Hope for gardens

The dark days of winter are suddenly over, as the sky lightens well before 5.30am these days. Somehow I didn't notice a gradual change, just an awareness that the days had got longer. Winter persisted into October this year, also a marked change from last year, and the spring flowers in the garden were weeks late compared to previous years, but nonetheless did arrive.
Despite good rains, the water table has not replenished itself, and the level of the well remains a good five feet below ground level. In past years of exceptional rains, it has sometimes risen to within two feet. I do not recall ever seeing it at such a low level after the winter in 36 years. At its current level, it seems unlikely that we will be able to water the garden much past January next year from this source, and so the water tanks will need to be decanted into smaller containers to take advantage of every drop that falls in the summer months.
So here we are in October, and the buddleia and clivias are giving a splendid display, while the first rose has bloomed. Nurseries are getting busier as people take heart from the increased dam levels and set about replacing the plants that were lost during last summer. Most gardens have been transformed from the traditional lawn and flowerbeds to a more water-wise format, with aloes and other hardy indigenous plants becoming the focus, and mine is no exception. After weeks of destruction by a family of mole rats who excavated caverns underneath the lawn (I fell right through up to my knees in one patch), things have finally settled down and we are slowly digging up the remains of the grass and turning it into a garden. I have at last found a wonderful gardener who has green fingers and can just put a stick in the ground and it will grow.
Now we just have to hope the southeaster doesn't blow too hard this summer!