Introduction From New South African Member.

Hi
I've been lurking here a while & like what I see, so guess its time I broke
cover.

I'm originally a New Zealander, qualified there as a nurseryman, who went
wandering trying to visit all the pieces of the Gondwana massif & see how
all the plants relate & it all fits together. I've still got Southern
America to go but am firmly stuck in the Cape Floral Kingdom.
I live in a valley, about 2km from the Atlantic, on the Cape Peninsular &
about 20mins. drive from central Capetown. My girlfriend & I are on 1
hectare of land ( about 2.5 acres ) & run three businesses. She does a small
herb nursery & I do garden plants & then a speciality line of Tillandsias.
Mainly wholesale with weekend flea markets for some quick cash.
We're the equivalent of the USDA zone 10. Capetown has an average of about
520 mm rain /annum though our valley traps more than that, though definitely
winter rainfall only. Our real limiting factor to growth is the equinoxal
winds -the Sou'easter - that the Southern Cape gets, starting around the end
of October, which can just suck the moisture out of everything. Plant
survival then becomes a product of how much water you can throw at them.
Worst months for heat & wind are December & January & mellows out in mid
February. I've come to relish the challenge gardening in these conditions
brings. It seems to me some of mankinds most inspired creations have arisen
from the strictest of limiting disciplines. I run my gardens mainly as stock
beds for the nursery plants. We're spray free / organic as much as possible
& try to be self sufficient in vegetables.

The nursery industry here is rather retarded compared to those most list
members will be familiar with. Bark based mixes are too scarce & expensive
to really consider with slow release fertilizers too costly to contemplate.
Most growers end up making their own mixes up, with varying results.
Unfortunately the ' English Cottage Garden ' look is still very much in
vogue - as impractical as it is in a Mediterranean climate at the bottom end
of Africa. So, the customer must be given what they want & not what I find
interesting - though I really do draw the line at bloody Iceberg roses.
Water pricing is escalating in leaps & bounds though as realisation of its
environmental  value & scarcity hits home & there is a corresponding
awareness of water wise gardening & the useage of more appropriate plants.

I haven't seen another group member from South Africa so far so hope I am
able to supply a perspective from here that other group members will find
useful.

Regards

Glenn Breayley. Ragnarok & Valhalla Research.
POBox 26158, Hout Bay, 7872, Capetown, South Africa
Ph SA 021 7904253 Fax SA 021 7905139 E-mail valhalla@iafrica.com
Wholesale nurseryman & Tillandsia specialist wholesale & retail grower.
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