A Jacaranda Walk Through Rosebank
On Saturday morning, I hosted a jacaranda walk through Rosebank with Johannesburg In your Pocket and the Radisson RED Johannesburg. One of the best purple clouds in Rosebank is right outside the Radisson RED, [...]
Wonderboom, 2.0!
Happy Boxing Day, everyone. It's the height of summer in South Africa and Christmas trees (at least real ones) aren't really a thing here. But in recognition of the holiday spirit I am writing [...]
Return to the White Jacaranda Trees of Herbert Baker Street
I am having a rough week. It's one of those weeks when I doubt and question everything about myself, both personally and professionally, and wonder if I shouldn't just shut down my blog, sell [...]
Joburg Jacaranda Watch: October 2020
Joburg's jacaranda trees are off to a slow start this year. Although the timing of the purple bloom explosion varies from year to year, there's no question we should have way more of them [...]
Lockdown Journal: Day 18 (Tree-Hugging)
If you’re new to this blog series and don’t know what’s happening with South Africa’s 21-day (now 35-day) lockdown, my first post has all the details. Or read all my lockdown posts. It's Day 18 of [...]
The Shot Hole Borer Beetle: A Deadly Threat to Joburg’s Trees
I struggled to decide how to title this post, as the title above feels like an understatement. While the polyphagous shot hole borer (PSHB) beetle is first and foremost a killer of trees, this [...]
The Land of Elephants and Baobabs
The Pafuri Triangle -- a piece of wilderness in the very northern corner of South Africa's Kruger National Park -- is a land of giants. The trees are huge. The animals are huge. The [...]
A Jacaranda Stroll, Without Jacarandas
This is my third summer in Joburg and I’ve yet to write a post about jacarandas. The jacarandas bloom around October or November, and the Jozi suburbs become shrouded in purple for a couple of [...]
Houghton Heritage
Tomorrow is Heritage Day, a South African public holiday. South Africa has lots of public holidays. I have trouble keeping track of them and what they mean. Heritage Day is pretty simple though — [...]
Under the Tall, Tall Trees
Pine forests don’t belong in Southern Africa. Like countless other non-native plants and animals, pine trees were brought here by Europeans and continue to be cultivated on a large scale by paper and timber [...]
I Can See Clearly Now (Sort Of)
As long as I’ve lived here, the view from the deck at the Lucky 5 Star has been a wall of green. It was one of my favorite things about the house — the back [...]
Crack-a-DOOO!
Part 3 of a 3-part series about the Cederberg Heritage Route. Read Part 1 here and Part 2 here. When I left off, my travel companions and I had spent a magical evening in the village of [...]