Random Harvest Newsletter Archive

July, the month of shadows. What a magical time. Deciduous trees cast beautiful shadows against the wall and on roads beneath them. I particularly love the dappled, shadowed dirt road on the farm in July.

It reminds me of times when most of the roads here were dirt and folk just seemed to take life at a slightly slower, more relaxed and friendlier pace.

That is part of what I love to share with my customers, and it warms my heart to see people come into the nursery and visibly shed that mantle of stress.

Funny thing about indigenous plants ... leaves or no leaves, it just feels wonderful to be surrounded by them and the garden wildlife they support.

We have featured some of our really magnificent 100L trees at the front of the nursery. Around them, we have beautified the area by adding colourful suggestions for underplanting. I am delighted at how lovely it looks.

Please ask at reception if you purchase one of these larger trees – we do have a planting service available, price on request.

I am often asked when to start with the Spring gardening activities.

This coffee morning will give useful pointers on when to start watering, indigenous colourful perennials that one can include in the garden, secrets to successful pruning of trees and shrubs for the onset of the growing season, and the use of compost and fertiliser.

Bring your questions, a notepad and a friend for a great morning of gardening inspiration.

No charge and no need to book. We just ask that you support our nursery and / or tea garden.

RSVP: [email protected] or call 082 553 0598 to book your spot as soon as possible as these walks book up so fast.
Bring: Binoculars, Walking shoes, A hat and sunscreen
Cost: R155.00 including a buffet breakfast

Join our regular bird walk with either Andre Marx or Lia Steen to discover some of the over 160 delightful South African Bird Species that share this farm with us. This is a wonderful time of year to go birding, as there are so many species to be seen.

Growing Section

Much cleaning and sprucing up and sorting out has been happening in the growing section of Random Harvest. A good clean is so energising and I am delighted that the plants are looking great.

It is the time of year to get the spring feeling as we have passed mid-winter and spring is just around the corner.

Since this is a really great time of year to plant trees I thought we would offer a 10% discount on all trees purchased in July.

Hopefully this encourages you to plant more indigenous trees that will attract all kinds of wildlife to your garden.

A garden without trees is really not a pleasant place be in or use, especially in summer when the trees cool us down and create atmosphere in a garden.

Gladiolus dalenii - African Gladiolus (E); Papegaai-gladiolus (A)

We have packets of dry bulbs of this magnificent bulbous plant. It is very hardy and bears spikes of intense, orange-red flowers with a yellow throat.

It is a very easy plant to grow and will happily multiply in your garden. They are worth planting if only for the beautiful cut flowers for your home.

Mid July you should cut your grasses right back and remove the thatch.

This ensures beautiful grasses and a healthy meadow garden in summer.

Aloe vanbalenii - Van Balen's aloe (E); Van-balen-se-aalwyn (A)

The winter colours of this branched Aloe are really beautiful with their red-edged leaves and spikes of yellow flowers that are much loved by insects and sunbirds.

It branches out close to the ground and the final height is only 80cm to 1m.

A beautiful addition to a succulent garden or used as a container plant.

Buddleja auriculata - Eared Sagewood (E); Treursalie (A)

I know I keep mentioning this hardy, floriferous shrub but truly who can resist these flowers and their delicious scent that wafts through the garden in the depths of winter. It is also a bonus for the butterflies who crowd around the flowers. Remember to prune it after flowering to keep it in shape.

Cunonia capensis - Red Alder (E); Rooiels (A).

A truly beautiful tree with its spoon shaped stipules and red petioles on the large compound leaves which make it a wonderful foliage plant.

The bottle-brush like flowers are beautiful in their own right and have the added bonus of attracting butterflies and other insects.

Plant in semi-shade or in containers for a rewarding plant.

Vepris lanceolata - White Ironwood (E); Witysterhout (A)

This beautiful rounded, medium-sized tree has bright apple green foliage. It bears sprays of white flowers that are followed by bunches of seed that slowly ripen and turn black in winter providing fruit for birds.

The petioles of the fruit always have aphids on them.

The aphids only seem to stay on the petioles, and infect nothing else, but they do provide food for sunbirds and Cape White-eyes throughout the winter.

A beautiful specimen or avenue tree.

Lobelia anceps - Swamp Lobelia (E)

The delicate look of this plant belies how tough it is.

It grows in moist areas around a pond or in a normally irrigated garden.

It also looks great planted in containers at the base of other plants.

Arctotis hybrid Bush Red.

It is the time of year for the Arctotis to start coming into flower.

They are always so rewarding adding dramatic colours to the garden after winter when we all crave some colour in our lives.

The contrast with the grey foliage is also a beautiful feature of this plant.

In any case, cutting and raking of the grass will ensure we are able to see the wildflowers in spring.

it amazes me that people say grassland is boring and brown. This picture of the grassland shows how beautiful the textures and winter colours are.

The beehives are thriving on the farm.

Jeff says that the honey the bees make from the Aloe greatheadii flowers is delicious.

Needless to say we now have to go on a mission to plant more of these lovely little Aloes that light up the veld in winter.

You can see why the hives are thriving when you see the amount of pollen in this bee’s pollen sacs.

Thanks to all the beautiful indigenous plants that support them.

You can see where the common name of Acacia ataxacantha – Flame Pod comes from.

These red pods are adorning the trees in the barrier at the moment and when the sun is behind them they do look likes flames in the tree.

Things have been very quiet at the dam although I was really thrilled to see this little Three Banded Plover hunting in the mud around the edges.

He stayed around for about 2 weeks.

This interesting soccer ball shaped one is a Calvatia species.

I suppose I am now going to have to go down the road of learning more about all the interesting fungi and their place in the ecology.

Mike replies

“Searsia trees across South Africa are often stripped bare by large aggregations of hairy caterpillars. These are the larvae of the Pepper Tree moth (Bombycomorpha pallida) that live in silken tents, often festooned with their droppings.

Defoliated trees recover the following season. The stubby-winged adults are white, with a black spot on each forewing.”

“Sunflower seed bugs (Agonoscelis versicoloratus) are a small variety of stinkbug that occur in the moister parts of South Africa, where they feed on a wide range of developing seeds (ovules) which they suck dry using a long proboscis. A pest of sunflower, millet and sorghum crops, they can feed on a very wide range of plants, targeting the soft, developing ovules.”

Green caterpillar

“The smooth, lime green larvae of the Citrus swallowtail (Papilio demodocus) will feed on a range of trees and shrubs in the citrus family (Rutaceae). While most common on lemon trees, they can also be found on indigenous Rutaceae, including the Cape Chestnut. When touched the larvae evert two orange forks from the head, which release a pungent secretion of chemical sequestered from their host plant.”

The saga of the budgie at Random Harvest continues.

After buying him a beautiful cage and a new mate the budgie escaped again.

The pretty yellow wife I bought him was lost without him and as we were unable to catch him I had to go and buy her a beautiful blue mate.

Who would have thought I would be the custodian of budgies?

This is probably one of the last sunrise pictures for this year as pretty soon I will be coming to the nursery when it is fully light and not dark as it is at the moment at 6h00. How quickly time flies – soon we will be in spring.

I can’t wait to see everything sprouting ready for summer.

Look forward to seeing you soon