Survival of the toughest!

True to form, we woke up to a steady drizzle this morning, as I have spent the last two days doing intensive watering of the garden! It never fails - I call it my personal rain dance. At least the natural watering will soak into the soil as it is already damp. The oily sand which is characteristic of Kommetjie makes for quite difficult gardening conditions and I have over the years spent and wasted a fortune on compost, soil improver and mulch, all of which has had little effect. The only answer is to let whatever will grow, grow. Or put it in pots. That is a good alternative as they can be moved with the seasons and the sunlight, but eventually the roots of the more vigorous plants will go through the bottom of the pot and who knows how far into the earth below, effectively anchoring them until they become totally root-bound. I once saw a fascinating result of this at the nursery shop at Kirstenbosch - a dried tangle of roots like a wooden sculpture, in the shape of the pot in which it had grown. I hope that, when the ficus eventually reaches the end of its days, its root system will have developed into just such a work of art.

Here's a selection of the tough plants that make it in my garden!