Web Design with Passion back on new PC

Finally, Web Design with Passion is back on a new PC…. actually a whole new OS on 64bit. What a journey… and this with powercuts and connectivity issues… all fun but we’re getting there!

We grow through our struggles… but inbetween I just imagine myself being that happy, fat and buzzing bumble bee in my garden floating from flower to flower and living in complete bliss!

Web Design with Passion back on new PC

To get Web Design with Passion back on a new PC meant and still means installing each and every program from scratch. Not that this isn’t an interesting and instructive exercise nor is it the first time I do this – but it’s time-consuming and often frustrating especially when there is such a huge list to do!

However, starting out from scratch has its merits that can be compared to the annual spring clean-out: unless you are an obsessive gatherer and collector, it’s a good time to get rid of everything that’s superfluous and not absolutely necessary and becoming lean and light with lots of potential to move forward with a new and speedy lightness of being and let the creative juices flow. I’m not quite there yet as too puzzled by some mysteries noone else knew an answer to so far – but here’s my first post ‘after the storm’ and it can only get better and faster!

YEBO GOGO – this is about being a student for life!

Bird Sanctuary Websites

If bird sanctuaries offer us tickets into the glorious theatre of Nature, Bird Sanctuary Websites are our virtual GPS.

Bird Sanctuary Websites

Bird sanctuary websites offer online bird watchers information and insight about the bird life found in a specific bird park or area, opening times, entry fees, special events and perhaps membership possibilities etc, but what everyone is probably most interested in are pictures and images of birds, our favourite feathered friends.

Personal Birding Website

If you have a garden that’s frequented by many different birds and you love to watch and photograph them, you may consider publishing your personal birding website or blog to share your thoughts, impressions, photos, perhaps sketches and whatever you want to include, with fellow birding afficinados. You may even invite other bird watchers to join you to gain a broader and even more interesting spectrum!

Your personal bird lover website could be designed in such an attractive way that it captures the interest of like-minded bird watchers from other parts of the country if not the world! The world of birds is truly without limits!

The Internet offers us such wonderful and affordable possibilities for individual expression today where we can create something that can be enjoyed for generations to come.

Why not pass on the wonder, joy and privilege of living in our magic world today?!

Full Moon over Noordhoek Beach

While we are used to a beautiful Full Moon over Noordhoek Beach – I was amazed at the ‘super moon’ photos posted officially on BBC and elsewhere on 6 and 7 May 2012 … pictures that seemed incredulous and left me wondering. I did take some photos as well and thought the moon was definitely more brilliant than usual… but nothing like I had expected, at least not on our side of the… globe and mountain.

Full Moon over Noordhoek Beach

Well, meanwhile I know most if not all of those pictures were illusions… and that we can all achieve with some good original photo material and a little bit of Photoshop! Ha!

What you see here is definitely the full moon I photographed in that night – around 11: 45 pm – and it stood like that in the pitchblack sky. No halo, no softness – like cut out.

And this was Noordhoek Beach in the very early morning where the full moon was hardly visible – now it is!I mean it was !

The fact is, I photographed the ‘real thing’ on 24 July 2010 and wrote about it HERE. And there was no manipulation involved whatsoever – it was huge, red and definitely super and extraordinary in many ways!

Restaurant Websites

Today, even the most popular restaurant needs a presence online and there are extensive web developments for Restaurant Websites.

Restaurant Websites

While we may all have our favourite hangout spots and like to follow our friends’ suggestions when visiting a new one, Restaurant Websites help to find new places when travelling to another town or an unknown area.

For this reason, a restaurant website needs to indicate what it specializes on in terms of food (seafood, country cuisine, Thai Food etc…) and it must offer clear directions, possibly through Google Maps or good photography of the environment.

Pictures Sell the Restaurant and Menu

Friends, real ones and those we collect on Social Networks, suggest… but then Pictures sell the Restaurant and Menu!
It’s through the way a Restaurant Blog communicates its atmosphere, service and – of course – mouth-watering menus, wines, cocktails and specials – that we are attracted to one or another. Often these reactions are spontaneous and following our belly!

Restaurant websites and blogs serve as a brilliant, easy and fun way to be and keep in touch with the restaurant clientele, inform them of what’s new on the menu or which ‘Specials’ are on when and where, especially also around major annual festivities and events like for Christmas Dinners, New Year’s Dinners or for Valentine’s Day or linked to certain activities and festivals in the area or town, eg music concerts, sports events and the like.

Wine and Dine

Restaurants should ideally have a “Wine and Dine” Fanpage on Facebook that’s kept up-to-date with what’s happening, where questions are answered and where there’s continuous conversation.

Besides, and most importantly, a restaurant must be easily reachable on the Mobile Web. People want to see what’s on offer and hit the booking button fast – often just minutes before they arrive !

We at Web Design with Passion develop and design elegant, user-friendly and extremely Google efficient websites and blogs exclusively on WP based Semiomantics – have a look and get in touch HERE to discuss what you may be needing.

Restaurant Websites Sell!

Make Your Website Mobile

Actually, the title of this post should not be “How to Make Your Website Mobile” – as for this you use a plugin like WP Touch Pro.

The issue here is – as discussed in my earlier article on  “iPhone Simulator”  (or ‘iPhone Emulator’ as it was called in the Ycademy Workshop) – :  how to actually see what you design when doing the mobile setup of your blog when you do not have access to an iphone or smartphone and none of the iphone simulators or emulators found on Google seem to be helpful, in other words: when you can’t see what you do.

While I enjoyed Zen Shooting with Bow & Arrow, in Web Design I prefer to see exactly what I do :)

Make Your Website Mobile

Once you know the answer it’s always simple: when you make your website mobile without owning or having access to one of those spiffy mobile devices, the answer is to download the Safari Browser and then, at the top under DEVELOP and > USER AGENT > choose the iPhone or iPad or whatever you need to test your work!

What you see here are first results when using exclusively the settings in WP Touch Pro – no CSS stylesheet at this stage. First, I wanted to see what’s there and experiment with it, learning the lessons from trial and error and getting an understanding of what should ideally be changed or adapted and for what purpose. Our customers are all different and have other priorities. The mobile web has become crucial for attracting potential clients for those who run a business and have products and/or services to sell.

Important: Thumbnails don’t show if you leave them on “Custom Field Thumbnails” in the Dashboard (WP Touch Settings); you have to select “WP Thumbnails” as you can see on the above top example. I did not change the size nor take out the reflections.

My next excursion will be into the stylesheet… but first let’s greet another absolutely stunning day to begin a week filled with promise!

Author Blogs

Author Blogs are not necessarily writer blogs, meaning websites of published authors, as many people believe. In many cases they are personal blogs or websites where the focus can be on any specific topic – eg. gardening or cooking – or the author’s family or life in chronological order – which brings this digital medium in close proximity to auto-biographies, especially if the owner of the blog is a prolific writer.

And publishing regular original content is crucial for the success of an Author Blog.

Author Blogs

If you look at my Author Blog, you find anything related to Art, Media Design, Website Development and Design, Photography, Nature and… of course South Africa. This is where my heart and focus are and this leaves me a lot of scope for things to investigate, research, be enthusiastic about and share in form of any kind of expression that’s possible online.

Social Networks work for themselves

While many people believe they can get away in a ‘free’ way by just using their Facebook accounts to write and express themselves, they don’t operate from a position of freedom – like if they would be owning their own website or blog where they are in full control. Social Networks work for themselves and make and change the rules, they possess your content – be it written or in form of photos – and even sell you without your consent or vote nor giving you a fair share.

If a herd mentality is what you like, this will not bother you and you gladly pay the price.

If, however, you wish to be independent and build your own reputation online, based on your name, your talents and your services and/or products, there is no way around having your own personalized Author Blog or website.

Think about it and get started – for instance on a free WordPress Blog. If you want something more sophisticated, have a look at my SHOWCASE and – if and once you’re ready for your own driver’s seat online – let’s talk!

