Remember, remember the 5th December
Whereas the old English nursery rhyme (referring to the attempted overthrow of the English Parliament on 5th November 1605), continues with “the Gunpowder Treason, and Plot’, our local 21st century ditty should rather continue “Giant Hailstones, Pelting Rain and a Gale”. The force of nature was unleashed on parts of Johannesburg in early December last year, lashing some parts of the western suburbs with torrential rain, howling winds and a ferocious hail storm. Canvas awnings and umbrellas were torn, windows broken, roofs collapsed and leaks abounded, to say nothing of the damage to gardens. Some areas to the west of Craighall Park were much more severely impacted with serious damage to infrastructure (power-lines down, roads washed away, buildings flooded).
But a friend of mine, who always sees the positives, truncates the proverb ‘every cloud has a silver lining’ down to a two worder: “silver linings”, in this case – hail is rich in nitrogen and regenerates the soil. But although the shrubs and larger plants will come back, many newly planted seedlings were simply shredded beyond recovery:
And the clean up begins
What a stirling job Elliot and Mr T did
Watch this space for a revived garden ….