Hopeful shoot, bursting
bud. Wicked, wicked anthurium (yes that’s the rude pink one in the photo). It’s
impossible to ignore the arousal of spring out here in the mountains of the
Magoebaskloof, Limpopo. Everywhere I look there’s a flirtatious azalea, a
blossoming cherry, the sweet smelling jasmine. I cannot stay at my desk, I have
to get out and explore.
Marloe’s
Garden I head for the jardim
of the fabulous Marloe Scott Wilson. Soft view, tall trees, horses, dogs, cats,
delight. We sit on the porch and drink wine and talk gardens and life. Marloe
got into urban gardening in London in the 70s and is passionate about edible
gardens, companion planting, making compost, planting at the new moon, talking
to your seedlings and using available resources. All the things that make me go
zing. I leave with bunches of greens and packets of heirloom seeds.
Oh
me oh my, the clivias I go completely weak kneed at the sight
of a flowering clivia which is making morning walks a wobbly affair. Every
shady garden pocket in Haenertsburg village is lit with the clivias flowering in peach,
apricot, orange, yellow-orange, vermillion, tangerine. I grow them from seed
for pleasure, and think of my mother and the fabulous Lisa Atherstone who has a
clivia nursery in the dreaming heights of George’s Valley near here.
Hello
Cheerio We walk gently as friends in the afternoon under
the pin oaks and crab apples; gaze greedily at the outrageous spectacle of azaleas,
cherry blossoms and water. Cheerio Gardens are the mountain’s most famous
English exotic gardens and were started by the pioneering Box Thompson after the First World War.
Sequoia
Another treasure of Magoebaskloof is the gentle, gracious Sequoia Gardens,
lovingly tended over the years by the delightful Jack Holloway. I do slow pans across calming dam views, close ups into the erotic blue iris. I may never be the same
again. See Jack’s blog on https://sequoiagardens.wordpress.com
Albie’s
Orchid I drink a whisky with Albie Leiding, pharmacist,
philosopher, gardener and gentleman. He lives in Agatha in Tzaneen and the
orchids in his house and on his veranda delight us every spring and summer. He
tends them carefully. He knows their Latin names, their daily mood swings, their favourite songs. Pure plant porn.
My
grandmother’s tibouchinas Like ballerinas in pink tutus these trees prance across the garden
stage, frilly and delightful. They were my grandmother Elsie Tooley’s favourite trees and
they’re flowering early this year. Wander with a G&T www.kingswalden.co.za
Horse
shit I head for the fabulous Denise Tooley at Minas and
load up 100kg of compost and horse and sheep manure. The horses, Tigger, Amber
and Naledi are very beautiful, especially when sun kissed, but they can be
unruly if not downright anarchic. Denise shouts at them when they get into the
veggie garden but we are still grateful for their help in enriching the Minas
gardens and my very own. www.minas.co.za
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