Hakamela Africa Tours

After a couple of years of excursions via India and South Africa, legendary tracker Dumisani Sakuinje from Zimbabwe will finally be back with personalized high-end Hakamela Africa Tours – a special African Experience not to be missed.

Hakamela Africa Tours

Hakamela Africa Tours will be at INDABA 2012, one of the leading annual marketing events in African Tourism, that has won the prestigious World Travel Award for Africa’s best Travel & Tourism Show two years in a row.

INDABA will take place from 12 to 15 May 2012 at the Albert Luthuli Convention Centre in Durban, South Africa.

We will report on our website development of this exciting project in due time – don’t miss our SHOWCASE.

Conferences and Events Websites

Conferences and Events Websites are a topic I am currently focusing on as developing a new company website for Conference Management Services in Southern Africa. This will also include Weddings and Destination Management. For more information and to see some of my work in this area, please go to my brand-new SHOWCASE HERE ( http://showcase.biancagubalke.com ).

Conferences and Events Websites

My prime objective when preparing a Conferences and Events Website will be speed and user-friendly interaction. When a customer needs Conference Management Services he firstly has to find what he is looking for fast, then like what he sees and lastly be able to get through and book fast. This means the conferencing website has to be well positioned on Google Top 10 – from a content point of view and, increasingly, as an image. And it has to be reachable via the mobile web.

Above you see one of my Conferences and Events Images on the first page on Google Images, competing with 443 million serach returns! Yes – one’s got to learn this and use the most efficient WP based Semiomantics script! Ask me how!!!

Conference Management Services

Clients should be ‘king’ in an absolute sense when it comes to Conference Management Services – that’s what will make the success of one’s conferencing and event management business.

Customers need to be able to fully focus on their objectives to achieve maximum results and productivity. This means preparing workshops, presentations, speeches, educational and media material etc etc … and a lot of their energy will go into attuning to all the different personalities and characters attending the event, the questions coming up and the discussions to be held.

Once the operation budget has been agreed, the Conference Manager is expected to deliver professional services in terms of:

> Planning the Conference or Meeting (dates, format, committee meetings..);

> Arrangements for locations, eg. hotel bookings, conference venues, lodging including all requirements;

> Liaison between client and speakers and presenters including preparational gettogethers;

> Promotion and advertising, materials for print, press and online event websites (if requested);

> Registration procedure – taking care of all communication and payments, prepare name badges etc;

> Facility management – function room setups, electronic setup and equipment, additional staff and operators etc;

> Coordinate food and beverages incl. special menus, recreational and team building activities;

> Clear signs to the conference venue, info packs, continuous liaison for all requests and contingencies;

> Clear check-in and check-out procedures;

> VIP lounge and services on request;

> Accommodation and partner program (eg. sightseeing) if spouse accompanies.

> Follow-up: review and approve invoices for payment, provide meeting summary and financial report;

> Gratuities to staff, ‘thank you’ messages to presenters and attendees

> and much more…

This is just a quick list from my head having attended, talked at and organized many conferences and events in the past…

Baseline is: all must be prepared, planned, negotiated and arranged according to prior agreement and budget limits and quite simply at their fingertips! No worries for your customer, not even a thought!

Even go a little extra mile if needed… I do that each day :)

iPhone Simulator

Not everybody owns an iPhone – but as Web Designers we are facing the fast evolution of the Mobile Web and have to make our websites mobile. So how can we design what we can’t see? The answer is an iPhone Simulator.

The question is really: which one?

The first sketches I designed for going mobile where featured in my post HERE. Already then, I knew well what I wanted, but I simulated the look based on what I needed and what I had learned at the time.

Today… just a few months later… things have changed again… and especially after an Ycademy Seminar on WP Touch one really wants to get things done – but from all the iphone Simulators I came across so far, spending a fair amount of time to search and test, nothing was satisfactory and especially nothing showed the visual results I would expect to see after what I have set up! Really frustrating!

iPhone Simulator

The iPhone Simulator above – testiPhone – shows my whole website, or rather what remains of it:

That’s really not the idea – so what’s the solution?

