We've been waiting for a long while now for summer to really arrive; not that I was looking forward to heat and humidity like this, but till a couple of days ago, we could literally experience all four seasons in one day!
I'll be showing you some of the splendour of a Durban summer garden and then invite you to join me for a peek at a lovely little family bakery.
One of the benefits of being semi-retired and working from home is that we can take a break when things aren't too hectic and simply take a walk outside to enjoy the natural beauty all around us.
Our garden is telling us that it's summer, as many summer flowering plants are starting to show their true colours, like the Aloe Vera below. This plant also has great medicinal value as many of you know.
Another striking flower that does well as a cut flower for the vase, is the Strelitzia. It also is known as a Crane flower or Bird of Paradise as its flower resembles the head and beak of an exotic bird.
Orchids love the humidity of our sub-tropical climate, even though we don't as we feel like we're melting all of the time and this is how it will be from here on till next year in autumn!
Anyone over in the Northern hemisphere is welcome to send some of that cold our way!
I'm no Orchid expert, simply love them and they in turn thrive here in our humid climate, with hardly any nurturing.
This Cattleya Orchid is simply stunning and surprised me as I did not even notice it opening up until this sight greeted me!
Just goes to show how we should not let the things of the world trouble us too much and look around us with eyes wide open!
Next to it are two other stunning Orchids just starting to show off.
We have a number of other Orchids, but they're only now starting to form little buds. I hope to share them with you soon. Of course we don't have an Orchid House like they do at the Durban Botanic Gardens, ours hang from under our eaves and are continuously dancing and swaying as the breeze or the wind is their timekeeper.
A French Hydrangea that's just starting to flower will soon be showing off its true beauty.
The Gardenia with its heady fragrance will soon be full of flowers and this is the very first one of the season.
The bark of the Leopard Tree with its smooth mottled trunk resembles the Leopard, one of Africa's Big Five. Apparently, as it ages and the bark starts peeling, it becomes even more mottled and looks more and more like this beautiful feline.
Our tree is still fairly young, but is growing rapidly; it has fine feathery leaves and actually is native to Brazil, not to South Africa as many believe.
Another benefit of being semi-retired is that I can take a break at least once a week for a midweek jaunt, so after our visit to the Botanic Gardens, my friend and I stopped off at the family-run Fullhams Bakery on the way home.
I took these two images of the exact same scene from two different angles and only afterward saw how the glass reflected two different house from across the road.
Breads and pastries are all my weakness, so I took home a loaf of sourdough bread and an Apple Crumble Tart, really yummy.
I steered clear of the other rich cakes even though I have a terrible sweet tooth, but Mrs. Reflux would then pay me a visit, and she's really not welcome!
Anyone joining me for tea and Apple Crumble Tart?
These are just the ramblings of a semi-retired old gal who currently feels like she's in a full-time job, as the school holidays have started and everyone wants to book at our BnB so the phone calls don't stop!
We're thankfully already fully booked until after New Year, so at least I don't have to do any quotations for this period, one less duty!
Things are going to heat up even more as there will be no staff for one week, so guess who is going to be busy cleaning and sanitizing and...and...! Just the two of us, hubby and I!
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