Rememberance Gardening

Today, nine years ago on 18-01-2002 my mum passed away after a long illness. (My dad died on 11 September, 2000 - exactly a year before the horror of  9/11) Ironically she passed away on their wedding anniversary . They would've been married 55 years the day she finally gave up her struggle with cancer.

My dad and mum on their wedding day in 1947 and still happily  together on their 50th Wedding Annniversary in 1997

My parents reared me and three siblings: two older brothers and a younger sister, with love and dedication. Today I realise that they sacrificed many things in order to feed, clothe and educate four children.

They instilled a sense of responsibility and accountability in me which has served me well all my life. I also acquired my love of Jesus through their teaching and example. 

Through my mum I learnt to love reading and when my children out of the home, she encouraged me to follow my dream to write. (I'm not there yet, but I keep writing) During my early childhood, we lived in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). Through our parents, we learnt to love that country, as well as South Africa when we finally had to leave SR and relocate here. I still love travelling and discovering Africa. 

My dad taught me money-management and how to keep a strict budget, a skill my sons have inherited.

My parents were dedicated gardeners. They lived in the same home for twenty years and had the best garden in the village. When they moved to a garden flat in a small town to be near my sister, they had the most beautiful garden there! 

Together my sister Rose and I nursed my mum during the last months of her life. She was still living in the flat she and my dad had owned fifteen years.

It was only after her death that I had the urge to garden.  I began to clear the empty, neglected plot next door; I originally did it as a sort of therapy. It worked! I learnt to love gardening and built a beautiful garden which now belongs to our neighbour. In the beginning I also I worked through the loss of my mum in this way while I often remembered my dad - who was the brains behind their gardens -with great love, admiration and a whole lotta nostalgia.

My parents' garden was an eclectic mix of indigenous and exotic flowers and shrubs. When I grew up, trees were not so sought-after in your garden as they are today. Instead a vast expanse of lush lawn, edged by a herbaceous border and shrubs were the order of the day. There was a rose garden to the side of the house and vegetables and herbs of every kind flourished in the back garden. We only ate produce from the garden; never from the market (no supermarkets or fruit and veg markets in my day!)

One specific shrub which I remember in my parents' garden was a Brunsfelia pauciflora "Exima", commonly known as Yesterday, today and tomorrow.  I have a Brunsfelsia outside my office window and during flowering time, which is just ending now, my senses are assailed with the divine fragrance of the blossoms. Of course, I think of my parents whenever this happens!

I quote from my gardening book: A South African Garden for All Seasons:  

The sweet jasmine-like perfume of Yesterday, today and tomorrow drifting in through the window, is like the very breath of spring so you may like to plant this Brazilian shrub close to the house. When the small flowers open, they are a rich purple, but the next day they have changed to a pale mauve and by the following day are a pure white. This creates a rare colour combination which gives the shrub a delightfully variegated appearance. Its leaves are dark to mid-green, often half folded to show the lighter green below.

Unquote

This shrub was in my garden when I moved in eleven years ago. I almost lost it the first winter as it's not frost-hardy. However, I bought frost-net and kept it covered for two winters in a row. After that it seemed to rally on it's own strength and has become one of the most beautiful summer-flowering shrubs in my garden.

My Brunsfelsia just outside my office window

When the small flowers open, they are a rich purple colour...

... the next day the flowers are a pale mauve...

... and the following day the flowers are pure white

This a rare colour combination which gives the shrub a delightfully variegated appearance. This beautiful shrub is situated just outside my office window and when it flowers, I am inundated with the sweet jasmine-like perfume and of course, memories of my dear parents

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Well, what did I do this weekend?

Are you able to remember what you did on the weekend of 15-16 January? Gattina of Writer Cramps hosts this fun meme where you are able to record what you did over the weekend. You never know when you may need an alibi.

We had a rather restful weekend. I spent a lot of time in the garden watching Shadow. Yes, he is still being nannied by me although he is off the leash most of the time now.

While in the garden I played around with the functions of my camera. I know how to use Program, Auto, Self-timer and a few other functions - well, actually only Program, Self-timer and Auto!  However, both my daughters-in-law have encouraged me to use the manual function. Yes, the MANUAL function. It's scary at first (was for me!) but I'm becoming more and more used to it. I have a few photos below where I didn't watch the light and it's obvious in those images.  It's quite a challenge when you need to peer through your reading glasses at the screen and the over them at the subject! All the while you are adjusting the shutter speed and the apeture, which I learnt was the f-stop. Mmm. I have taken this opportunity to practice posting my photos on my unsuspecting readers and I thank you in advance for visiting under these conditions, LOL!

Apart from the very first photo which is taken using the Super Macro function (where you have to be on Program), all the other photos are taken on Manual function. Only yesterday I read an article by a professional model turned professional photographer and she said that lighting is everything in a photo. Well... you be the judge!

Barbeton daisy (Gerbera spp) taken using the super macro feature on my camera

Cape Robin-chats are prolific in my garden. They nest here every year; I've not yet found a nest, but many times over the years have had the priviledge of seeing a juvenile Robin-chat whith its mum and later seeing it foraging for food on its own

 African Red-eyed Bulbul singing his special song for me in my garden. His calls says: "Wake-up, Gregory!" (See lighting not so good in this photo)

A Dark-capped Bulbul singing his heart out at the top of a tree in my garden. I sharpened the image in order for the dark eye and more prominent "cap" to be visible. I heard a different call outside my office window and when I went out to check, I spotted this bird. His call is "quick-chop-toquick"  I 've never seen this bulbul in our area and wonder whether this is the outer range for it.

White-browed sparrow weaver - not a very good photo. Trying to use the manual function on my camera without my reading glasses is not a good idea! (I subsequently went indoors and fetched them and could read the screen after that!)

A thrush (not sure whether it's a Karoo or Olive Thrush) takes a bath in one of the dogs' water bowls

This is about the limit of Shadow's tree-climbing skills!

Southern-masked weavers are plentiful in Free State suburbia. The males build the nests and if the female doesn't approve, she smashes it (or merely ignores his efforts and looks for another mate!) The male then goes on to build another nest. When she does eventually accept his offer, you'll see her picking flower petals with which she decorates the nest (women! The same all over, eh?)

Southern-masked weaver's nest. This one has young in it but I have not yet managed to capture the parents feeding them

Pineapple flower (Eucomis autumnalis) blooming in my garden now - no prizes for guessing where it gets its common name !

My front garden in full bloom

I baked a whole-wheat bread - delicious

On Sunday, Grant and I packed some sandwiches, a flask of black coffee and headed 200km down the road to Golden Gate Highlands National  Park on the bike. More about this in a later post

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Just an ornery cat!

Initially Shadow sat quietly on my lap and looked out of the window. Then he began to yowl and tried to clamber onto the floor. He doesn't like being in a car anymore!

Last week Grant suggested we take Shadow out in the car like we used to do when living in Khartoum. Bad idea. No sooner had we driven down the street, than Shadow began to yowl and claw me. He tried to clamber across the cab and onto the floor. We realised that Shadow is just like any other cat now that he has "grown up": he doesn't like travelling in a car anymore!

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