Real-life journeys of discovery and reinvention
Kwelera National Botanical Garden takes shape We’re standing in the middle of a wetland deep in the cultivated portion of the Kwelera National Botanical Garden. But there is no water, just a thick covering of invasive solanum, ready to
Nomama Mei and I are walking, and talking, along the shore of the Kwelera Nature Reserve, now part of the new Kwelera National Botanical Garden. Mid-sentence, she crouches and strokes a plant with wide, green leaves, just emerging from the
Only the most intrepid of us – like my dear V – have ventured outside in the rain and wind of the past week. And he did it all for me. I have quite an affair going with growing new
Not long after we moved to East London, I found myself wending my car along a dusty farm track. I was searching for a nursery I’d heard about, one with a great variety of bromeliads, indigenous bulbs and clivia. Suddenly,
My method for rooting cuttings seems to be fairly successful, even with “difficult” plants, but my attempts to get seeds to grow is another story. V also, with his chilli obsession, tries to grow plants from seeds, but sadly, his
Down here in South Africa, especially along the coast, we seem to have a perpetual fixation with palm trees. I know, I know … we’re trying to evoke a sense of being on a tropical island. Or something. But it’s
Gardens are made to be shared – not just through sight and the other senses, but most importantly, through cuttings, roots and seeds that spread the joy and peace that only a garden can give. I learnt that from one
It’s the winter solstice today here in the South. In theory, it’s the middle of winter. But it’s far from a typical winter day: in this summer-rainfall area, most of the morning has been wet and overcast. I pull on
Our old wheelbarrow has worked so hard that it’s truly on its last legs … um, wheels. And I can’t wait for it to call it a day. I can picture it, parked in its final resting place in the
One of the things I love about living in my part of this part of the world is that there is always something to make you happy in the garden, even as we creep towards mid-winter (officially, that’s just three
