Your point of view

It depends how you look at it, where you are coming from, your terms of reference. This morning young Chocolat climbed the whippy Trimeria, leapt to the gutter and onto the roof! Then managed to scramble down again, via the same tree. Later I watched him, at the base of the wall, looking up, calculating distance and trajectory. Allowing for that thorny branch between him and the top of the wall. And he sails effortlessly up, like water poured from a jug.  

End of the month views from patientgardener in the Malvern Hills UK and First Views from Town Mouse and Country Mouse  in California call for WIDE views of the garden, NOT the details, flowers or leaves. The Ungardener has given me the bird’s eye view, from the roof. A formal garden requires to be seen from the first floor drawing room, or the balcony, which in our house we don’t have.  I see that central octagon around the sundial in my mind, on the paper plans – but in the garden it is simply where two paths cross.

Paradise and Roses from the imaginary balcony

Ungardening Pond seen from the roof remains larger than I’d like, but still smaller than he wanted. Black Stork Island somewhat overgrown, but difficult for this gardener to reach. Don’t like wet feet!

Ungardening Pond and Black Stork Island from 'upstairs'

My smelly daisy bush Argyranthemum has returned from not long for this world as a ‘small white car parked in our garden’ which glows in the evening light.

Daisy bush masquerading as a small car

Looking back to June 2011’s visit to Fairview cheese and wine estate. The artist’s impression of a goat. The Italianate wall fountain and South African arum lily leaves. Appropriate, since Zantedeschia aethiopica  was named for ‘Professor Zantedeschi, probably Giovanni Zantedeschi, 1773-1846, an Italian physician and botanist, although there is some uncertainty about this. The name aethiopica is not directly related to Ethiopia. In classical times it meant south of the known world i.e. south of Egypt and Libya’ – from PlantZAfrica.

Fairview goat fountain

Then the goat’s eye view, and what very strange haunting eyes they do have. Meet Lotus and Minnie at Curbstone Valley farm on California’s Central Coast.

Goat on his tower at Fairview

To me a garden is for people, and wildlife. But others choose a potager. At Fairview someone has had fun planting out the South African flag – an enticing combination of geometric forms and vibrant colours, if you have a large enough canvas to work on.

Potager at Fairview in June

Back in November 2009 Nell Jean asked Where are you planted? Where are you? Do we share the same sort of climate? I discovered Wikipedia has an entry for each degree of latitude. Elephant's Eye is at 33rd parallel South, echoing 33rd parallel North.

Looking back to the August moon

Pictures by Diana and Jurg
words by Diana of  Elephant's Eye

- wildlife gardening in Porterville, 
near Cape Town in South Africa

(If you mouse over brown text, it turns shriek pink. 

Those are my links.)