1 May 2012 Results

Most will look at 1 May 2012 results once the day is over… here in Noordhoek, South Africa, we do the opposite! After a day and night of tremendous gale-force storms with the sound of the ocean reverberating so loud at 3:15 am in the morning we thought the water was at our doorstep, we are gifted with the most stunning day filled with sunshine and promise. Nature is rejoicing while we are cleaning up the debris of the past 48 hours and enjoying that brilliant halo of fresh new energy around each leaf, branch and flower that’s so healing to inhale! Yes… it’s one of those tender mornings I love and captured in a recent photo from my garden below.

With so much heaviness and pain to be finding its angry expression over the course of this day in many parts of the world, some of us are determined to balance this with loving and peaceful vibrations… Make your choice – and follow your heart.

1 May 2012 Results

On another level, 1 May 2012 Results on Google are my main objective with this little article – namely where did yesterday’s post end up?

Hotels and Lodges Websites

Hotels and Lodges Websites show an incredible amount of search returns on Google: 3,250,000,000 ! Sounds like counting the stars… and yet, as I checked the position of my featured images, I found two of them on page one as you can see on the screenshot! SEO results that talk!

There were more images from my Web Design Showcase at http://showcase.biancagubalke.com on the following pages, but what I want to illustrate here is the efficiency of my work in terms of Website Development with Semiomantics – nothing more, nothing less.

There are many stunning websites for hotels and lodges – the question is always: if and where do they show up on Google Top 10 and at what price?

Here’s with sunshine from South Africa and wishing you a peaceful 1 May 2012!

Hotels and Lodges Websites

When designing Hotels and Lodges Websites… I focus on offering visitors a personal taste of the real atmosphere of the place – mostly in form of photos, images or videos and perhaps some great testimonials of guests who shared their impressions of that ‘place’. People and Place… Place and People – that’s what creates a touch of the humanitity that unites us and that’s what I try to capture as part of my personal style as you can investigate in my SHOWCASE HERE.

Hotels and Lodges Websites

Of course, like in any website development, Hotels and Lodges Websites need to offer relevant functionalities and be user-friendly in terms of navigation. Visitors want to see what they like and then surf quickly to a Booking Form where they get a quick overview in terms of availability and prices and where they have access to simple and reliable payment gateways.

How to achieve top positions with a Hotel Website

Having said that, what remains as the most challenging part for the web designer is how to achieve top positions with a Hotel Website, meaning the website’s performance on Google against stiff competition in the Travel and Tourism Industry.

But this is exactly where we at Semiomantics excel: once properly setup and indexed on Google, your path to top rankings is assured – provided you keep the website dynamic and active. Our regular tests in terms of website optimization and performance proove it daily!

Save by performing better – have a look at http://showcase.biancagubalke.com  !

Cars and Trucks Websites

The net abounds with Cars and Trucks Websites – however, how user-friendly and Google efficient are they really?

We did quite some research when creating a new website for Used Cars and Trucks for our customer Magnetic Transport Surplus in Cagayan de Oro, Mindanao.

Cars and Trucks Websites

Just as with any other website, cars and trucks websites want to achieve certain goals: to attract customers and potential buyers – in other words sell – and to build a reputation on the Internet and brand themselves.

Branding requires a lot of research and development, especially in terms of Logo Design and Icon Design. While there are brilliant and high-paid professionals doing exactly just that – and I have met some of the best – this demands budgets that are far out of reach for new or relatively young companies.

Accordingly, the web designer will often be asked to come up with integrated solutions that work both online and offline.

This is a service our professional Web Design South Africa Team can provide. Please visit our brand-new  SHOWCASE HERE  for the latest Web Design examples.

Cars and Trucks Images

Before publishing this article, I checked “Cars and Trucks Images” to capture what is currently seen there – right now at 11:55 am:

Why?

