winter rainfall. Succulents which are adapted to winter rain. And bulbs – the March Lilies (Amaryllis belladonna = beautiful lady!) in the North American tradition of Naked Ladies and Surprise Lilies. After the winter rain, suddenly a dry field is COVERED in masses of gentle pink lilies, which stand tall and proud. Later, they do the dreary routine with the leaves. There are annual succulents, like the Bokbaai vygies. Low growing, and we have seen them in flower at “Buck Bay”.

Aloe at Worcester Botanical Garden

Worcester National Botanical Garden SANBI We often head this way, to do our food shopping at Woolworths, since Worcester is a bustling town. Lunch in the restaurant at the garden, with that amazing view of flowering aloes against a backdrop of snowy mountains. And since we are gardeners, we cannot leave without plants, seeds, books – or all three! (The plants are on our Karoo Koppie, which will appear later.) There are walking trails, but must admit, without shade, we stick to the main, landscaped part – rather than the mountainside.

Windmill with Eucalyptus

The Windmill creaking in the breeze, still stands, but they are no longer used much. And so there is a windmill museum at Loeriesfontein

(and the ubiquitous invasive alien, water-guzzling Eucalyptus, planted to supply timber, and still popular with bee-keepers, see 13th August.)

Donkeys, asses or mules?

The Donkey (or ass or mule?) Anyone who has travelled through the Karoo, will have seen donkey-carts, transport for workers and small farmers. Lovingly hand crafted, wooden carts.

Heading for Sutherland and SALT

Karoo is a Khoisan word, from the first people of South Africa. The Ungardener, as a retired tour guide, says it means “dry land”.

Leaving Sutherland

Zigzag Stabilimentum

When we first started gardening in Camps Bay, and everything was new, I was delighted to see a yellow spider web, with this zigzag which is enchanting other Blotanists. I was working in the Engineering and Science Library at the University of Cape Town. Synchronicity brought me that week’s Nature magazine with a cover article about cutting edge research.

Zigzag stabilimentum

The zigzag stitch is called a stabilimentum. The spider’s mum taught him, after catching all that food, and collecting all that protein, and weaving that meticulous web – you need to be sensible and protect your investment. This spider has definitely been to one of Valeri’s textile art classes at http://mysmallcornishgarden.blogspot.com/2009/08/all-blogged-out.html

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stabilimentum

There is much controversy surrounding the function of these structures, and it is likely that different species use it for different purposes. Some people believe that they provide protection to the spider by either camouflaging it or making it appear larger. Another theory is that they make the spider visible and therefore animals such as birds are less likely to damage the spider’s web. Originally the decorations were thought to stabilize the web (hence the term stabilimentum), but this is dismissed nowadays. One more recent theory is that web decorations attract prey by reflecting ultraviolet light. Light in the ultraviolet part of the spectrum is known to be attractive to many species of insects. Many other theories have also been proposed such as thermoregulation, stress, regulation of excess silk, or simple aesthetics. At least one variant has been observed to vibrate the web, while positioned in the stabilimentum, when approached by a body the size of a human. One theory has been put forward that the purpose of the stabilimentum is to attract the male of the species to the web when the female is ready to reproduce.

Garden orb-weaver with

Blue Emperor dragonfly Lunch

When I photographed the zigzag the little spider shot off in horror. But his big brother has caught one of the Ungardener’s beloved dragonflies – looks like a Blue Emperor – sirloin steak instead of the usual hamburgers!

Common or garden white daisy

And now for my niece, who has had enough with the spiders already - your common or garden hybrid marguerite white daisy bush (came from a small piece hacked off a bush at my mother’s retirement village). Paradise for yellow or white crab/flower spiders, waiting on their dinner table with knife and fork raised in readiness, for unwary bees or flies who become Lunch (see post from 24^th August).

You can also just see the yellow Clivia (more later) and our boma made of off cuts from discarded grapevines. Our neighbours tell us it makes wonderful coals for the braai (barbeque). As vegetarians and wildlife gardeners – this is our brush pile – snails hide and get eaten by tabakrolletjie snakes (see post from 4^th September), lizards sun themselves and can escape.

