African gardens – Page 9

Bloom Day in November: dill(flowers) and sunflowers

November 15, 2013April 13, 2016 Cindy at enclos*ure10 Comments

The quiet flowerworks in the mind of God . . .

— Howard Nemerov, from “A Sprig of Dill“

A dillburst in the flower borders.

During the summer, I transplanted a lot of small dill plants from the vegetable garden to the yellow areas of the flower borders. Unfortunately, dill really doesn’t like to be moved, and it really doesn’t like it during the dry season. So all the little plants just remained little.

But lately, after six weeks of rain, they are growing and a few have begun to bloom.

I’ve always thought that dill is a nice ornamental plant.

Eventually, that variegated ginger — of which you can just see a bit above and below — will be huge and dominate this area (and there is another very small one hidden to the left of the dill bloom below).

In the meantime, I’m hoping that the dill and Missouri primrose will self seed here as long as there is space. (I will help it along, and I’ve also been sprinkling about Verbena bonariensis seed.)

I was pleased to get the picture above. The yellow of the primroses is usually too intense for my camera to capture any details.

Above, the dill blooms/seadheads are beautiful even as they fade to tan.

In our vegetable garden, the dillworks continue. . . .

In the background are blue-green Russian kale. Some of the next batch that I grow will also go into the flower beds — like these at the Smithsonian’s Butterfly Habitat Garden.

This Bloom Day, I also got interested in the after- blooms of our sunflowers.

Below is what one of them looked like at the end of summer.

Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day is the 15th day of every month. To see what’s blooming in other garden bloggers’ gardens, please visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens.

This morning

November 12, 2013November 12, 2013 Cindy at enclos*ure2 Comments

Double Rudbeckia laciniata and our view.

Vintage landscape: two trees

November 7, 2013April 13, 2016 Cindy at enclos*ure2 Comments

“Old tree in Bartram’s Park [sic], Philadelphia, Pa.,” by Detroit Publishing Co. via Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

I can’t find out why this apparently dead tree was fenced off so nicely in Bartram’s Garden in about 1908. Does anyone know?

Bartram’s is the oldest surviving botanic garden in North America. It was founded in 1728 and became a city park in 1891.

This photo made me think of the Tree of Ténéré, an acacia that was famous for being the only tree for 250 miles on the cavavan routes through the Sahara Desert in northeast Niger. In 1973, a drunk truck driver managed to knock it down.

Arbre-du-tenere-1961 — The tree in 1961. Photo by Michel Majeau, via Wikimedia Commons.

The dead tree was moved to the National Museum of Niger in Niamey later that year — where it was given its own pavilion. I saw it there several years ago.

The trunks of the fallen tree in its pavilion in the museum in 1985. Photo by Holger Reineccius, via Wikimedia Commons. — The tree at the museum in 1985. Photo by Holger Reineccius, via Wikimedia Commons.

A metal sculpture of the tree was erected at its old location. (There are more photos here.)

One must see the Tree [of Ténéré] to believe its existence. What is its secret? How can it still be living in spite of the multitudes of camels which trample at its sides. How at each azalai does not a lost camel eat its leaves and thorns? Why don’t the numerous Touareg leading the salt caravans cut its branches to make fires to brew their tea? The only answer is that the tree is taboo and considered as such by the caravaniers. . . . The Acacia has become a living lighthouse; it is the first or the last landmark for the azalai leaving Agadez for Bilma, or returning.

— Michel Lesourd, Commander of the Allied Military Mission of the Central Service of Saharan Affairs after he saw the tree in 1939

After the rain

November 4, 2013February 21, 2018 Cindy at enclos*ure1 Comment

. . . this morning.

In my Autumn garden I was fain
To mourn among my scattered roses;
Alas for that last rosebud that uncloses
To Autumn’s languid sun and rain
When all the world is on the wane!

— Christina Rossetti, from “An October Garden”

Back here in Kigali. . .

October 30, 2013October 30, 2013 Cindy at enclos*ure13 Comments

We have orchids in the acacia tree.

These two clumbs of orchids came out of the big old Norfolk pine that used to grow at the entrance to the terrace. (It was cut down a year and a half ago when it was clear it was dying.)

When we wired them onto the acacia, the gardener said the flowers were yellow, but I really didn’t think I’d ever see them bloom.

Another change: at the end of the long lawn (below), we have added two tall pots to set off a trio of pine trees.

I will plant something tall to the right of the trees/pots grouping.

At the other end of the lawn, I placed this single tall pot. I will enlarge the planting area at the base of the traveller’s palm and add some stones to make a level base for the pot.

And finally, I faced the fact that my stepping stones and grass arrangement (below) on the right side of the entrance to the terrace just didn’t work. (The aforementioned Norfolk pine used to fill this area.)

We (meaning the gardener mostly) took up all the grass and stones . . .

and we replanted (meaning me) with the same plants that are in the borders around the driveway:

Mexican sage, small pink shrub roses (like ‘The Fairy’), datura, lambs’ ear, and yellow day lilies.

I’m still working on the placement of the pots. Please stay tuned.

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: