Weekly Photo Challenge: Tiny

This post is part of the Daily Post | Weekly Photo Challenges | Tiny

Update: The Mystery “anti-mole” plant

This is an update to my Mystery plant . . . and this is supposed to keep the moles away?! post. Lorraine from the Kumbula Indigenous Nursery has identified the plant. She wrote: This plant is called Bryophyllum proliferum or “Green Mother of Millions”. It comes from Madagascar and is highly invasive in South Africa. It […]

Mystery plant . . . and this is supposed to keep the moles away?!

An Update: Lorraine from the Kumbula Indigenous Nursery has identified the plant. She wrote: This plant is called Bryophyllum proliferum or “Green Mother of Millions”. It comes from Madagascar and is highly invasive in South Africa. It will root from even a broken piece of leaf and it produces baby plantlets along the edges of […]

A fresh start

When we moved into our house years ago, the garden was still at its peak. It had the right balance between there being plenty of plant cover, but not being too overgrown. A long severe drought during 2009/2010  helped keep the undergrowth in check. Then at the end of 2010 the rains returned and the […]

Mystery plant – do you know what this is?

Thank you to Bob Rutemoeller and Mary Sue Ittner (from the Pacific Bulb Society) for identifying my mystery plant. The mystery plant has been identified as Phormium tenax or New Zealand Flax. According to Wikipedia Phormium tenax (harakeke in Māori, New Zealand flax) is an evergreen perennial plant native to New Zealand and Norfolk Island […]

Nature never got the memo that it’s Autumn down South

While everybody in the Northern Hemisphere is noticing the early signs of Spring, here in the Southern Hemisphere, I am trying hard to recognize any signs of Autumn being here. Although the calendar says it is now officially Autumn, Nature never got the memo. Though maybe after the long drought we had, Nature is making […]

A rare visitor

For days now I have been hearing this bird in our garden, but just could never catch sight of it. My bird guide* says that it is “easily overlooked as it keeps to dense vegetation“. Because of the good rains we’ve had since November last year, and the fact that our gardener has not been […]

Hadeda Valentines

There was a strange orange glow in the sky at sunset on Valentine’s Day. Our neighbour’s house which is painted a grey-beige colour, looked a much warmer shade. These three Hadedas were sitting on the jungle-gym, and I just liked the silhouette they made. As I was taking photos the two on the right started […]

Spider skeleton II

Yes folks, today we continue the exciting saga of the spider skeleton . . . If you missed episode one you can read it here. Clouded Marble left a comment on the last installment asking whether it was maybe a “real” dead spider and not just the skin left behind after moulting. Being a scientist, […]

Spider skeleton I

On Saturday morning I was coming back from a walk with the dog, when I noticed something interesting near our driveway. Of course, I just had to go inside and get a camera! As I stood there leaning over the flowerbed, apparently taking a photograph of a brick wall, a car stopped close by. I […]