And two frustrated cats say crossly – I know it is in there!

Population: Overconsumption is the real problem - opinion - 27 September 2009 - New Scientist

Population: Overconsumption is the real problem - opinion - 27 September 2009 - New Scientist

'One American or European is more often than not responsible for more carbon dioxide emissions than an entire village of Africans.'

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Grey water

What is grey water? We collect the water from the washing machine, shower, and bath to reuse for watering our garden. Not the kitchen because of food residues and grease. (I leave it to you to check if you have any local municipal restrictions on doing this.)

First the health warning. And if you find the idea of using grey water in your garden distasteful … Consider this – that grey water is just as clean and “sterile” as the clean clothes you take out of the washing machine, or your feet stepping out of the shower or bath. It is like a new car losing value in the moment that you drive it out of the showroom. A moment ago, that water you used for washing with, was pure, treated, municipal drinking water!

Plum blossom, last year, but it has just burst into bloom now

Don’t use grey water on vegetables or herbs, but we do use it for fruit trees. Always water the earth, not the leaves, so nature can destroy any germs, before they can do you any harm. When you have finished watering, wash your hands, arms and face carefully with soapy water. Better yet, I make sure I work carefully, and don’t splash my face!

You will know if, and which of your plants are acid-loving – our proteas and ericas – for them, always use rain or tap water. They don’t like the “chemical fertiliser” from washing powder/detergents/toiletries. Containers/pots also can’t cope with the build-up of salts.

We have the basic half of a commercially available grey water system. First a tank low enough to capture the grey water. Then a pump to lift it to the short-term storage tank. (You could have a serious pump and a network of irrigation pipes – but we prefer two by two-legged watering system with a watering can for each leg.) Use the grey water today, or tomorrow at the latest – so you need a tap to divert the flow away into the sewerage system, when necessary.

The earth has 1.3 billion cubic kilometres of water, of which 97% belongs to the sea - most of that is locked in ice sheets at our poles. So we are left with 0.036 % for the entire world to use. http://www.freewater.co.za/

"Free" water

If you, like us, are trying to live green, then use the water twice, whenever possible. Remember, we talk about alternative energy, but there is no alternative to water …

The main problem with using grey water in the garden is phosphates from washing powder. Those are the same phosphates you would buy as chemical fertilizer. The same phosphates which are such a problem in rivers, lakes and ultimately the sea – because they build up levels of mineral salts which nature cannot cope with. Again, if you try to live green, use those phosphates to grow your garden, and reduce our burden on nature.

Finally, phosphate fertilizer is expensive. For us to buy, if only in our washing powder! And consider where the phosphate came from, before you bought it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phosphates

Anyone know what sort of plums these are? January this year

We harvest masses of figs and plums from our recycled grey water. And our roses are flourishing, with luscious fleshy stems that I wish were asparagus we could eat!

Rest and Be Thankful

Rest and Be Thankful, near Loch Lomond in Scotland

In the early nineties we travelled through Scotland. In a large figure eight, through the Highlands, all the way up to John O’ Groats. I had no idea Scotland was so large it would take days to travel through. (The North is distorted by trying to draw a round world on a rectangular map. The Peters projection shows true area, but elongates the familiar shape of the continents. The Gall-Peters projection was first described in 1855 by clergyman James Gall. He formally published his work in 1885 in the Scottish Geographical Magazine. From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peters_projection ) And that the Highland Clearance had left swathes of uninhabited land. Stopped at one of the abandoned villages, so much sadness in the air, I can still feel it. As in the avenues through the forests at Dellville Wood, where I thought of my mother‘s father, who is buried in the Bucquoy Road cemetery near Arras.

Planted the trees in December 2007

One year later, December 2008

The Ungardener reads maps, as a musician reads music. And I read this. Reading, is about words. Isn’t it? So we have those conversations, when I am “navigating”, missed the turnoff – can’t you see it is after we cross under the power lines, and before the little bridge over the stream. Hang on; I am still trying to work out if we are travelling up the page or down. So, on the map of Scotland there is a place called Rest and Be Thankful. Truly, near Loch Lomond. A mountain pass they constructed, and finally reached the top on a Sunday. You can read the story here

http://www.arrocharheritage.com/HistoryOfRABT.htm

The picture at the beginning is from the web, ours was on paper, and the wind was blowing so hard that day, I couldn’t hold the camera still!

