This isn’t the first time that Patrick Watson has cropped up in our newsletter (excuse the pun!) and it may not be the last. Yet what could I do when I found out about the utterly beautiful new publication “Veld: The gardens and landscapes of Patrick Watson” by Garreth van Niekerk?
This is a book that would do any coffee table proud but it is so much more than that.
There are not only magnificent photographs and fascinating details about an enormous range of sites – from the awe-inspiring to the intimate – that have been created or transformed by this self-taught genius, sometimes over decades. The book also includes inspirational lists of the plants used in each case, and offers glimpses into the almost eccentric yet practical methods of a man who refers to himself simply as ‘a gardener.’
In an interview with the author, Patrick says “The best leaders are always more or less instinctive, but for many, their egos get the best of them… That’s why I don’t like to draw too much. Once you get into it, the thing evolves, and it suddenly comes to you, and you need the freedom to use a rock here, plant that there.”
We are so proud to be one of the many small suppliers that are supported by this iconic South African who in many ways has also become a friend.
Christmas gift, anyone…?
IN THE GARDEN
From sizzling temperatures to cloud bursts we sure have been through the mill. Although we gardens sometimes look and feel rather overwrought, the plants get a bit wilted and then bounce right back. Despite all the weather ups and downs, the garden has just grown and grown. Every inch of soil is covered, perhaps partly by weeds, but it all looks rather lovely.
November 'fruit salad'
Hibiscus calyphyllus
Daucus carota - chocolate
Hypericum on the sidewalk
My experience with liliums has been pathetic to say the least, maybe because I have never grown them myself. This year, I finally took the plunge and ordered bulbs, and have been rewarded by a pot of the most gorgeous strong-stemmed liliums flowering in the garden. No doubt there will be some for sale in the nursery next year.
White liliums
IN THE NURSERY
Click here to view all the plants in this newsletter on one website page.
Indigenous plants
Indigenous to the Drakensberg, the deciduous bulb Galtonia candicans has gorgeous spikes of white bell-shaped flowers in summer that do well in the vase. Plant in full sun and with the top of the bulb just under the surface of the soil. It grows about 1.2m high.
Helichrysum cymosum is an evergreen perennial groundcover with woolly stems and small aromatic silver leaves and clusters of yellow flowers in late summer (whence its common name of golden carpet). It is very hardy and likes sun to semi-shade.
The butterfly-like purple-blue flowers of Rotheca myricoides cv Ugandense attract the bees and the seeds attract the birds. Isn’t nature wonderful! This fast-growing evergreen shrub reaches an average height of 2m, making it a good screening plant. It is happy in sun to semi-shade, and flowers from spring to summer.
Trichodesma physaloides (common name Chocolate bells) has lovely pendulous bell-shaped white flowers nestled in a brown calyx from spring to summer. Deciduous, very hardy, and growing about 75 cm high, it wants full sun. I had the privilege of seeing clumps of this interesting bushy shrublet in the veld years ago and am really excited to have it in the nursery! Rumour has it that there are plants flowering in the Rietvlei Nature Reserve near Pretoria.
Exotic plants
Hydrangea macrophylla - White is a rare rounded deciduous shrub with large bright green leaves and clusters of white flowers from summer to autumn. It wants semi-shade, grows on average 1.5m high and is very hardy. We have plants in 20cm pots.
I am thrilled to have the tulip tree, Liriodendron tulipifera, in stock. This huge broad conically shaped deciduous tree has bright green four-lobed leaves and cup-shaped yellow flowers with an orange base that attract birds from spring to summer. It is very hardy and wants full sun and acid soil.
With its sprays of fragrant lilac flowers and palmate toothed aromatic leaves, I think the hardy deciduous shrub Vitex agnus-castus is a stunning garden plant. It grows about 1.5m high and flowers in summer. Plant in full sun.
Long time readers of our newsletter will remember one about the enormous variety of wisteria in the world. We have Wisteria sinensis (the Japanese wisteria) available in 10 litre bags. This woody-based climber’s pendant racemes of fragrant blue flowers are a joy in spring. Approximately 6m in height, it works well as a free standing plant or trained on a wall or over an arch. It is very hardy, deciduous, and happy in sun to semi-shade.
SNIPPETS
As the end of the year once again rushes to meet us, everyone at Petal Faire wishes you a happy and restful holiday season.
We will be closed from 24 to 27 December and on New Year’s Day, but will otherwise be on duty to help people taking advantage of the break to spend quality time in their gardens.
Don’t forget that we have gift vouchers available!
FUN FACT
In the wild, Trichodesma physaloides seems to like harsh conditions. It is found along roadsides, in waste areas and rocky sandy soil, and thrives after the winter grassland fires.
Happy gardening!
Leoné
082 482 0257