There is something nice and not so nice in all seasons. Our winters

are wet, but mild with brightly colored wild flowers.

Welcome! new visitors to our blog.We are at home in the south western

province of South Africa. Winter is in the middle of the year.

Aloes recover their full splendor very quickly once the rain starts.

This is Aloe rubroviolaceae (Yemen) a few weeks ago.


The brick is there to give an idea of the size.
Photo above was taken in March 2009
Photo below was taken in June 2009.

What a difference the rain makes!

Why not water the aloes year round? We have water restrictions but

that is not the main reason - aloes must have their natural dry cycle.

Aloes that are watered and grow in shade tend to become soft.

Insects, snails, fungus and bacteria will quickly find a spot to break

the skin and damage - if not kill - the plant. The leaves grow long

and sloppy and the flower stalk grows longer too, with the flowers

further apart which does not show off so well.

Note in the background. The flower buds of Aloe sabaea.
Another gem from Yemen. I will show it another time.

This nest of the sunbird Nectarinia violacea (also refered

to as Anthobaphes violacea) can be right in your face and

it will still be invisible.

Thare are two sunbirds on a regular basis in the Western Cape.

The malachite sunbird Nectarinia famosa and the red/orange

breasted sunbird Nectarinia violacea. They love the nectar

of the Aloe sp. and also the Cotyledon sp.

I am not an expert in birds feel free to correct me if

I am wrong.

The nest is exactly the height of my face over the path

around the house. I must have been passing this nest

many times before I noticed it.

The sunbirds must have spent a lot of time building the nest

without attracting our attention.

The nest is near to invisible, even at eye level.

I lifted the leaves in the front to take the photo below.

It is a pity that I do not have a camera with a zoom.

The birds will think nothing of sitting right next to us

sipping nectar when we are in the garden, but we must

not have anything in our hands.

I tried walking with the camera. That was fine, they

got used to it, but the moment I lift it in their direction,

they dash away.

The juveniles resemble the female I guess we might have

seen some, at least from the other nests in the garden.

Any birds are welcome in the garden and we see to it

that they get some treats and water but we are not

into birding as such.

Like most hobbies there is just as much fun in the getting as in the having. We planted small portions of our hobby garden at a time, as we got the aloes. We enjoy it as we have the memories how and when we got them. Some planning and designing went into it, but not anything intelligent e.g. by region, climate or species.

My
next project is to create a garden under the Ceratonia siliqua
tree. Half belongs to Rudi (neatly divided like the rest of the garden). I
have no idea what his half would look like, my half is for my smaller aloes and
Gasteria. Gasteria and the small aloes usually grow in the shade of rocks or
bushes and this shady space will suite them well.

Giving some idea of the size of the tree. The space beneath

it is a circle about ten metres wide.

The outside branches of the tree bend down to the ground

forming a secluded area around the tree, but these branches

had to be removed as the aloes would want some direct sun.

The area around the tree was overgrown by trifasciata

which we cleared and replanted elsewhere. The leaves of the

Sansevieria sp. grew dense and long in the shade supporting

each other. Having removed some plants the rest to toppled

over but all will go.

Some nice logs to use for decoration. Watch this space !

Snail damage in the garden.
You can not win, get used it..

This morning was a lovely cool morning, one of the last cold fronts over the western cape before the long hot summer. I stroled through the garden enjoying it for a few moments then my eyes caught this aloe. The snails were out late on this cool morning having a brunch before they hide for the day !

"People pay to have snail slime on their skin, I am getting this for free" - I told myself while squashing the snails between my fingers.

In case you do not know it seems the word is going around that snail slime is one of those "proven" remedies for a youthfull skin. I took many years off the age of the skin on my hands but it did not improve the beauty of my hands which were scratched and bitten by the sharp teeth of the aloes at the same time. It is not easy to get the snails out between the aloe leaves.

I feel like doing something to that neck !

Something slower than a quick squash between my fingers.

Unbelievable ...this juvenile snail could not have eaten all that much in one sitting, he must be the last one remaining after a party. Rot can set in where the skin is broken in aloes and other succulents. The hole, on the top right side of the photo above this one must be from the previous party, it dried out well so there is no danger of rot any more.

I believe these two snails are an endemic snail species. I do not know anything about the identity of snails, you are welcome to help me out there. We see them often along the western coast (South Africa). They climb on the wooden fence poles and sit in a bundle. It seems easy to kill them, but those on the poles is only the tip of the snail-mountain. I have not seen them sitting in bundles on poles where we live, 100 km inland. They are not as many as on the coast, but they do a lot of damage all the same.

Could this be the delicatessen snail which arrived here from France? I am not tempted to try, but if we would learn to enjoy eating escargot that would solve more than one problem.

Aloe arborescens in habitat.

This aloe has a very wide distribution from the eastern side of the Cape peninsula up through the eastern regions of Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi.

These photos were taken in the Tradouw Pass of the Small Karoo.

The cricket known as a Corn Cricket. This one which is drinking beer with us is the species that is most often seen.

The black corn cricket is not quite as large as the common brown cricket above.

The damage the insects did to these aloes are not as gruesome as it seems. An aloe has no problem to replace the leaves. There will be a problem if the aloe can not replace a portion of the leaves with enough water reserve for the long hot summer.

Hanging aloes are adapted to a pensile life. These aloes are growing suspended as a rule and not because the seeds got stuck on a ledge. Many aloe species grow well on mountain slopes. As long as they have some grip in the soil they are happy, but that does not make them hanging or pensile aloes.

Aloe ferox just loves slopes. I doubt if anybody would think they are hanging. Just wanted to add the pretty scene.

Aloe dewinterii grows in the north west of Namibia on the steep dolomite slopes and high cliffs. On the cool side of a cliff is better than in the open sun but it can grow just as well on the ground usually on or under a dolomite rock.This plant has large leaves. The very soft pastel colors seem to be the rule in the Namibian aloes and the pale blue-green tinted with pink rosette is beautiful in the green garden . Next to the aloe is a dry bush, it is not old flower stalks.

Aloe comptoni growing in the Small Karoo. It also grows well on the mountain cliffs. On the ground it will grow creeping along with the upper part of the stem and rosette straight up and the old growth lying flat, later dying off. It looks better on a cliff. I would like to call it a hanging aloe but as it grows just as well on the flat ground it will not quite qualify.At last. Aloe hardyi is a cliff hanger growing close against the cliff. The obvious way that it hugs the stone or edge over which it grows gives a lovely display in the garden over a wall. The flower stalk growing from the plant in the middle is visible on the photo. The inflorescens grows a little way horizontal and then it turns upwards. The thick aloe leaves are stiff. Pull out the plant where it is growing and the rosette with the leaves remain in the bended shape it had fitting over the stone. New leaves will adjust shape..

Aloe hardyi blooms in winter.

Another pending aloe named Aloe pendens from Yemen. It has a relative thin stalk by which it hangs down, but the rosette face horizontally and away from the cliff. The thick stiff leaves grow in the half circular shape, it is not soft and hanging down. Turn the plant upside down and it will look the same as when you turn the photo. (You will have to take my word as there is no way that I will uproot it to show my point.) The flower stalk grows a little way away from the
plant and then it turns upwards. The small flowers are pretty, shading red with green tips. Buds are not open yet on the photo below. Aloe pendens blooms every 5-6 months.

Aloe hardyii (from the northern parts of the Republic of South Africa) and Aloe pendens (from Yemen) can not really grow comfortable on flat ground. They probably would survive, anything is better than dying, but what will they look like bending and growing over each other?

The relative small grass-like Aloe ballii from Zimbabwe also grows hanging from cliffs. It is a very pretty aloe for a hanging basket. It grows fast and easy and blooms throughout the year. It would not fare too bad growing on flat ground except for the flower. The flower stalk is a thin soft thread hanging down and that would not function on flat ground. On the photo is an inset of
the pretty flowers.

PS. I have only one plant, so sorry, no seeds (will try to make some hybrids).

I built this wall for my pending aloes. Aloe ballii to the right top is in a basket hanging nearer to me than the wall. It seems larger than it is. Aloe hardyii is to the right on the wall and Aloe pendens is in the middle. There are a few smaller aloe types on the top of the wall and some other succulent plants. The wall is very narrow and takes up little space but a lot can be planted on it. (flowers would be pretty too) Instructions to build your own wall is on my website.

Click the photo to enlarge it.