Green bower in June this year

After Pani’s Falls (see 26^th June), “we” dug out the pond, and the soil was dumped as a berm behind the waterfall, giving us a “High Road” and a different perspective on our garden. In time, when the trees (the Ungardener loves trees, you can never have too many trees …) have grown, I’ll rename it the Woodland Walk, which is less pretentious, but hey, it is our garden.

Cat-sit

These trees are Searsia (formerly Rhus). Searsia was named after Paul B. Sears (1891-1990) who was head of the Yale School of Botany – from www.plantzafrica.com Behind the bench Bergkaree - Searsia leptodictya, which has lovely corky bark as it matures. Then, when it arches over the bench, I can rest my head against it. Sneer at tree huggers? Have you never rested your head against a wise, old tree and connected with nature. Become an integral, functional part of the web of life. Breathing in the oxygen from your tree, breathing out the carbon dioxide for your food crops. God is in his heaven, all is right with the world?

Salvia africana-lutea

The two on each side of the bench are Witkaree – Searsia lancea, more upright in growth than the Bergkaree, which arches affectionately down in an embrace, as a willow tree does. They have trifoliate fragrant leaves. And are related to mangoes, pistachios, cashews and the Brazilian pepper tree. But you need a female tree for fruit … Karee means Karoo, a semi desert area of the Western Cape, with glorious scenery, and WIDE open spaces, where the soul can breathe freely.

Plectranthus neochilus

Then because we like to sit here, I have planted flowers. A necklace of Gazanias – have learnt from a fellow Blotanist that these spectacular modern hybrids will die off after two years – but they scintillate now! We have various indigenous salvias. This Salvia africana-lutea has unusual burnt orange flowers. The muishondblaar, Plectranthus neochilus is a cousin of madagascariensis. The Ungardener is determined to call it lavender, but, the leaves can be used to deter flies. They smell strong, not so pleasant, if you brush up against them.

Gazania

Blotanical 2009 Awards – Thank You!

In our wildlife garden last April

Somebody out there likes Wildlife gardening in Porterville, almost as much as we do! I asked Stuart to add a Blotanical 2009 Gardening for Wildlife Award to his list … one of 75 awards available. Now it gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling to be found in that top 5. With

- http://blog.shirlsgardenwatch.co.uk/ and her hedgehogs in Perth, Scotland

- Gary’s Garden

- Terra Farmer (my best blog name!)

- and The Urban Gardener

And that gives me three more blogs to get to know.

At the Clanwilliam Wild flower show in August 2007

Also short listed for native (in South Africa that would read indigenous) plants. With

- Gail at http://clayandlimestone.blogspot.com/

- http://wiseacre-gardens.com/wordpress/ Got a compliment from Wiseacre (seen HIS photos??) for the Ungardener’s macro photos of ants – digital cameras are such fun when they are not saying – oh, there was a bird I was supposed to see, where??

- Town Mouse and Country Mouse

- Autumnbelle at http://mynicegarden.blogspot.com/ in Malaysia

Driving along the Biedouw Valley between Clanwilliam and Wuppertal last September

And in the top 5 for Africa. Out of 15, which includes one blog in Napier (that is NSW Australia, but he still hasn’t noticed he is in Africa. Go figure, as they say). And Sally, whose blog is moribund. That leaves 13. 1 each for Tunisia, Egypt and Mauritius. Then South Africa. 3 up north where we find

- Jack’s pictures at http://sequoiagardens.wordpress.com/

- and Brixton Broads.

- a double play from Ross at http://earthlandscapes.blogspot.com/ for Kwazulu/Natal.

Then we get to the good stuff in the Western Cape (I am biased, did you notice?) - 5 of us here.

