By bell, books and candles

by Diana Studer

- gardening for biodiversity

in Cape Town, South Africa

On Sunday we were in Cape Town for a gathering of the Watkins clan on what would have been my mother’s one hundredth birthday. We left Porterville very early in the morning heading for the morning service at St George’s Cathedral. There is a sculpture of the African Madonna by Leon Underwood. Created in 1938. He was one of Henry Moore’s teachers. I lit four candles – for our parents, us 4 sisters, my 4 nieces, the 4 living generations – of which I am now the oldest.

The Cathedral is using George’s dragon as a symbol for their CHATT campaign against HIV/AIDS – a second reason for my candles to burn thru the morning service.

As we walked from the car, the bells began to ring. The bell tower is now a squat promise. The stone cathedral is unfinished; meanwhile they are involved in serious repairs to the roof.

Mother's books, some bought for her in London

Mother's books, some collected by her

My mother taught me to love reading. I knew we were losing her, when in the last weeks of her life, she looked blankly at a page of text – and found more interest in illustrated garden books. My last real conversation as I sat with her in frail care – she – I suppose we could settle down, and read? I gave her a little book about lavender, and she told me about the tussie mussie. Both of us remembering how visitors to her home always left with a garden posy in hand.

Her pencilled notes, with an owl from her collection

Now Minerva/Athena, her owl of wisdom, watches over me as I stand at my laptop. I’m reading her copy of Brideshead Revisited, with a film review tucked in, and pencilled notes for the quotes she wanted to find again.

Kaffe Fassett's Chinese Roses

When I was in LinkedIn I was prompted to add skills. Thirty?! I reached out beyond blogging and gardening, back to librarianship, and out to vegetarian cooking and knitting. My mother lived by ‘when I am an old woman I shall wear purple’. In 1990 I knitted Kaffe Fassett’s Chinese Roses for my mother – now I wear it, with her jewel-bright purple scarf. When I knit I lift the motif from KF but the shape of the garment is mine, with the striped ribbing, and the open lace work at the edge of the sleeve. Each cluster of roses sang its own tune to my mother - in mauve, lavender, violet, berry red and lilac.

Tecoma capensis Big Red

Dozen for Diana 

 4 for False Bay 

For Wildflower Wednesday with Gail @ Clay and Limestone.

From central NY state Donna @ GardensEyeview is armed with spearmint.

(I'll add your links if you have an April plant for us).

Tecoma capensis at Ungardening Pond

Tecoma capensis

Tecoma capensis detail of the peach and apricot flower

Returning to my Dozen for Diana – the plants which grow in our Porterville garden, and will flourish in the future False Bay garden. Today the temperature is flirting with 30C and the Tecoma capensis bushes are a vibrating hum of bees, with sunbirds dipping in and out. The yellow, facing north, begins to fade. The peach and apricot burst into bloom just after I wrote my last post. Even temperamental Big Red has joined the party. I recognised a plant in the new garden, but don’t know which colour it will be.

Dozen for Diana, 4 for False Bay
Tecoma capensis flowering shrub, Grewia occidentalis flowering tree
Searsia crenata tree, Bulbine frutescens flowering succulent groundcover 

nor the moon by night

I have a steady trickle of readers looking for a ‘sad black background’. Why? This isn’t sad. It was evening and the Tecoma flowers morphed into goldfish!

Pictures and text by Diana Studer
(on Google Plus)
AKA Diana of Elephant's Eye (on False Bay)
- wildlife gardening in Porterville,
near Cape Town in South Africa

(If you mouse over teal blue text,
it turns seaweed red.Those are my links.)