Bend in the road

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm 

A typical gravel road in the South African bushveld.

When you come to a bend in the road, aren’t you just a little bit curious as to what lies just around the corner…?

A farmer's cottage

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm 

A farmer’s cottage on a smallholding not far from us.

A labourer's cottage

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm 

A labourer’s cottage on a smallholding just down the road from us in Tarlton, Gauteng, South Africa.

Autumn Sunset - 1 and 2

Autumn Sunset 1 - W&N Watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm

Today is the last opportunity 

I have to live intensely, 

as no one can assure me

that I will see tomorrow’s Autumn.

.

 

Autumn Sunset 2 - W&N Watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm

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My Geranium would like to see you...

Watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm 

“Won’t you come into the garden? I would like my Geranium to see you.”

A few months ago, a friend gave me a Geranium cutting, just a little piece of stalk with one leaf, which I planted in an egg shell filled with potting soil and kept on the kitchen counter (Tarlton, Gauteng, South Africa). As soon as there were enough roots, I planted her into this Terracotta pot, egg shell and all. Within 2 weeks I had about 8 leaves and another stalk appearing next to the original cutting. She now lives on the patio near my Natal Fig bonsai, and I’m sure I’ve heard them whispering to one another a couple of times! And now every spring she blesses me with a great show of her gorgeous flowers.
It is well known that the whole Geranium genus is highly redolent of volatile oils – lemon-scented, musk-scented, and peppermint-scented. In South Africa folk-lore has it that, if you plant Geraniums in your garden, you will never have any snakes!