Looking sadly at Blotanical’s map of Africa, you can see why it is called darkest Africa. Not too many blogs, or computers, or much electricity here. The Ungardener tracked down this wonderful site, after we flew with Qatar Airways via Doha

Midday as I wrote this post

. http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/sunearth.html If you are wondering what time of day, or night it is in … do visit this site!

Midnight in darkest Africa

For the 1 out of 3 Blotanists who are not in the USA, it is interesting to put states (or do you in the USA say State?) to blog names, and see who belongs together. Geographically at least.

How wonderful to be in the top 5 for

- indigenous plants

- wildlife gardening

- and (South) Africa

The three things this blog is about!

Finally, since some Blotanists missed out on nominating. Especially as some awards (Wildlife gardening, for one) were only open to blogs who chose to nominate themselves.

To vote – go to Blotanical’s Blog directory page.

Click voting is now open.

Do vote, now, please! You have only FIVE DAYS left as I write ...

The more votes, the better the best will be!

Harvester ants and Malmesbury Gousblom

To most South Africans, ants are trails of black things in the kitchen. Oh no, I forgot to put away the leftovers! If there is no meat, they will go after sweet things instead. The real pest are the Argentine ants, which we are grateful that we don’t seem to have here.

But the indigenous ants are a vital part of the web of life, especially these harvester ants which live on seeds. At the entrance to the nest is a heap of husks. Some of the seeds which they take underground into their nests are able to grow, and they certainly work hard at seed dispersal. They live, says our insect book, in “dry areas”.

Field guide to insects of South Africa, by Mike Picker, Charles Griffiths, Alan Weaving. New edition 2004. Published by Struik

The Ungardener was fascinated to see these ants carrying bundles of mauve fluff. I am thinking what on earth is it? But ants can’t walk that far, so we look around. It is the seeds of the Malmesbury gousblom. Restricted to clay soils around Malmesbury.

South African Wild Flower Guide 7 – West Coast, by John Manning and Peter Goldblatt. 1996

Arctotis candida. Plantzafrica website says there about 50 species, which are not clearly sorted out. It is an annual. Which our assorted neighbours greet with – it is a weed, green, nasty, take it away. So they do!

One of the Ungardener’s free spirited plants. Leaves like a fleshy version of the dandelion, slightly fluffy and delicately shaped. It trails and sprawls, and is generous with its subtle two toned yellow flowers. That is the ray florets. The central disc florets are black.

Since they also support interesting beetles, we’ll come back …

Better world: Eat more plants - environment - 18 September 2009 - New Scientist

Better world: Eat more plants - environment - 18 September 2009 - New Scientist

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Nearer God’s heart in a garden – Rustenberg

What a labour of love is this paving, and how enchanting

Nearer God’s heart in a garden. Hands up, how many of you have that displayed in your garden? Maybe you have the whole verse?

The kiss of the sun for pardon,

The song of the birds for mirth, -

One is nearer God’s heart in a garden

Than anywhere else on earth.

We saw this verse displayed when we went to Rustenberg Wine Estate, near Stellenbosch http://www.rustenberg.co.za/ for the Rare Plant Fair in March this year. Went last year, and was so engrossed in the plants, that I only realised this time, that there is an awesome garden there.

Found Acer palmatum Black Magic, which has dark leaves, when in leaf, for my Dark Side rose garden. Onixotis, vlei lily (a vlei is a seasonal pond), has just made me the one flower so far. White flowers with delicate burgundy markings in the centre. A yellow Kniphofia, which fades to yellow, but started just orange.

I got to thinking, if there is one verse there must be more. Here they are.

God’s Garden

The Lord God planted a garden

In the first white days of the world,

And he set there an angel warden

In a garment of light enfurled.

So near to the peace of Heaven,

That the hawk might nest with the wren,

For there in the cool of the even

God walked with the first of men.

And I dream that these garden closes

With their shade and their sun-flecked sod

And their lilies and bowers of roses,

Were laid by the hand of God.

The kiss of the sun for pardon,

The song of the birds for mirth, -

One is nearer God’s heart in a garden

Than anywhere else on earth.

