Danielcarruthers

LATEST ARTICLES ( 843 )

• Weaver Bird Central

  

  Palm Tree festooned with weaver bird nests I just love the way this palm tree is hung with weaver birds nests. They are very sociable and always nest together... Read more

  Posted on 15 October 2011 GARDENING, HOME

• West Coast National Park

  

  Sea Mist over Saldahna Bay This is one of the places in the Western Cape where it is hard to know where to look next – the view is amazing as is the wildlife... Read more

  Posted on 13 October 2011 GARDENING, HOME

• Expert to Amateur

  

  Babiana angustifolia, Romulea cruciata and Geissorhiza radians I’m still working my way through my wildflower photos from the Western Cape attempting to identif... Read more

  Posted on 11 October 2011 GARDENING, HOME

• The Home of the Pelargonium

  

  Pelargonium fulgidum I’ve always known that South Africa is the home of the pelargonium, but even so I was amazed by the sheer diversity that exists there in th... Read more

  Posted on 10 October 2011 GARDENING, HOME

• Scaffolding, Yippee!

  

  Scaffolding in preparation for the new roof Scaffolding presents pruning opportunities that working from ground level or on a ladder does not. Read more

  Posted on 08 October 2011 GARDENING, HOME

• The Builders Are Coming

  

  Barricaded against the builders Every gardener knows that builders and gardens are not the best of companions. With this in mind, we have potted up and moved al... Read more

  Posted on 06 October 2011 GARDENING, HOME

• The South African Equivalent of Bindweed?

  

  Thunbergia in the wild I may have been excited to see Thunbergia scrambling way up into the trees, but when I mentioned it to someone, their comment was “That... Read more

  Posted on 04 October 2011 GARDENING, HOME

• Free Range Feather Duster

  

  One of the surprises during our time in South Africa was the number of ostriches in fields and in the wild. The first couple of times we saw them we got very... Read more

  Posted on 03 October 2011 GARDENING, HOME

• And Monty Came Too

  

  We were sitting enjoying our lunch in the restaurant at Grootbos Nature Reserve near Cape Town, when in walked Monty Don. It turns out that he was a guest of... Read more

  Posted on 01 October 2011 GARDENING, HOME

• The Big Bulb Plant

  

  Narcissus ‘Thalia’ This Saturday Chris Collins, Toby Buckland and the Eden Project will be at Westfield London to launch the nationwide Big Bulb Plant. Read more

  Posted on 28 September 2011 GARDENING, HOME

• Autumn Sowings

  

  Sow now A timely packet arrived from Unwins Seeds this morning with a selection of their Gro-Sure range of seeds for autumn sowing, so those bare patches in... Read more

  Posted on 26 September 2011 GARDENING, HOME

• Fruit Cage Envy

  

  Fruit Cage Perfection Our fruit cage is cobbled together from various metal poles and some distinctly scrappy netting, erected (after a fashion) on our sloping... Read more

  Posted on 26 September 2011 GARDENING, HOME

• Spanish Flag

  

  Mina lobata With its red and yellow flowers like a row of brightly coloured pennants, you can see exactly why Mina lobata is called Spanish Flag. Read more

  Posted on 25 September 2011 GARDENING, HOME

• Order of the Day

  

  Each August I sit down with my friend Jo and we indulge in an orgy of tulip ordering. I was particularly happy with last year’s choices and largely wanted to... Read more

  Posted on 24 September 2011 GARDENING, HOME

• Labels That Last

  

  Cheap and effective labelling kit More words of wisdom from Sarah Raven. She has found that the most durable way of labelling plants is to write on a plastic... Read more

  Posted on 23 September 2011 GARDENING, HOME

• Pictorial Meadows

  

  Blue and white at Sarah Raven's Meanwhile back in the distant homeland. This easier-to-grow alternative to wildflower meadows (especially for gardens) really ha... Read more

  Posted on 22 September 2011 GARDENING, HOME

• Time to Plant Saffron

  

  Meanwhile back at home the time is right to plant saffron. Some of you may recall my earlier post on growing saffron and you’ll be pleased to see that Suttons... Read more

  Posted on 19 September 2011 GARDENING, HOME

• My Very Own Elysian Field

  

  Even with my South African flora in my hand I am little the wiser in the face of such glorious abundance. The floral high point, so far, has been a field on... Read more

  Posted on 17 September 2011 GARDENING, HOME

• From Your Cape Crusader

  

  The diversity of the Cape’s flora is something I’ve known about theoretically for a long time but now I’m in amongst it all it really is a life changing... Read more

  Posted on 15 September 2011 GARDENING, HOME

• Fragrant-ish Freesias

  

  Home grown freesias Having heard recently that modern strains of freesias do not have the fragrance they used to (it’s shelf-life that matters now) I was... Read more

  Posted on 12 September 2011 GARDENING, HOME