Self inflicted disaster..........again !

[Justin B.]

Danie, I'll add my vote to Dee's suggestion.  We have some rose bushes in the back yard that I am scared to walk within 5 feet of.   I swear they're possessed as I know they jump out and bite me sometimes.  

I really do "feel your pain", to quote one of our most famous adulterers, I don't really stay that up to date concerning what happens in SA but I always thought it was supposed to be a paradise once apartheid was ran off.  About all I can offer is the particulars on some of my favorite .44 Magnum loads...  [smiley=evil.gif]

[Danie]

Thanks for all advice and moral support - really appreciated !

Well, since my previous post I have decided not to act like a crybaby again. This beautiful country still offers a lot - and a negative attitude will bring us nowhere anyway........

I must admit - I really love roses, but unfortunately the embankment at the fence only gets full sun for about four months of the year. So I do not think roses will survive there. I do know about a local shrub which could be Pyracantha - as described by Altritter. More birds in the area would be a bonus as well.

Anyway, my insurance claim has been submitted, and hopefully the insurance accessor will do his rounds soon. Aparantly they have been "flooded" with claims, and they are battling to cope with the extra workload. So I can't do anything but wait at the moment.

Again, thanks for all advice            

Regards

Danie

[aussie]

I must admit - I really love roses, but unfortunately the embankment at the fence only gets full sun for about four months of the year. So I do not think roses will survive there.

Not quite true - try David Austin roses. They have a huge variety. Roses will grow with only 4 - 6 hours direct sunlight a day - in summer. I have a wide selection of roses that get little sun during the winter (they are mostly hidden by an embankment) but during summer they put on a grand display. SA is very similar in climate I believe to SA (South Aust). I also have several under Japanese Maples -not the best place one may think - but the tree has grown a little larger than I had anticipated so early on it's development. I had planned on moving them in 5 - 6 years-but hey - they are performing wonderfully well. They are lucky to get any more than 4 hours a day during summer. However, because Austin roses have been developed in te UK the amount of sunlight is relative.....

What I really love about the variety he has is the perfume. Try one or two and if they don't work well - I figure you're only out maybe $50 at the most.

If you plant 900mm apart they will join up without any issues.

Aloe plants? Prick the Bejeez...s out of you and have a nice rosette as well....Good thing is the sap....helps with sunburn and the pricks (so to speak) Can testify to the effectiveness of the 'thorns' - had some and I accidently put my forehead in one (don't ask) - anyhow I subsequently pulled them out.

Horticulturally yours
Tim

PS By the way - still lost on the failing of the fence - it appears to have broken a third of the way up or so - how is the ridding of the weeds the issue?

PPS I'm not even going to go there with the gun issue...

[Danie]

Thanks for the information about David Austen roses Aussie. There are several nurseries in our area - hopefully they do keep stock of this variety.

 By removing the plants (including the roots) from the embankment, the soil obviously became very loose - therefore also caused a higher risk of a mudslide during heavy rains. This happened after my first attemp to remove unwanted plants at the embankment, just after we bought the house.

I inially thought that  the embankment has moved downwards this time - but after having a closer look, it does not seem to be the case. The soil on the other side of the fence is about 1ft. higher than on our side, so I do have a feeling that a higher pressure against the wall (caised by the heavy rain), as well as a possible structural weaknes in the vertical post, has caused the fence to collapse.

Regards

Danie

[J_Hirst]

It looks to me, from the shaky pic, that the post is broken off about a foot or so above the ground.  If the soil gave way, the post would have been undermined completely to cause that collapse.

I think you'll find that it is your neighbors side of the fence that was the problem here.  May you two can get a bulk rate on the same plants for both sides of the fence.

[Semper Gumby]

Hi Danie,

What I learned about the SA I learned from Sipo Mzimela who left the ANC and the country back in the sixties to become an Episcopal priest.  He said the reason he left was the ANC's scorched earth policy to make the country unlivable by taking down institutions - like schools.  At the time he was adamant that the ANC communist leaning policies were failures and would do terrible harm to the country.  The end result was a lost generation: illiterate, impoverished and angry.  

Sipo was from Natal provence (Zulu country) so he wasn't really a ANC person anyway.  Being from Natal he ended up aligning with Inkatha Freedom Party.  He came to Altanta in the late 80's early 90's because he needed a place to go and we took him in an made him an assiting priest. (Black Priest at a predominately white church).  He got married here in church: now that was a wedding...you should have heard the drums.  

One of the crazy things that happened at St. Bartholomew's Atlanta is that there was a debate about the future of the SA between ANC and Inkatha sponsored by St.Barts because Sipo knew everybody and brought them together.  Unfortunatly I missed it as I was working that night (the story of my life).  But people that were there said it was very tense.  I don't remember who the ANC people were but I think Inkatha Chief Buthelezi was there.

When Mandella was released Sipo was asked to come back as part of the first (Unity?) government on the Inkatha side and to our amazement was named minister of jails.  I don't ask him about this (I'm sure it wasn't much fun) in fact I haven' t seen him much recently as he is suffering poorly with diabeties (he's trying to hang on to his feet).

Your picture and stories is an affirmation of sorts that Sipo was right all those years ago.

Sorry to be so wordy but it is a crazy story from a my crazy Episcopal church in far away Atlanta where we joyfully participate in the sorrows of the world.

Sipo Mzimela and Gale DeCosta

[Danie]

Hi Bill

I do find your comments very interesting. I obviously do not know Sipho, but I am sorry to hear about his poor health condition.

As said above, Sipho was absolutely correct about the ruling party's policies that would harm our country. Our current goverment school system is probably one of the biggest failures of our goverment - and this is causing huge concern locally. Hundreds of thousands of youngsters are leaving school each year - with a senior school sertificate which became virtually useless. Many of this young people cannot even read or write properly - and this "lost generation" became a huge concern indeed.

The current leadership in the ruling party is also a huge concern to many of our citizens. Our next President will probably be a man without proper formal education - who are currently facing several charges of corruption, fraud, money laundry, and racketeering. Although he and his party claim that he is completely innocent, they are trying every trick in the book to stay out of court........

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/04/2482621.htm?section=justin

Regards

Danie