For He broke it for us in a garden

Under the olive-trees

Where the angel of strength was the warden

And the soul of the world found ease.

Once there were two sisters. The older was planning her wedding in Windermere. That hymn has a lovely tune, shame about the words though. Her sister, Dorothy Frances Gurney (1858-1932), “after fifteen minutes” came up with the words of “O perfect love”. That young bride has faded into obscurity, but Dorothy’s words live on.

(And the music? I leave someone else to pick up the thread. I imagine that somewhere, buried in sheet music from your grandmother, or in a music archive, the music slumbers on ...... I have googled and found it! Strength and Stay by J.B. Dykes. Number 7 in the Anglican Hymn book. Words at 280.)

Green water

How “green” is the water that you drink?

My mother taught me to be green, very green.

All man’s pollution doth the salt sea cleanse

Iphigenia in Tauris, by Euripides

Berg River - trying to get to Postberg Wildflower Reserve in August 2007

But only if your boots are made of leather, with a few metal bits, and stewed up animal glue, and twine that once grew in the earth. Then you can throw your discarded boots on the rubbish dump, and in time, they will return to the earth from which they came.

If your boots are man-made. Synthetic. Artificial. Plastic. Outside of nature. Monstrous. Then nature cannot return them to the earth, from which they did NOT come. Then your boots will ‘live‘ on after you are dead, and your children, and their children, even unto the 40^th generation, counting 25 years for a generation...

Berg River - trying to get home in June this year

From the Cape Times this month. No author or source given. To make a one litre bottle of imported water and transport it around the globe to the US, CONSUMES 27 litres of water. That plastic bottle takes 1,000 years (40 generations!) to biodegrade. South Africa is one of the few countries worldwide where tap water can be safely drunk.

Plastic is currently swimming in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/60-second-science/post.cfm?id=voyage-to-the-pacific-oceans-garbag-2009-08-06

When I first went to Switzerland, as a young South African. I was thirsty, took a glass to the kitchen tap. My future mother-in-law explained that we drink waltzing water – glass bottled 'Valserwasser' from Vals in Graubunden/Grisons, where they speak Walliserdeutsch.

Then again, when we lived in Camps Bay, if you look at a Google map, there are mountains on three sides, with the sea on the fourth side. There is no sewage treatment. It is simply pumped far out to sea. Raw sewage. There was also a problem with all those restaurants (fish and chips?) dumping their used cooking oil down the drain. They are supposed to have grease traps, and clean them properly. Then it washed up on the beach as balls of fat, embedded with sea sand, and the dogs tried to eat it. No blue flag status for that beach.

Berg River - when all else fails, use this delightful old iron bridge, near Misverstand Dam

Do you ever think about – how clean the water is, that you drink? Or what you DO or DON'T - so that your water is clean enough to drink? And downstream for the next person?

We have a Swiss Katadyn water filter plumbed in to the kitchen. We drink bottled water only when desperate. Reuse the bottles, with our filtered water. And finally the tired bottles go for recycling. Not ideal, but the best we can do.

Ballenberg 2

I have wanted to visit Ballenberg in Switzerland, ever since I heard of it. It is a bit like old racehorses (patrician villas) put out to grazing, with some carthorses (farmhouses) and a few donkeys (sheds and barns). Put aside all ideas of theme parks a la Disneyland. This is a true museum. In the open air. Where old houses have been brought to retire in peace, after a long hard life. Each one is settled into its landscape, with meadows and cows and goats (rare breeds). Fresh garden flowers on the dinner table.

Their charm kept alive with dedication – maintaining folk customs and hand crafts which would otherwise die out. (Check what is on today, when you arrive). There is a straw hat workshop from Villnachern (Aargau). And the weaving, bought a bit for my sister’s birthday! Linen, cotton and silk.

Over a hundred buildings, arranged by their cantons, so you can travel throughout Switzerland on this day. From large and beautiful villas, with historically accurate gardens, to Alpine shepherds huts, from prosperous farmhouses, to the blacksmith’s forge. And this tiny church, rescued from Turtig/Raron in the bilingual canton of Wallis (Swiss-German) or Valais (French).

