DOING LIFE

NATURE'S BEAUTY CAPTURED IN RAINDROPS

- Tuesday, 20 November 2007

It was raining all day and when the clouds started to lift late afternoon, I took a stroll for old times sake through our Kloof indigenous garden. I just loved all the little raindrops on some of the aganpanthus flowers which was just opening up. The raindrops were alive with reflections.

One can never go wrong planting a few of these in a sunny position in your garden. They are evergreen, hardy and needs very little attention.

INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THE AWESOME AGAPANTHUS:

"AGAPANTHUS is a proudly South African plant. It is one of our indigenous geophytes that have become popular worldwide. The strap-shaped green leaves and azure blue blossoms are an elegant addition to any garden. There are 10 species of agapanthus in Southern Africa and many different forms within those groups. Their popularity is mostly attributed to the fact that they are among the easiest plants to grow. Among the evergreen varieties Agapanthus africanus and Agapanthus praecox are the most common and have been bred to produce the various colour and flower forms available today. These range from large plants whose foliage grows to a height of around 60cm with flowers produced on metre-long stems, to the more dwarf forms with thinner leaves to a height of about 30cm that flower on much shorter stems. The flower form is an onion-like umbel which has many small-stalked flowers arising from a central point. Flower colour ranges from snow white through shades of pale and grey blue to deep intense indigo blue, depending on the variety. They need to be grown in the full sun to flower successfully and the soil should preferably have lots of organic matter. Evergreen species can be divided every three to four years if they are growing rapidly but the deciduous types prefer to be undisturbed for longer periods. The former are especially useful for stabilising steep slopes. They can take plenty of water if in well-drained soil and are also fairly heavy feeders, so they could do with generous doses of organic fertiliser every spring. Agapanthus produce lots of papery black seed after their summer flowering but to achieve colours true to type it is best to propagate them vegetatively by division. Evergreen types are best divided after flowering in autumn and the deciduous types do better if divided in spring. In the wild they are found in sunny spots amongst the grasses on the edges of streams or on rocky outcrops where they get the run-off from boulders and stones. Steep slopes in the mountains or on seaside cliffs where the water table comes to the surface are also good places to find them in their natural habitat."

- Intrigued by nature signing off