Heaven Scent Garden & Nursery

Birds found in Heaven Scent Garden

Linda — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 21:53:44 +0000

Over the years the bird population in the garden has increased tremendously. The variety is delightful and every year brings new surprises. I’m not very knowledgable about birds in general, but have a fair knowledge of those around me. There are some lovely pictures taken here last year by a couple who were at Open Gardens.

I thought I would make a list of birds found around the garden for anyone who is interested:

Garden Bird List

Barthroated	Apalis
Cape	Batis
Yellow	Bishop
Southern	Bou bou
Cape	Bulbul
Steppe	Buzzard
Jackal	Buzzard
Cape	Canary
Forest	Canary
Bully	Canary
Blue	Crane
Red eyed	Dove
Cape Turtle	Dove
Laughing	Dove
Fork-tailed	Dronga
Paradise	Flycatcher
Dusky	Flycatcher
Fiscal	Flycatcher
Cape	Francolin
Egyptian	Goose
African	Goshawk
Helmeted	Guineafowl
	Gymnogene

Yellow-billed	Kite
House	Martin
Speckled	Mousebird
	Nightjar
Spotted Eagle	Owl
Karroo	Prinea
Cape	Robin
Fiscal	Shrike
House	Sparrow
Cape	Sugarbird

Malachite	Sunbird
Lesser double Collared	Sunbird
Black Sawwing	Swallow
Lesser Striped	Swallow
Olive	Thrush
Cape	Wagtail
Swee	Waxbill
Common	Waxbill
Cape	Weaver
Cape	White-eye

Open Gardens 2011

Linda — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 12:35:57 +0000

The years seem to speed by so fast that all the things I assure visitors will be available ‘next year’ seldom are!

I think I have managed to few of the things however – you’ll just have to visit and find out!

Our plants include both exotic and indigenous.

There will be a some specials eg:

Buy 2 Eucomis @ R20 each and get the 3rd one for 1/2 price
Buy 3 Hermannia @ R10 each and get the 4th free
Pale yellow Tecoma @ R6 each
Buy 2 Amaryllis belladonna @ R15 each and get the 3rd one for 1/2 price
Agapanthus praecox blue @ R9 each
Kniphofia praecox @ R7 each

There will be refreshments of a light nature for those who need refueling:

Tea, coffee, sparkling/still water, coke and homemade ginger beer and elderflower cordial.
Sandwiches
Crumpets and chocolate cake

There is place in the garden to picnic so you are more than welcome to bring your own lunch.

The swimming pool has been filled so may be used as well – all children must be supervised however.

We look forward to welcoming you all again this year.

For more information follow the Elgin Open Gardens link. You will find us on Route 3. You can also go to Open Days on our site.

Fynbos for the small garden

Linda — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 20:16:58 +0000

While picking flowers in the indigenous part of the garden today I thought of the many people who would love to grow proteas and pin cushions in their gardens but just don’t have the space. I am very priviledged to have the space to grow just about any size of shrub or tree. However it struck me that some of my favourites would be perfect for the small garden – everything in miniature. Here are some photos of the plants I refer to:

Dainty Protea scolymocephala with lovely blue Babiana

This protea shrub varies in size but if cut back carefully can be managed quite easily. I am picking from it for my posies and it is very happy as you can see. The ‘Bobbejaantjies’ are a great pleasure but only plant them if you don’t have baboons wandering near your garden. I made the mistake of planting them in someones garden on the golf course at Hermanus! Baboons love to dig them up and snack on them! That was when the penny dropped about the name!

Leucospermum muirii

Dainty orange Watsonia laccata that grows to 30 or 40cm

This lovely yellow pin cushion is about 3cm in diameter and a group of about 2 or 3 is usually produced at the end of each stem. These I also cut for the posies. The shrub can sometimes be a bit sprawling but cutting certainly helps to make it more compact.

This watsonia is a delight. Not that easy to come by, but I’m sure your local nursery can find it for you. It comes in a few different colours. I have only seen the pink and orange. I hope this has inspired you to plant some of these smaller delights in your garden. If you would like to see these photos in more detail or more pictures of fynbos plants that are suitable for small gardens, follow the link.

September Cut Flowers

Linda — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 21:17:26 +0000

It is wonderful when Spring comes and everything starts warming up and every morning when you go out into the garden a new surprise awaits! I can never remember when things should be flowering so the pleasure is heightened when a new group of flowers appears. Every flower brings its own delight, although I must confess I am over the moon when my first hellebores open, and of course if my paeony would just flower…… ah well, I still believe it will one day happen! Here are some bunches that we did in September when the first pin cushions appeared. If you would like to view photos of posies for September please follow the link.

Gerberas, Geralton wax, Alstroemeria and 'Spider' Pin cushion

Gerberas, White Coleonema, 'Jester' Leucodendron and Leucospermum muirii a delightful miniature pin cushion.

Beautiful Birds

heavenscentgarden — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 21:42:13 +0000

One of the things I love about my garden are the birds. I tend to just enjoy having them around and chatting to them when they are hopping around me while I am working in the garden. If I happen to have my camera with me when they are around I will attempt to take a picture, but I don’t have the lens to do a good job so my photos tend to be a bit of a hit and miss affair. We quite often have visitors in the garden who love photographing the birds. At Open Gardens we had a couple who took some wonderful photos of the Paradise Flycatcher. They returned later and took some equally wonderful photos of the Batis. They kindly sent me some of their pics which they were happy for me to put on the Blog. I’m sure you will enjoy them as much as I do.

Female Paradise Flycatcher

Male Paradise Flycatcher on nest

The male and female Cape Batis.

The female Batis with a bee

Many thanks to Matthew & Mary Ann Syphus for their lovely photos.

December weddings

heavenscentgarden — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 20:19:44 +0000

December is always a very busy month in every way, and it seems to be the ideal month for weddings! My last wedding before Christmas included flowers for the guest house as well as for the actual wedding day. This was quite a challenge – luckily it was spread over 2 days to accommodate the arrival of the guests and then the wedding the following evening. The theme was fynbos. I used a yellow pin cushion and 2 different varieties of protea. There wasn’t a great choice of either protea or pin cushions as with a lot of the varieties of both, December seems to be a bit of an in between time. Here are some of the photographs. If you would like to view more photographs of the flowers go to my picasa web album

What an Open Garden!

heavenscentgarden — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 22:37:20 +0000

We were hoping to have more visitors this year and we certainly were blessed with lots and lots! Many thanks to everyone who came to visit and especially all those who come back just about every year. It is always lovely to see familiar faces – I’m even getting some names right! Life is so busy for everyone that the Open Gardens ‘Event’ does at least get everyone out here. Many thanks also to the friends who came to swell the numbers and give support and especially to those that come and help in the garden every year – you are amazing. I know my children will be saying ‘what about us?’ Thanks guys!

The weather was very kind to us this year. The first time in ages that both week-ends have come up trumps.
I was thrilled that we had some visitors that used the mobility scooter as well as the golf car. It is such a pleasure seeing people who would otherwise struggle to get around the garden enjoying the freedom the vehicles provide.

Here are some photographs of the ‘Event’

A visitor delighted with her 'Silver Tree'

Display of Leucodendrons and Leucospermums

The Heaven Scent Team ready for action.

Emma's Red Wagon

Chris taking 'Dad and the kids' for a trip round the garden

Elgin Open Gardens

heavenscentgarden — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 22:10:01 +0000

The seasons seem to come and go so fast. Maybe it is because there are so many specific things to do in the garden each month. I don’t know, but before you know it the correct season for pruning or transplanting or dividing or whatever, seems to have come and gone.
The same applies to Open Gardens. I always think that I will have so many things in place for Open Gardens ‘next year’, and what happens? I spend the month of October rushing around like a scalded cat trying to get things finished! Well, done it again!

Winter in the garden with Wolfie in his favorite position in the golf car.

I have tried to make things a little bit more appealing for a greater number of gardeners this year.
If you have a friend or member of the family who would enjoy the garden but is not that mobile, please remember we have a mobility scooter as well as a golf car. Both are free. I will take visitors around the garden but I can only take one person at a time as the golf car has a ‘boot/cargo box’ and not back seats.
I have worked on an activity booklet for the children so that their parents may enjoy their time in the garden more. It will most probibly cost about R8.00. I haven’t printed it yet so don’t have a final price.
For the Dads, husbands or boyfriends, who really have a limited interest in gardening, there will be cold draught beer and sandwiches on sale, which they can relax and enjoy.
I will give a light hearted talk, illustrated with photographs, of the preparations in the Grand Pavillion at the Chelsea Flower Show at 11.00am on Sunday 31st October and 11.00am on Saturday 6th November. (no charge)
Arnelia Nursery, an excellent producer of Proteas, Leucodendrons and Leucospermums, has supplied me with a lovely selection of their plants which will be on display and for sale. There are some lovely new pincushion hybrids.
As they were unloading the plants, a malachite sunbird landed on one of the pincushions – obviously thought this was ‘meals on wheels’! Anyway the flowers got his vote of approval.
There are a few plants of my favorite miniature protea, Protea scolymacephala. Arnelia has only recently started propagating it and offering it for sale, so I was thrilled that there were some left for us.

Protea scolymacephala

Also remember that the garden is home to a large number of birds, so these can also be enjoyed as you wander around the garden.
Hope to see you on the farm.

Wedding Flowers

heavenscentgarden — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 21:10:48 +0000

I have done a number of weddings recently and have been delighted by the lovely brides that I have met. I was very dubious about doing weddings but was persuaded by some special people to do their flowers, and what a pleasure it has been – stressful (as I want the flowers to be really special!) but also very satisfying.
So……… if you want the garden flower feel or the fynbos experience I think I could be the flower person for you. I live in Elgin so the venue would have to be in easy reach.
If you tend to want things a very specific way and a very specific colour I will only be able to help within reason as I have the weather and the seasons to contend with. I do however have the support of the local commercial growers from whom I buy flowers when my garden cannot supply what is needed.
Here is a sample of my flowers:

Fynbos Wedding Bouquet April 2010 - held by me!

Garden Flowers for March Wedding Bouquet

If you would like to view more photographs of wedding flowers click on this Wedding flowers link and this Wedding flower link and this for still more.
For wrist corsages follow the link. These are fynbos wrist corsages.

Glorious September garden cut flowers

heavenscentgarden — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 20:51:41 +0000

Three glorious September posies

These are posies I did this week. They are all very different – one being just fynbos and the other mixes of indigenous and exotic.
The back left is made up of Protea scolymacephala and Gladiolus carneus.
The back right is the Rice Flower, Narcissus ‘Geranium’ and small arums.
The front one is Alstroemerias, Bletilla striatas and primulas.

If you would like more information and photographs of Gladiolus carneus please follow the fernkloof link. There are also lovely pictures of the scolymacephala protea

More detailed photographs of the above posies are on my Picasa Photo Album.