Footprint 40: Gardening progress

It has truly been wonderful.  Today was another perfect Cape Town autumn day.  These days are so hard to describe.  The air is balmy with no wind.  In fact, there is almost a breathlessness.  Because of our Cape Doctor, being the South Easter, Cape Town, on the whole, has less pollution than most cities.  As a consequence, the air is clean.  And there is enough sun to feel it baking on your shoulders, yet not enough to dry out the air, the soil and the plants.

Ok, so maybe I am avoiding painting the boxes again.  I did, however, finish up the rest of the plants that were queueing to be planted:

Lemon Verbena

I put the lemon verbena outside my lounge window.  I am hoping that in the summer, when the window is open, it will waft its beautiful lemon scent into the lounge.

Tea Tree

This I have put in the front of my garden next to my driveway.  They are reputedly wind resistant and can be used as a windbreak.  I am hoping that this is the case.  Because it has tiny wide-spaced leaves, which are tiny, it should not impact the plans that I have for my square foot gardens on what is now the front lawn between the Tea Tree and the house.

Tansy

The tansy that served me so well through the past few months by warding off flies in my worm bin now has a permanent home.  It is a vigorous grower, and had become quite pot-bound in its plant bag.  It also already has several tiny babies.  So next summer, when I need tansy again for my worm bin, I will dig up one of the babies and put it in a pot to stand on top of my worm bin.

Giant red mustard

 And then I cheated a bit.  When I went to the nursery again today to change the hose fitting that I bought yesterday, I spied a six-pack of these and bought them.  They taste delicious.  I have put these into the tub where the lettuces were.  The lettuces are still there, looking somewhat 'verlep'.  I am hoping that they will seed themselves.

Violas with chocolate mint

And these.  I simply could not resist them.  They are so pretty.  So along with my Giant red mustard, I bought a six-pack of violas.

We are very fortunate is South Africa.  We have so many pretty winter flowers.  Violas are one example.  

Below are some indigenous wild violets in flower:

They are so pretty and so delicate.  it is a tragedy that their flowering season is so short.  Whilst they are flowering, they are prolific, and therefore a pleasure to brighten up an autumn garden.

I was really quite pleased this afternoon.  A friend dropped by and commented on how wonderful my garden is starting to look.  And yes it is looking so much better than it did a mere three months ago.  Yet, there are still so many plans.  I am grateful to have the opportunity to explore the wonderful gifts that nature has for us through our gardens.

Tomorrow, given another balmy autumn day will definitely be box painting day.  The only plants that are left to plant now are the lemon balm and a chamomile that snuck into my purchases at the nursery today.