People react more to images – visuals – than to text. While our original content remains the main issue in terms of keywords and especially tags, Google picks up our photos and pictures as well as you see on the above screenshot.

As my regular routine test, I will see where my Cars and Trucks Image will land in terms of ranking – and how fast – after I publish right now, at 12:30 pm!

It’s always an interesting exercise… so above we have the ‘before’ image and let’s see how it looks ‘after’ the publication of this article!

Wedding Album Websites

Have a look at Wedding Album Websites featuring on my brand-new SHOWCASE HERE – still under construction but enough for the intuitive viewer in terms of Web Design.

Wedding Album Websites

Wedding Album Websites are ideal when starting off a new family with a visual bang! and then developing the initial Wedding Website into a very versatile Family Album as is planned on this example here.

Own your Family Website

Clearly, you want to own your family website – but you may ask… why, if it’s ‘free’ on Social Networks, genre Facebook?

Well – firstly, nothing is free on the Internet, that’s unfortunately an illusion and you risk becoming disillusioned rather fast when you see how your content on social networks serves one major purpose: to build THAT network and taking control over YOUR content, even the most private and precious. If you have no problem with that and you don’t mind being caught in a herd that’s easily manipulated and even sold … fine.

If you rather want to be in control of your own online destiny and that of your future family – think of your wedding album images for instance – then look at this very affordable and elegant wedding album solution.

One investment will set you free – especially as a newly married couple!

Art Exhibitions on Google

Having published my article just a few minutes ago, let’s see its immediate impact:

As per screenshot, you see that Art Exhibitions Websites is on Google Top 10 – rank 7 to be exact – within 14 minutes on 165 000 000 search returns!

Art Exhibitions on Google

Art Exhibitions on Google is just another demonstration of the efficiency of our WP based Semiomantics Scripts.

One investment – one setup – terrific results. And big savings over time.

Art Exhibitions Websites

If we look at “Art Exhibitions Websites” as a keyword string we find the creme de la creme in terms of Art Galleries, Museums and other Art institutions competing for top positions – in fact oveer 165,000,000 ! Plus tons of Google Ads over many pages.

This indicates that in a so-called economic crisis Art still seems to be a hot commodity, although the Press often paints a very different if not sinistre picture.

Being an artist myself and having created Artist Portraits for television, I work on ways of presenting Art online in a way that everybody can encounter this fascinating medium that envelops us in energy fields that connect us to our inner truth. And it exercises our thinking muscle and maybe – just maybe – encourages to break free. Some Artwork resonnates, others doesn’t – however, there is a quiet dialogue, unencumbered by the treachery of the spoken word… so often abused to this very day.

Exactly that was captured by the Art Exhibition “The Human Abused” by German sculptor, Guenther Uecker, in February 2011, in The District Six Museum in Cape Town, South Africa. I had come to see my friend and his latest work after so many years – and spontaneous snapshots turned into a website featuring an Art Documentation.

Art Exhibitions Websites

While I reported extensively on this Art Exhibition at the time, what interests me now while designing my new Web Design Showcase – and obviously including Art Exhibition Websites – is the performance on search engines. While nothing much can be said at this early stage and given the massive search returns as per above, what is quite astounding is the fact that we already feature right at the top of page 2 in terms of Images for Art Exhibitions Website – see the screenshot below.

What does an Artist need online?

While most artists are represented by galleries, there are many artists who wish to be in control and present themselves on the Internet. So the question is: What does an Artist need online?

Here as in most of the other chapters where products and/or services are being sold it’s about presenting the artist’s oeuvre in an appealing way on one hand… but most importantly the artist’s website needs to be visible on Google where people would look for it.

Of course, artists normally brand their name and people interested in their work would look them up under that name – so they don’t need Google for that. However, why then is there such fierce competition  among Art Exhibition Websites?

If you are an artist, think about it and consider what you could do yourself and your career. Branding your work under your own name and in your own style should be conducive to building your reputation online. And while we do no longer work in Flash since the rapid evolution of the mobile web where Flash does not show, we have adapted the latest technology to make your work stand out and be found – even on an iPhone!

