Random Harvest Newsletter Archive

After a shivery July, spring is in the air.

Amazing to think that in another few weeks everything will be budding and sprouting.

There are a few (confused I think) Southern Masked Weavers visiting the bird feeding table wearing their full breeding plumage already.

With spring rushing towards us I had to share this picture of the full moon shining through the trees in the nursery when I arrived at work.

These sights will soon be over for another year as the sun rises earlier and earlier, and I will soon be arriving at work in daylight.

We are really pleased to welcome Joy Phala who will be running her Grow Organic Workshops here at Random Harvest:

I was a speaker at the last and thoroughly enjoyed it.

You will learn the fundamentals of organic gardening and create your own urban oasis with vegetables, fruit, herbs and flowers. Gain confidence in knowing that only the best has gone in to creating the food that lands on your plate Joy is a Landscape Designer and Founder of Organic Kitchen Gardens.

The Highveld Bulb Society will be hosting a talk by Allan Tate on how to propagate bulbs by division.

Allan is a real expert on this and generously shares his vast knowledge with all.

Date: Saturday 11th August, 2018
Venue: Random Harvest Indigenous Nursery
Cost: R50.00 which goes to the Bulb Society.

Random will provide tea and cake at no cost.

Preparing your lawn for summer and how to change from the invasive Kikuyu lawn to LM Lawn without disrupting your garden.

Date: Wednesday, 5 September, 2018
Time: 10h30 – 12h00
Topic: Growing indigenous plants from seed.
No cost
Mike and Jonathan will share their experiences of sowing seeds.

Topic: Propagating indigenous plants from seed.

Date: Saturday, 25 August, 2018
Time: 09h30 – 12h30
Cost: R50.00 per person – This includes coffee, tea and rusks on arrival and mid-morning coffee, tea and cake.

Mike and Jonathan will share their insights and methods with you and give you the tools for growing your own indigenous plants from seed.

This is an exciting time to be birdwatching with the migrants starting to return and all getting ready for breeding.

Andre or Lia will kindly continue with leading bird walks at Random Harvest.

The weather will be much milder and walking in the grassland at this time of year is a treat.

We are pleased to let you know that there is now DSTV in the cottages.

You can enjoy farm life and still be able to watch your favourite channels

Now is the time to start adding compost to your garden. Put down a layer of at least 5cm thick over your garden beds. Then fork it in to a depth of about 10cm. If the compost is active, as is the one we make at Random Harvest, it will help restore and sustain the micro life in your soil.

Then add a generous layer, 5 to 8cm to cover the soil. If you look at the picture of the mulch and just see how thick the ice on the mulch was – think how the plants would suffer if that ice was on the ground and freezing their tiny hair roots. Conversely the mulch will also keep the soil cool and protect the roots. It also helps to minimise evaporation.

Helichrysum trilineatum
This is a very hardy, dense shrublet (30 to 40cm) that looks like a grey sphere in a sunny spot of the garden.

Its silver leaves are tipped with almost lime green new shoots during the growing season.

It bears typical everlasting flowers but is primarily an attractive foliage plant with its small upright leaves

Eumorphia prostrata - Silver cloud
Another fabulous, silver plant to add colour and texture to your garden. The common name Silver Cloud is really appropriate as the fine silver leaves create puffs of contrasting foliage in the garden.

It is very pretty when in flower as it bears masses of white, everlasting flowers that are held well above the leaves.

Geranium incanum - Carpet Geranium
This wonderful, fast growing, groundcover is very versatile. It looks amazing around a water feature where it will float as long as its roots are dry. It cascades gracefully over the edge of containers and hanging baskets as well as being a pretty garden plant.

It has fine feathery leaves and large light purple flowers which the insects in the garden just love visiting to collect pollen.

Aloe rupestris - Bottlebrush Aloe
Look forward to the reds and scarlets of spring with this interesting red Aloe which will will grow in shade.

It is a fine single-stemmed Aloe that bears unusual bottle-brush type flowers.

When planted in conjunction with the red Aloe ciliaris and Erythrina species it makes a spectacular and warm show in the garden.

Ornithogalum juncifolium - Grass leaved Chincherichee
Once again the common name is very appropriate as this bulb looks like a bright green, tuft of grass, that then bursts forth with massed spikes of dainty white flowers.

It is evergreen, although the dead leaves should be removed in winter in time for the plant to bear its massed white flowers.

The picture depicts the grass-like leaves and it is just coming into bud so there are only one or two flowers at the moment.

Jasminum multipartitum - Starry Wild Jasmine
The earliest flowering of the indigenous Jasmines, it is covered in fragrant white flowers in early spring.

In the picture I have allowed it to grow wildly, which I love, but if you don’t have the space it takes equally well to being pruned and trained just the way you would like it to be.

Diascia hybrids
One of the joys of spring is when these beautiful little groundcovers start to flower with their cheerful colourful flowers that range from scarlet, orange, pinks and even pure white.

They require sun and well-drained soil and will reward you with flowers almost all year round, but with the best display in spring.

Pavonia praemorsa – Yellow Pavonia
This medium-sized, evergreen shrub is one of my favourite plants.

It has fresh green, rounded leaves which in their own right are an attractive feature of the plant. The smallish, buttercup yellow flowers are about 3cm to 4cm across, and are borne in profusion.

It is a great shrub for a container and is useful in smaller gardens that do not have space for large shrubs.

Having so many of the host plants of the Painted Lady Butterfly in the nursery is the reason why we see it so often. If you would like residents in your garden plant Arctotis, Gazania and Arctotheca and you will also be rewarded by seeing this beautiful creature in your garden.

To ensure you have resident Yellow Pansy Butterflies in the garden plant Asystasia gangetica (Creeping Foxglove), Chaetacanthus setiger and Barleria species.

Gregarious caterpillars of a lappet moth (Eutricha).

The caterpillars feed at night on leaves of a wide range of trees, both exotic and indigenous.

By day they aggregate in conspicuous clusters, and are protected from almost all predators (apart from cuckoos) by their long detachable hairs and shorter stinging (urticating) hairs.

These are incorporated into their leathery cocoons.

The small Broad-bordered Grass Yellow (Eurema brigitta) is a common butterfly in the summer rainfall parts of the country, with bright yellow wings ending in a small black crescent.

The larvae feed on St John’s Wort (Hypericum aethiopicum) and English Tea Senna (Chamaecrista mimosoides).

As you can see it is not only the birds who visit our feeding table – the bees are also using the fruit as a food source.

Nice to know the table is not only for the birds.

I wanted to share this picture of the Euphorbia ingens (Giant Euphorbia) in the garden flowering.

It definitely is not a tree for a small garden but makes a beautiful feature in larger garden.

I wanted to share this last picture of the season that I am able to take on my way to the office.

This is sunrise with a cold front looming and a gorgeous quarter moon.

Living on this beautiful farm I am so grateful to be able to see such beautiful sights on a daily basis.