19 July, 2011

Across our valley to Riebeek wotsit

We travelled the dirt road across the wide valley to the twin towns of Riebeek Kasteel and Riebeek West. Once upon a time there was a heated argument – where shall we build the church? They built two, and today the towns flow together.

Blackheaded heron 

It is the season for waterblommetjiesAponogeton distachyos. Literally ‘small water flowers’. Cooked it becomes the traditional waterblommetjiebredie. (I recently read about translating bredie, not ‘stew’ as in getting in a stew, but slowcooked and mellow, a casserole). Oh and we discovered the blooming flowers smell glorious. Left to nature, every tiny pond formed by winter rain is now filled with a sheet of these raised spikes of chunky flowers.

Waterblommetjies with vineyards looking back to the mountains

Looking to Riebeek West and the Kasteelberg

Aponogeton distachyos

We went to explore a new nursery. Remember Org de Rac? The landscaper Corne Pretorius has a nursery in Riebeek West. I had high hopes of finding indigenous plants, suited to our soil and climate. First we drove up and down, searching, until we found it.

We found sweetpea bushes. Podalyria with silver velvet leaves and pink and mauve watercolour washes of flowers. No tiresome fiddling with planting seed each year. This, is a sweetpea presence. Karee Searsia/Rhus. And now, he tells me, let it grow 4 or 5 trunks from the base – don’t try to force a lollipop. They will go near the waterfall to hide the neighbour’s garage. A tiny succulent in a thumb pot – leaves of cream and green with fuchsia margins – forgot to ask its name. Aristea in pink, not the usual deep blue. That will go in Plum Creek, as it grows where its feet stay wet.

And – what is that, a yellow Tulbaghia?  That is the Ifafa lily, a CyrtanthusCome and see … and he took us to the neighbour’s garden. Conjure up an image of the Lime Walk at Sissinghurst. Trees formally laid out, each with a square at the base of the trunk, filled with mille-fleurs. SHE wanted daffodils. He said, try the Ifafa lily. I stand, my mouth hanging open in wonder, engraving the image on my mind’s eye. Camera in the car, this was unexpected!

Close your mouth, Diana! Imagine an Elizabethan ruff, a mille- fleurs in a perfect singing-canary yellow. Why ever do we in South Africa battle to grow a few ratty daffodils, when we could have this?? He tells me the plants come from the Eastern Cape, so they need some summer watering. Plant them under a tree, which you will anyway be watering thru the summer.

Then we wound and wove back thru his own garden. A fieldstone waterfall. A plantsman’s garden, each plant provoking a question, unfolding a story. The Jurassic Park garden, with cycads and Equisetum (corralled in a small tub and closely monitored against any invasive intentions!) Fragrant blooming orchids in a hothouse, built of recycled materials and a joy to look at, with a tiny bubbling fountain and a rill to keep the air moist. Sigh …

Even the sheeps on the hills is lonely on my new False Bay garden blog

Pictures by Jurg
and words by Diana of Elephant's Eye
- wildlife gardening in Porterville,
near Cape Town in South Africa
(If you mouse over brown text,
it turns shriek pink. Those are my links.)

24 comments:

  1. such beautiful photos,, those sheep are amazing!Thankyou for sharing

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  2. You seem to have found a gem of a nursery. I love it when I see a garden that takes my breathe away for whatever reason. Pity you left your camera in the car :-)

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  3. You are ahead of me in blogging about the waterblommetjies! Have been waiting for them to grow in abundance on Lelieblom Farm, belonging to a friend, but she reported that not enough rain fell in the Darling area. Your photo of them is breathtakingly beautiful!

    I loved the trip you describe, how nice to keep learning about our wonderful plants. For me this is aloe year as I try to do the pretty-but-thorny hedge thing! But I will come back here for inspiration!

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  4. Hello and greetings!
    Ook!?....ever read the Discworld books by Terry Pratchett....?

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  5. gz - I knew it was familiar from A Book. Did read a Discworld months ago.

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  6. Easy - we'll try for some pictures in August. Or when the garden club visits again. I've missed it. TWICE!!

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  7. I'd love to see Ifafa lily!
    Jane x

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  8. Jane - come back on Friday, for the other half.

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  9. The white water flowers are a sight to behold, as well as your pics of the heron and sheep. Sounds like you had a great day Exploring a new nursery is one of my favorite experiences. I look forward to seeing the ifafa lily! Giving up on the dream of growing one plant is a lot easier when there is a wonderful substitute available.

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  10. Those water flowers are striking, Diana. In the close-up, they look waxy - sort of like plumeria. I would be tempted to stick my nose inside and have a big sniff!

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  11. You seem to have had a good time. Those water flowers look really interesting, I wish I could taste the dish you described...

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  12. OK after seeing so many of your posts I really want to visit.
    Geez my yard and posts are soooo boring compared to yours.
    The small water flowers are beautiful...love to see them here.

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  13. Struck by the heron. It's stuck in my head now as a picture to look at over and over. The photo would make a good postage stamp.

    Lucy

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  14. Amazing growths and flowers in your ponds. It is equivalent to maybe our water hyacinths here, with also beautiful lavender flowers. However, it wrecked havoc in some rivers here when flash floods came, because water cannot go directly to the waterways because of those enormously plenty plants. Buck hoes and bulldozers were used even to get them out and save the people from flooded areas.

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  15. I have never tried Waterblommetjiebredie. In actual fact, I don't think I have ever seen waterblommetjies in real life either.

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  16. Andrea - can one EAT the water hyacinth? It is a frightening invasive alien in South Africa too. I have seen huge trucks clearing the growth from our rivers. And all because someone once said - oh what pretty flowers!

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  17. How fun to have a new nursery to explore! Do we get to see a picture of your loot?

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  18. How lovely to see waterblommetjies au naturelle! And what an inspiring comment on Ifafa lilies, which come in many pinky/salmony shades as well as yellow... I've always thought of them as rather shy shade lovers, quite demure. Never seen them massed. I'm certain I can do this thing!!!Thanks. ;)

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  19. You seem to living in a very nice place... so many interesting things to see and observe...

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  20. Lovely picture of a heron. I think they are such graceful birds even though they eat the fish! And I love the curly horns on the sheep. They have horns like this on sheep in Scotland and I actually have one that must have fallen off for some reason!

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  21. Diana,it may just be me. But you are a hard person to keep up with. I guess I'm slow and male.

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  22. Jack - white and yellow are the varieties nature gives us. Would love to see them in your garden!

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  23. A nursery where the owner is a kindred spirit of sorts and has an approach to growing and conservation like yours, and who takes time to show you exciting combinations and tell you how best to grow things--what a find!

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Photographs and Copyright

Photographs are from Diana Studer or Jurg Studer.
My Canon PowerShot A490

If I use your images or information, it will be clearly acknowledged with either a link to the website, or details of the book. If you use my images or words, I expect you to acknowledge them in turn.


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