Fine Homes at the top of Google

When it comes to Media Marketing Online regarding Fine Homes, Real Estate and Property there’s one place you need to be seen when visitors are looking for you: on Google Top 10. I refer to my article on “Fine Homes Websites” 22 hours ago HERE and wish to give you the evolution in terms of search engine optimization further down… you will find Fine Homes at the top of Google!

Fine Homes at the top of Google

After less than a day, “Fine Homes Websites” are at the top of Google regarding this specific keyword as you see on the screenshot below. I can’t tell you how fast the article got there as I just checked it now, after 22 hours. Enough to say: mission fullfilled – and this at no extra cost!

What price do you pay?

This is totally remarkable given the fact that I am neither a real estate agent nor do I have anything to do with property marketing – I focus on elegant and highly optimized custom Web Design for any field of interest. Neither do I have the help of a domain name nor can I look back on a history of targeted blogging in this field. So in a way I’m the new kid on the blog (!) with this article – yet we look again at the number one position on Google.

Ask yourself: what price do you pay to get there… that is IF you are there in the first place… and are you seen where customers are looking for your products and services?

If this is not the case and if your online advertising doesn’t get you the desired results despite the money you are spending on an ongoing basis, it may be time to reevaluate and contact me for a search engine efficient web design setup that will get you there… the proof is in the screenshot!

Fine Homes Websites

For owners of real estate the wish may arise at some stage to document their precious property – either for their own pleasure or if they plan to sell in the future. While the Internet abounds with Fine Homes websites, there are really different ways of presenting one’s most treasured private space.

Look at an example of a truly outstanding architectural masterpiece nestled in the beautiful surroundings of Cape Town, South Africa, which I included in my brand-new Web Design Showcase.

Fine Homes Websites

Besides giving a truthful image of what really exists and makes the charme of the property – be it big or small – , the real art in developing Fine Homes Websites is to feel into the inner space of the building or house and express it within its natural setting, thus creating an atmosphere of the whole. I adore those masters of architectural photography who go beyond horizontals and verticals and find ways of reflecting the soul – be it in colours or black and white. What an inspiration and source for learning…

As such, captivating images in form of digital photography are the essence of all web design for real estate and property.

Semiomantics Evolution 2012

However, if it comes to sales, visibility on Google Top 10 is what counts… and as my new Showcase is designed on the brand-new WP based Semiomantics Evolution 2012 – I do the daily test of how my posts actually perform on search engines.

Again, I am amazed to see my brief post popping up as Number 11 of 38,500 000 search returns on Google! WOW… not yet on page 1… but if you consider the competition on “Fine Homes” and the fact that this is my very first little post on a new website – it’s truly astonishing and perfectly convincing- yes?

If you wish to document or present your home online, and you like my style HERE, please don’t hesitate to contact me!

We stand for “Web Design with Passion”!

Gorgeous Gardens Website

Gorgeous Gardens is an important category on my new SHOWCASE under development featuring some of my web design, media design and digital photography over the past year. If you have a nursery, run a flower shop, grow plants or you just love gardening as much as I do and wish to share your passion, art and photography with the world, then consider working with me on your own, fully personalized and optimized Gorgeous Gardens Website. It won’t cost you an arm and a leg – but the joy and satisfaction it will bring you and anyone visiting your beautiful website is simply priceless!

Gorgeous Gardens Website

Creating a Gorgeous Gardens Website is about beauty – meaning captivating photography and why not drawings, sketches, paintings – art in brief. It strongly appeals to our fantasy and our senses – especially the visual sense… and if we all know how intense and exhilarating the fragrances can be!

Imagine a field of lavender buzzing with bees… a wild star jasmine snaking up its way in an old tree… not to mention a rose…!

Picking a wild berry and eating it straight from the twig while hearing the wind rustling through leaves, the cheerful songs of birds and the graceful sound of chimes projects us into a fairy world where we can release and let go… feel One with all that is and refuel on energy.

