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That amazing moment when the light is heaven sent and you have to dash outside to capture every drop! #autumn #garden #gardens #inmygarden

Running of the bulls! Ha!… that’s child’s play! In Devon it’s flaming Tar Barrels!
#autumnfestival #flamingtarbarrels #otterystmary #devon

Some soul lifting Autumnal sights in my garden today! #autumn #gardens #gardening #sharingthegardenlove

A pilgrimage to a Big Tree named the King Edward V11 tree. A magnificent specimen Common Yellowwood (Podocarpus falcatus). Some facts about this grand old man:
- estimated age 600-800 years old
- total height 36.9m
- crown spread 35.6m
- circumference of trunk 7m

Why make a special journey to see a big old tree? (that’s what my partner thought!)

Well firstly I find the thought that this tree has been around for hundreds of years captivating. In the lobby of our hotel in Knysna was a slice through a tree trunk of a similar aged tree that fell in a storm in the 60s. It’s age was brought to life by a piece of Perspex and text that dated key events through history by the tree rings. From 1318 to 1962 you could see how big the tree would have been the year Joan of arc was burnt at the stake or at the start of the First World War for example.

Isn’t that amazing to think a tree like this was around then. The people who have sat in its shade.

We would readily go and visit a centuries old cathedral and appreciate its beauty and history but rarely would people attribute the same value to a tree of a similar age… our natural heritage.

Over the centuries Yellowwoods were prized for their timber in furniture making and really tall old trees with their characteristic straight trunks made perfect ship masts. Thus it’s not surprising that a specimen of this grand old age is a very rare sight.

I was reminded of the terrible vandalism and felling of the ancient Sycamore on Hadrian’s wall in the UK recently and the need for more education so people can better appreciate the value of a big old tree and trees in general.

#ilovetrees #bigtree #southafrica #gardenroute #trees

What an evening sky! #knysna #gardenroute #southafrica

Our first stop on the Garden route in South Africa ‘Wilderness’ where we did a little trek into the national park today with it’s densely forested mountainous valleys.

Much more an appreciation of greens and textural foliage on the trail, a huge diversity of ferns; you may recognise the Maidenhair fern and florists amongst you may spot the Seven weeks Fern (Rumohra adiantiformis) sought after by the European floral trade for its attractive foliage. There were some fabulous tree ferns next to the rivers edge too.

Aromatic wild pelargonium leaves with soft pink flowers!

The Angels hair hanging in the trees is so atmospheric and reminiscent of mist-belt forests.

Always keen to observe the resilience of plants these days in their native environments… there were some amazing succulents basically growing on the surfaces of the rock strata or in very thin soils. Aloe spinosissima (Spider Aloe) was one such plant.

Finally trees. A beautiful tall evergreen tree that caught my eye was the Kalander (Podpcarpus falcatus) a yellowwood coniferous tree which has beautifully glossy sickle shaped leashes, fruits and on mature trees a textured peeling bark. Looking online it’s borderline hardy so may work in sheltered protected sites… I’ll be investigating when I get home as there are some tree nurseries stocking it.

Best bit was a long cooling swim in the river at the end!

#gardenroute #southafrica #wildernessnationalpark #plantsofinstagram #plantinspiration

A moody day on the Western cape as we headed East. A slight detour back in the direction of Stellenbosch to see the @dylanlewissculpturegarden… and so happy we did (thank you my friend @m.scano for the recommendation!)

This is a garden created by the artists hand! Once flat disused agricultural land, transformed over a space of two years. With Lewis at the helm directing heavy digging machinery he sculpted the land into sinuous contours and valleys all connected by running streams and pools of reflective water. The garden in itself has a real sculptural quality and in fact Lewis describes it as his biggest sculpture to date.

Although highly sculpted and curated the garden really does compliment the surrounding rugged mountainous landscape. The large abstract sculptural artworks are dwarfed by the scale of the mountains, themselves having a textural sculptural quality.

The use of native fynbos planting, in places naturalistic in style and then others highly topiarised into sinuous minimalist curves also adds to this sense of harmony with the surrounding landscape. Dylan references an influence of Japanese gardens and the Japanese wabi-sabi aesthetic which is really evident through out.

It was interesting to note that the intention in the planting was to give all year round colour but the challenge with indigenous fynbos planting is that it is Winter flowering peaking in September and dormant in Summer.

There is so much meaning and emotion behind the sculpture and the garden but instead of me rabbiting on you are going to have to visit yourself to find out more!

#sculpturegarden #fynbos #southafrica #gardenvisits #dylanlewissculpturegarden #gardeninspiration

On top of the World. After a few windy days in Cape Town we ascended the Top of Table mountain today. The panoramic views over the city, mountains and coastline are spectacular, but my other memory will be of amber coloured watery pools against azure blue skies and surrounded by rusty brown fynbos with the occasional flash of pink yellow or white flower.

I discovered the orangey colour of the water is caused by chemical compounds, called polyphenols – specifically tannins, leaching out from dead leaves. Plants on Table Mountain produce polyphenols as a defence against herbivores, as it makes the leaves unpalatable. The presence of polyphenols only affects the water’s color, not the taste. And it’s perfectly safe to drink

You don’t need to be a plant hunter to appreciate wild flora, just come on holiday to South Africa in Spring!

#tablemountain #capetown #fynbos #wildflowers #plantinspiration

Enlightening day at Robben island prison museum with heartbreaking stories recounted of political imprisonment through the darkest years of Apartheid.

The most well known prisoner was of course Nelson Mandela leader of the ANC who spent 18 years of his life here. Even in amongst the tragedy of confinement, oppression and abuse I found a connection to the power of gardens and gardening. In the bleak concrete courtyard of B Section, Mandela and others created a garden in in the 1970’s in which they grew vegetables and fruit. Mandela’s biographer A.Sampson wrote,

‘By late 1975 they had raised 2000 chillis, nearly 1000 tomatoes, a few radishes, onions, sweet melons and two watermelons.’

Nelson Mandela said, “To plant a seed, watch it grow, to tend it and then harvest it offered a simple yet enduring satisfaction. The sense of being a custodian of this small patch of earth offered a taste of freedom”

The remnants of a shooting vine in the space seemed a fitting symbol for the purpose of this memorial site, to reflect triumph of freedom and human dignity over oppression and humiliation.

#roddenisland #apartheid #gardening #gardens #nelsonmandela #hope #freedom #southafrica #capetown

The most South Western point of the African continent today, Cape of Good Hope. Lots more wildflower to swoon over, driving through lots of shrubby fynbos but it was the coastal flowering succulents, bulbs and shrubby ground cover that had me on my knees today.

One that captured my imagination was Cleretum bellidiforme otherwise known as Livingstone Daisy. I even found a tiny one flowering in a crack in a rock… the resilience of plants! This plant brings back lots of childhood memories. One of Mum Child’s’ annual favourites, certainly not a trendy plant but one that makes me smile. The cultivated form provides a riot of colours all summer long. I fondly remember how their prolific big daisy like flowers would open towards and follow the sun and close up tightly at sunset. Love making that connection between cultivated garden plants and their native forms growing in the wild.

(Yes we got a pic by the sign and yes we saw African penguins… On stories if you want to see! )

#southafricanflora #capeofgoodhope #wildflowers #plantinspiration #plantsofinstagram