A schoolroom, as the Ungardener remembers it. Those black things lying on the desk, are extra sleeves, to protect their clothes from ink smudges. Anyone out there still remember ink smudged fingers? Blackboards and chalk screeching?

Post Bus back. Then the Brienzer lake steamer, past the Giessbach Falls (remember Sherlock Holmes. Sorry, that was Reichenbach Falls in Meiringen). There is another picture of this lake in 1^st August post.

Directions, opening times etc. here Ballenberg

I’ll be back. One day …

(PS Did you miss Part 1 on 10th September?)

A new garden blog

Where? At www.blotanical.com Here you will find a captive audience of over one thousand five hundred gardeners. Someone will read your blog. Especially if you remember that in www, it is the third w for web that counts. I read this advice to new bloggers – write every day, for the practice and the habit, keep going even if no one is reading you. And only then I realised how I simply took for granted that Stuart runs Blotanical for our benefit – Blotanists get read!

Why? Only you can answer that question for your blog. I started because I was looking for ANY information about gardening here in the Swartland, Renosterveld, HOT summer, heavy clay. Help, help! Is anyone there? Right then, I will write my own blog. As our record of our work in this new garden. The resources I have slowly found on the web. The books I love.

The road from Piketberg to Porterville

How? This blog was born on the 19^th June, this year. We were away for three weeks in July, so I have been posting for ten weeks, 71st post. Time to take stock. It has been a steep learning curve. Sometimes everything went swimmingly, and sometimes the path was so strewn with boulders that I forgot which way I thought I was going to go.

Swartberg near Ladismith. Anniversary journey, part of this heart is in our garden now

What have I learnt? What did I wish I had done then, if I had only known?

If you are a computer nerd you can build your website from scratch, or you can pay someone to personalise your site, or, like me you can choose Blogger/blogspot or Wordpress. I am blogging with blogspot which does not come with a built in way to count visitors. I added StatCounter 2 weeks ago, so I don’t have the earliest figures, but now I can see a trend. I love to play with these figures, trace the patterns out, and tease out more and more information.

But, before you start, the very first thing. You read garden blogs. You have a little list of beloved garden blogs that you follow with pleasure and interest. No, you don’t!? See what is out there. Look at them as another reader, and as a future blogger. Which one do I like, why? Don’t like that, why?

Secondly, once you start writing. Keep following your no longer so little list, looking for ideas. For instance, now we all seem to have latched onto Link Within – which is a fun widget, which recycles relevant posts from your archives and encourages your readers to explore more and more of your blog. And I enjoy seeing thumbnails of those carefully chosen pictures. I’ve also added Feedjit Live Feed Popular Pages. You could have live feed maps of visitors, where you will see me waving from the bottom of Africa. Bit lonely in the blogosphere down here. So I added Afrigator – I am an African blogger. (Just in case you are really new to blogging, if you see a widget you like … click on it for more info, they are all eager for new users)

Thirdly, whatever platform you use, for example we are now at Blotanical. Keep up with (the opposition, sorry competition,) your garden bloggers. When you have been through your list and you are tired, about to switch off the computer and head for bed – click on one of your own posts. Be critical and objective. Does it load slowly? You will lose a lot of “readers” already. If you make them wait to load whatever, will they think it was worth it, or never come back again?

This way you will see for yourself if you have a feed problem. I seem to keep falling over interesting blogs with beastly green UFO feed problems!

Drew at Baneberry Garden http://ecologicconsulting.net/id21.html

and Carolyn at Rose Notes Daily Roses

Apparently this is called link love, urgh/ick!

I leave it to you to Google your way through a veritable mountain of blogs about blogging and find what works for you. Blogger versus Wordpress? Had no idea, so went with Blogger because I already had gmail. Will stay in my blogspot until or unless I find something which is better …If you are with Blotanical you can search our blogs for "blogging" …

Still with me? Your garden is calling!

Dietes, our wild Iris

Ah yes, if you are gardening here in the Swartland, Renosterveld, HOT summer, heavy clay. Is anyone there? Do leave a comment ...