Gorgeous Gardens on Google

Sorry for pulling you out of the picture for a moment here – but as we are talking websites and web design: the fact is that what we see is only one part of the story.

The important tuning happens behind the scenes with the right script – I use WP based Semiomantics Scripts only – plus the right way of editing and publishing. It’s a Science by itself, but essential to reach top rankings on search engines.

Here is a screenshot of my first little post on that brand-new website yesterday and look how it performed on Google! “Gorgeous Gardens” on Google Top 10! Ahead of 16,6 million search entries!!!

Nursery or Flower Shop Owner?

What does this mean to you as a Nursery or Flower Shop owner?

It means that your website would be visible where you want it to be seen by your visitors, readers and potential customers. At the end of the day you are running a business and your online investment into a pulling website should serve its purpose: bringing you customers that enable you to continue living your passion while giving them the best service!

Please don’t hesitate to contact me anytime and let me assist you in expressing yourself in an attractive and efficient way online.

You will simply love it…

Little Monster in my Garden

One of the many wondrous ‘side effects’ when living a life close to Nature and focused on a Green Environment is that one observes also the little things… and here I was totally blown away by this little monster in my garden: a baby blue lizard … in more scientific terms an “Agama hispida”, i.e.  a member of the Agamidae family, also called “Koggelmander” in South Africa.

I had come across a beautiful male a few years ago… and never saw it again. And now this tiny and extremely fast and wizzy creature with finely designed hands and toes, as long as my small finger! Just too beautiful!

So there has to be a female around as well! As they are less colorful than the males, they are more difficult to spot. Being oviparous, they lay 7-10 eggs… and hopefully some of this lot survived! Being very freedom-loving it’s very special to have them around.

Little Monster in my Garden

It was quite hectic to capture this little monster in my garden; I guess only its own curiosity made it sit for some instants to watch me – before it would zoom-fly-jump-squirrel away at lightning speed and suddenly pop up at a totally different spot – or disappear.

South Africa is home to over 200 lizard species, making it the richest and most spectacular area for lizard diversity in continental Africa. There are 8 different families, of which the Agamids are one – quite closely related to the chameleons… of which we used to have some very tame ones – coming down the trees onto our hands – until they suddenly disappeared.

Hopefully we see more of these little monsters popping up here…

Proteas South Africa

Autumn in Noordhoek, South Africa, is that time of the year where the long-awaited rains bring relief to Nature and our gardens… and the first heavy storms rip off branches and leaves and let more sunlight fall onto the plants and groundcover underneath shrubs and trees.

It’s when lots of work has to be done to prepare for winter… and as the soil is moist and soft and the time just feels right… it’s ideal to get in the bulbs, sow seeds and buy some of those magnificent plants grown directly in Kirstenbosch Gardens, one of the world’s top Botanical Gardens offering a spectacular mirror especially for the vast range of proteas of South Africa. The Cape region is in fact called “The richest Floral Kingdom of the World”.

Proteas South Africa

The species “Proteas” was named after the Greek God Proteus, who – just like proteas come in a vast variety of different shapes and forms – could change his appearance and assume many different shapes to surprise his entourage! It seems the Western Cape region and Greece have lots in common – not only the mild Mediterranean climate!

What a joy to discover another flower of the magnificent Protea “Pink Ice” in the morning sunshine – see my digital photo above!

This “protea susannae” is a hybrid growing so well in full sun and the acid soil on our mountain slope here. Besides needing some pruning after flowering, they are pretty strong and self-sufficient. I only add some bonemeal when I plant and a little old horse manure; our indigenous plants get no fertilizer!

Although proteas in South Africa are exported on a large scale as they are so good as cut flowers, I love to see these dignified flowers explode in natural surroundings dancing with the fairies; I have a hard time cutting them… and rarely do. I rather go out to admire them wherever they choose to thrive.

Of course, proteas – some called sugar bushes – are awlays a center of attraction for birds and bees who have a feast in pink paradise!