| Editor's Letter |
|
Just to set the record straight, no money changes hands when it comes to the homes and gardens that grace our pages. They are all chosen purely on merit. The gardens in particular are sourced by talented photographers and dedicated journalists who are out there all year round scouting beautiful, cleverly designed gardens both large and small in a variety of styles. Some are spring gardens, like the lovely examples in this issue, while others come into their own in summer and autumn so we make sure they are always photographed when they are looking their best. One photographer swears that every time he makes an appointment to shoot a garden there’s a storm, fortunately not always with negative results. We’ll be featuring his lovely ‘after the storm’ photographs of a rose garden in the November issue. To make sure we receive the photographs in time for our deadlines, the gardens are generally photographed a year in advance. Usually I find it very frustrating knowing that we have to keep them ‘on ice’ for a year before we can publish them. However, this year I was very relieved that the gardens for this issue were safely tucked away in a folder on our computing server. In all the years I’ve lived in Johannesburg I’ve never experienced a black frost like the one we had recently. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I woke up. The lush emerald green lawn of the day before was gone, replaced by a dead, brown frosty surface. The fully laden gooseberry bush hung limply over the fence (why didn’t I pick the gooseberries the day before?) and the last of the roses were frozen solid on their stems. Even the pot plants I had carefully placed undercover on the patio had turned up their toes. Chatting to readers it seems that most of the gardeners in the Gauteng area are in the same boat and some of the early spring gardens on the Gardens of the Golden City programme will have to open later to allow them to recover. The damage, of course, was not just restricted to gardeners and our sympathies go to the farmers and those in the nursery industry who suffered heavy losses. Of course our gorgeous garden features wouldn’t be possible if it weren’t for the dedicated gardeners who create these beautiful spaces and generously share them with us. So from all of us, a big thank you!
Please let us know what you would like from your favourite magazine. You can e-mail us at gardenhome@caxton.co.za or write to PO Box 3124, Parklands 2121. We would love to hear from you. |
| SEARCH |
| ARCHIVES |
View more archived GARDENING features here View more archived DECOR features here |
| CONTACT |
| Contact Caxton Magazines on (011)889 0600 or click here to go to the website. Subscription queries: 011 473 8700 |
| Non Delivery of Your Subscription |
If there has been a delay in receiving a subscription of any of our magazines it may be because of an internet or cell phone payment with an incorrect subscriber number. If this has happened to you please contact |
| GARDEN FEATURE ARCHIVE |
| Click here to view our archived features. |
| DECOR FEATURE ARCHIVE |
| Click here to view our archived features. |