One year in the valley!

This week marks a year that we've lived in Keirio Valley, in Kenya. I've made up a few tiles of life here in this beautiful remote valley within the Great Rift Valley.

From top: flying into Kenya; staying over in the Sarova Stanley, Nairobi; a view over the Great Rift Valley; the 24km road into the valley; arriving at the guest house; last photo: the lane leading to my friend, Sue's house

Our house in the corner, bordering the African bush; a beautiful bougainvillea in my garden; a view over my garden; Ginger, the cat we inherited as we arrived; I celebrated my nth (!) birthday in that first month; a luncheon at the guest house

An avid gardener, I found a kindred spirit in my Kenyan gardener, Stanley. Together we changed the existing garden from primarily exotic to 80% indigenous. We also revived and revamped the neglected rose garden at the side of the house.

Stanley my loyal gardener and two of the many birds which visit our garden

The middle photo in the first collage in this post is my "before" garden. Above is our "after" garden

In May we brought our Sudanese cat, then living in South Africa into Kenya! Although he hunts lizards with a vengence, he has no interest in birds, which is a relief!

Company management flew into the valley for meetings during the middle of the year.  Sue and I helped the Guest House to cater for their stay. I also joined Sue for an ice-cream and soda party at school one Monday morning

In July a security officer arrived at my door with a bedraggled kitten. So now the Hedges have three cats in Kenya! In the photo bottom left, carpenters are attaching screen doors which were for our own account. This is to keep monkeys (of which there are many in our camp) out and to keep cats in!

In between during the week, Sue and I would go birding around the dams and in the bush on the mine

Over weekends Grant and I went birding on the mine property

Among other interesting activities we attended school functions

In October I held a formal tea at my home. All three the ladies on camp (at the time) attended!
Every five weeks we go up the steep, winding mountain road for monthly shopping. There is always something interesting on this trip: birds, large lizards, Black-and-white Colobus and Blue monkeys; new-born lambs, and runners (Kenya has world champions) in training
The last full moon for 2011. It was a lunar eclipse!

An important young man?

Stanley and I created a welcoming display of potplants at my front door

After months of training on a leash, (like I'm doing with Ambrose now) Shadow has the run of the garden

A week before and the Christmas weekend was spent in the Masai Mara, on Lake Baringo, at Lake Elemtaita and at Sarova Lion Hill Game Lodge, Nakuru. Divine! 
 On the last day of 2011, Grant and I attended a wedding with a difference: the bride never arrived!
On the 1st day of 2012, Grant and I went out birding around the mine and I got my best photo of a Fork-tailed Drongo

Sue and I have been birding recently as well. Apart from this awesome heron and its reflection, I have several interesting photos. More about that tomorrow.

Anyone visiting my blog for the first time, you can scroll back over the past year and read about all I have spoken about and shown in collages above. And more... I can honestly say that this has been one of the best - if not THE best - year as an expat!

 

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My scenic, sunny garden

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Leonotis leonurus vs Leonotis nepetifolia

Last week I posted about a shrub in my garden called Leonotis leonurus. It  attracts sunbirds who sip the nectar from the bright orange petals of the bloom.

Over the weekend I completed an article for a South African magazine. I wrote about this plant and the benifits it offers in a garden. When I looked closely at the leaves, I decided to do a bit of research on it. Turns out it's not the Leonotis leonurus (which is indigenous to South Africa) but a native plant to tropical Africa (which includes Kenya) and Southern India. The plant I showed in my post is a close relative of the SA species and is called Leonotis nepetifolia. The leaves are different to the SA plant. Take a look:

Leonotis leonurus foliage - the South African species

Leonotis leonurus in full bloom - the South African species

Leonotis nepetifolia foliage - native to tropical Africa and Southern India

And again

Leonotis nepetifolia in full bloom with a female sunbird enjoy nectar from the bright orange petals

I thought I'd clear this up. Often on blogger, when you least expect it, someone catches you out! So it's official. The plant in my garden in Kenya is Leonotis nepetifolia. BTW The soft leaves of the second plant resemble the catnip plant of the mint family. (Nepeta spp)

Rose garden update mid-April

This photo shows how healthy and happy the rose bush is. Note the strong green leaves, new maroon shoots, the blooms and of course, the buds in the background

For those of you who follow my blog, you will know that I garden with primarily indigenous plants, especially back in South Africa. However, having moved into a company house with a largely exotic garden, about a month ago, I noticed a rather neglected rose garden under the bedroom window. Not being one to nurture exotics, especially if they have to be sprayed and pampered in any way, I would not normally have taken on the challenge. But I did with the intention of not ever using pesticides (I haven't and won't!)  and you can read about the beginnings of my rose garden here.

Our bedroom window can be seen to the left of the photo. This is the sight which greets me when I look out in the morning

No sooner had Stanley and I revamped the whole bed, pruned each bush and added compost to the newly dug dams around each stem, and the rain came down. It rained for about ten days, so my roses have no excuse but to flourish. I have been pleasantly surprised by the healthy leaves, new shoots and many rose blooms which these shrubs are yielding.

Beautiful rosebud on another healthy bush

When we revamped the rose bed last month, Stanley and I lifted and transplanted a small rosebush. We'd found it underneath an hibiscus shrub and it was listless and stunted. See below when we transplanted it last month.

If you look very hard, you will see the stick of a rosebush we planted here...

I didn't think it would take, but here is evidence to the contrary...

Ta-daa!

Yesterday while working alongside Stanley in the garden, I spotted a very tiny rosebush seemingly growing out of the baobab tree roots. Stanley lifted it and we planted it close to the original successfully transplanted rosebush from last month

I was thrilled to see white rosebuds emerging this week. I picked two for a candlelight dinner Grant and I had on Friday night. (More about that next week)

Thanks to all who continue to read and comment on my blog. I hope you're having a wonderful weekend. Bless you!

Rose garden update

For those readers who know me, I don't normally garden with anything exotic, especially not roses. But arriving here in Kenya and working alongside Stanley in the garden, I noticed a bed of old, neglected roses. So I rose to the challenge and with Stanley we removed all the extra shrubs in this bed, I pruned each bush to within an inch of it's life (excuse the pun) dug in mulch, watered well and sat back. Then in rained. And rained. And rained. Amen! Within a week, there are bushes with new growth, tiny buds and bright green leaves.

A few days after tidying the old, neglected rose bed in my garden, this bush rewarded us with a bloom.

Isn't it the softest pink bloom ever? Please note that some of the leaves have been eaten by something (holes visible) and no, I will not be spraying the roses with pesticides or any chemical to eradicate the bugs. I will live and let live with my rose garden

New growth and strong young shoots appeared on the rose bushes within a week applying TLC !

While out birding on Tuesday evening (yes, we've started going into the bush after work to look for birds !), Grant dug out a few aloes for my garden. When in flower, these will afford the many sunbirds in my garden with precious nectar