Quiet day in the garden

Our family had the usual Saturday morning breakfast at Ellie's Deli in Noordhoek last week. You can relax there in a variety of surroundings to suit all tastes and ages and we rather enjoy sitting at a large dining table inside - reminds us of when we were children, I suppose, except it's not round. After we had feasted on prandial delights, we browsed at the nursery, where something is always bound to catch the eye and fill one with enthusiasm for gardening.

I was amazed to see bokbaai vygies in punnets, almost on the point of flowering. I thought we planted them at the beginning of spring and we haven't yet got to winter, but the horticultural assistant assured me that they start flowering in June. So I have planted them in sunny spots and can't wait to see what happens. Perhaps if I plant every two weeks I will have continuous displays of nature's jewels. Last year they bloomed well into October which was a real bonus.

The freesia bulbs have started shooting up and I will have to buy some more, as the porcupine took care of most of them last year. They will all go into pots on the balcony - not even a porcupine can climb up there.

A little rain and sunshine has persuaded me to try the vegetable patch again, and I have put in some potatoes and radishes, and spinach will follow, as well as brussels sprouts. If the baboons and porcupines get at them again, then I will plant roses instead and just buy my veggies from Woolies!

The garden birds are busy stocking up on food for the coming winter. They love to pick on the lawn after it has been freshly raked, as it seems to encourage bugs and worms to come to the surface, where they are easy targets for a variety of Little Brown Jobs. Their cheerful chirruping is possibly a call to their friends to fly  in for a feast and it's always a good idea to grow plants that birds and bees find attractive to ensure a plentiful supply of winged wildlife. I have enough of the four-legged variety at the moment.

Today the south easter is keeping us cool while the sun sparkles on the cold Atlantic a short way from my home. Large breakers are crashing ashore, but the offshore wind blows the sound out to sea and so it is quiet and very peaceful on Kommetjie today.