A quick tour of our succulent garden

One of my favourite pastimes is to visit succulent nurseries.  I'm in awe of these plants, especially cacti - some of which only grow a few millimeters a year; whilst others seem to grow  taller by the day.  What's even more amazing is that some cacti are adapted to withstand the most extreme  temperatures on earth, such as the Ariocarpus fissuratus also known as the 'living rock'.

Years ago my aunt gave me a  beautiful  Mammillaria cactus days before I wrote my Standard 7 or 8 year-end exams.  Over the  past couple of  years my collection  of little cacti plants grew so rapidly that we had no other option but to create a succulent garden.

Gerhard from Garden Lovers in Port Elizabeth was very helpful in assisting with the design and his advice invaluable.  In one day hubby and I removed the grass, planted  railway sleepers and my beloved cacti plants (along with a few new additions - those being the taller cacti in the picture below), and filled the gaps with rocks!

It's now a year later, and I've been on holiday for almost three weeks. I haven't done much over the last couple of days except reading a couple of books.  However, yesterday I  woke  up fully energized and spent most of  my time removing grass between the rocks in the garden and pruning the plants. Today was spent looking for a ferocactus to replace the one that died a few weeks ago - what a mission! Last week we even travelled to a town in the heart of the Great Karoo to source one from a nursery and wholesaler, but due to poor service we returned to PE empty-handed! What a waste of my precious time it was!  

Luckily our friend at Garden Lovers in Port Elizabeth came to the rescue, and we are now the proud owners of another ferocactus (the one in the center of the pic)!  Thank You, Gerhard and family!!!!! Just finished planting the newest addition and couldn't resist taking a photo. 

Over the past year, most of the plants have produced very attractive flowers in a stunning array of colours.  Here are some pics:

Tridentia gemmiflora

Orbea schweinfurthii

Astrophytum myriostigma in bloom

Orbea variegata (syn. Stapelia variegata)

Stapelia grandiflora

Duvalia caespitosa

Lobivia caespitosa

This garden is my pride and joy, and I'm looking forward to adding more wonderful plants to my collection!  Maybe I should pay  a visit to the succulent nursery in Circular Drive tomorrow? What do you think? :)

To all my friends who visit my poorly written blog, thanks for visiting!! Hope you guys and girls have a fab week! 

Treasured Moments

"Life has taught us that love does not consist in gazing at each other, but in looking outward in the same direction."     French writer, Antoine de Saint-Exupery (1900 - 1944)

People are my least favourite subjects to photograph.  Point a camera in the direction of most people, and they become self-conscious. Not that I blame them - as a matter of fact I prefer to be behind the camera and not in front of it.

Anyway, back to the photograph.  This candid shot was taken on a recent outing to Schoenmakerskop.  For some unknown reason, I was drawn to this beautiful couple. They were so engrossed in conversation, that they failed to notice me taking photographs of them.  

I have so many questions when I look at this pic.  Are they newly married?  Where are they from? What are their hopes and dreams for the future, and for each other?  

But the moment seemed private, and I did not want to intrude.  So I guess my questions will remain unanswered...