Days like this

After a week of crazy winds that blew out some of my recently planted gazanias and rain that did not want to rain but instead hung about undecided, damp but not wet, we finally awoke to a brilliant, bright winter’s day. With not a cloud to be seen in the sky, everything looked greener, bluer, and brighter.

Looking up at the African blue sky through the opening apricot blossoms, I am reminded of the series of paintings of almond blossoms that Vincent van Gogh painted in southern France. I can understand his inspiration to capture the lines, colours and textures of the dark branches edged with white blossoms on a bright blue background. 

Almond blossoms, Vincent van Gogh, 1890

We managed to change several things in the garden. Replacing the Bougainvilea hedge with a spekboom hedge, brought endless sunshine into the orchard. The new almond tree that was not happy growing in the shade of the Bougainvilea hedge, finally looks determined to follow in his sibling’s footsteps and become a larger tree. The two almond trees were planted at the same time. The one that was planted in a sunnier spot in the orchard has become a proper little tree in one season, whereas the one planted in the shadier spot in the bottom of the orchard has hardly showed any growth. The magic which sunshine brings to the garden.

We decided to re-plant potted hydrangeas directly into the soil on the old front side of the house. With four empty terracotta pots now available, we decided to replant the Veillchenblau rose in two of them and get them into the sun. Their original spot used to be very sunny, but the sprawling oak tree had increasingly eroded most of their afternoon sun. We hope that this move will give them a new lease on life.

The two remaining pots we moved to the stone stoep in front of the cottage. I planted two Cara Cara oranges in them. The Cara Cara oranges are a cousin of Blood Oranges, and we thought it might be interesting to introduce them into the garden.

The garden feels new and fresh. We replaced 37 roses in the rosarium and continued using Mycorrhizal granules in the re-planting of the roses. This year we are introducing guano into their feeding program in the hope that it will help them stay healthy and strong.

After about 25 years, we had to rescue the rosemary bush in front of the cottage by cutting out the deadwood and trimming it back to a more manageable size. The idea was to replace it with a new one but after we trimmed it back, we decided to give it another chance, this time as a Rosemary tree. Most of the lower branches were dead or dying and after we removed it the plant looked more like a miniature tree than a bush.

August is a time of renewal at Towerwater with constant changes and improvements in the garden. With the garden bursting into blossom and new growth, it is fitting that I celebrate the birth of this blog nine years ago. It is astonishing that so many years have passed since the first post. At the time, I thought recording country life in a traditional Cape farmhouse might interest a small group of people.

With more than 176 000 visits to the blog to date, it has proved that there is a larger audience who have an interest in traditional building maintenance, food and baking, gardening and nature, Cape furniture, art, and antiquity. I enjoy the interaction and the sharing of ideas with readers and through the posts I have met so many interesting people with interesting stories.

Enjoying this glorious winter’s day and reminiscing the time spent recording a country lifestyle, reminded me of the song “Days like This” by Van Morrison.

“When it's not always raining there'll be days like this

When there's no one complaining there'll be days like this

When everything falls into place like the flick of a switch

Well my mama told me there'll be days like this”

 

Happy ninth birthday Blog!

Previous birthday posts,

Our marmalade malady - 2022
Still life with oranges - 2021
Almond trees in August -2020
Of birthdays and blossoms - 2019
A life imagined - 2018
Looking back to the future - 2017
Reflections - 2016
Happy birthday blog - 2015
Heading for spring -2014