gardening

When I was 8 years old I went on a trip to Cape Town for surgery on my cleft lip, we stayed at my great aunts home.  In one room she had many African Violet plants, with no flowers.  During my stay I talked to those plants every day.  When I left my aunt phoned my mother to tell her …

Our chicks are about 2 months old now.  They are so tame and sweet the Black Australorp Angel looks like a hen and Lucky looks like it may become a rooster.  Does anyone know a bit about chickens and chicks who can confirm this?  We’re pretty much just going by the size of the comb.  Actually we were told that …

One of our favourite annual activities is visiting Ludwigs Rose Farm outside Pretoria.  The best time to go is for the first flush in early October.  It turned out that we were a week early as some rose varieties were still in bud form.  This weekend 8-9 Oct will be the best time to see all the roses in bloom.  …

After an idyllic day on Umdloti beach, Mum took us to the tea garden at Karibu Garden Centre (nursery) opposite Burndale for treats.  Apparently Burndale is really expensive these days.  When you’re a family party of 7, the last thing we wanted was a whopping bill. The lady managing the tea garden at Karibu is charming and hospitable.  The menu …

When shopping there are 3 pricing categories, rip-off, good value and bargain.  The pricing at Hardy Plants Nursery is bargain at its best.  On our way home to Boksburg from breakfast at Her Majesteas Salon in Heidelberg, we stopped in at Hardy Plants Nursery on the R23.  We were amazed by the low prices, if you’re looking for very reasonably …

If you’re planting Pansies in Jo’burg this is pretty much the last week to do it without them developing too late.  Ideally seeds should have been planted in the last week of Feb.  The children love being involved with gardening activities.  Once the seeds  are planted they need daily watering.   Perfect timing, this week when looking at another craft idea …

I am blessed to have a husband who not only works hard to maintain our home but also loves gardening.  I asked him to write this for me about the herb box which he built.  It still needs more herbs but it’s great to have space to plant more. Our original herb box which is separate from our vegetable garden …

I totally love baking but I do not enjoy decorating (primarily because I suck at it).  For Fjord’s 7th birthday he didn’t want a car, or superhero cake, he wanted a stapeliad flower.  Through Cliff he has learned a love of plants and gardening.  His favourite flowers are such boy flowers, they are stinky.  Stapeliads (or carrion plants) have the …

On Sunday we discovered 3 nurseries on Main Road in Pomona (I thought it was Benoni) until I checked later.   My husband Cliff is an avid gardener and our children are picking up on his enthusiasm.  Sunkist Nursery at 311 Main Road was a great discovery!  They have a lovely tea garden and play area, were we enjoyed a Sunday …

Sometimes it takes me an awful long time to discover places.  In my 14 years in Joburg I had often heard of Uncle Tim’s Cabin in Benoni, it was only a few weeks ago that we visited there for the first time.  Yesterday we planned to visit a nursery and I suggested that we try to find one which we …