The Architectural Beautiful House of South Africa Shoprite CEO Whitey Basson

The home is a wide low building of amazing architecture, surrounded by nature and the art of winemaking.


Situated on the banks of the Blaauwklippen river, Klein DasBosch is a small yet tranquil and beautiful estate. Home to Whitey Basson and his family the house sprawls before a placid pond replete with ducks and a central island.

Klein DasBosch itself only has five hectares of vineyards.

Log Cabin No More

Yearn for the comfort and ambiance of your own traditional log cabin but are really a 21st century eco-citizen? No need to make compromises with the eco-friendly and modern-designed Wall Mount Bio Fuel Fireplaces by Fireside America.

Fireside America has created a smokeless and vent-less fireplace that can be easily mounted or inserted into a wall and weighs under 50lbs -combining old-fashioned function with modern form.

Fireside Amercia Caprise
Bio Fuel Fireplace
$1,538.00

Unlike other eco-friendly fireplaces, bio-flame is a high-tech clean burning fireplace created to run on a highly refined ethanol which is nonstop fed into the fire and produces no harmful gases, smoke, ashes or soot. Who needs a plasma screen television, when you can cozy up with a hot chocolate and watch the flicker of flames all night?

Fireside Amercia Fiorenzo
Wall Mount Bio Fuel Fireplace
$1,594.00

Review of the Year 2009

Has a year really passed since I was sitting here doing the review of 2008? It seems about five minutes ago. But in three days it´s going to be 2010, so here´s a look back at what has happened this year...

On January 1st we were in Germany and it was snowing. But that didn´t stop me getting myself to the local garden centre and stocking up on seeds for the year. Sadly it wasn´t to be a particularly good year on the balcony - too much work and having to be away a lot meant that I had much less time to spend on gardening, and the casualty rate was high. So if you don´t remember having seen photos of many of the plants in the seed packets, well that´s why.

Back in Milan and the bad weather continued, meaning that most of my gardening happened indoors. At the end of the month I posted on looking after Scindapsus - a plant which people often scorn, but which personally I love having around.

By February the weather was getting better, and it was time to start preparing for the year. A balcony may not be quite so time-consuming as a garden, but there´s still plenty to do clearing up after the winter and preparing for spring. See here for a checklist. February was also the month when I posted about how my cooking tended to revolve around the herb savory - and how I was planning to grow it on the balcony in 2009. Sadly it was one of the failures, but I´ll be trying again this year.

March arrived, and suddenly things were blooming again. Much to my surprise, the tulip bulbs which I´d planted for the second year running were the greatest success of the season. So much for all the books which said that tulip bulbs planted in containers should be thrown away after flowering. They´ve gone in again this year - we shall see.

In April, I was also planting salad and veg. But we´ll draw a veil over that one. If my flower gardening wasn´t greatly successful this year, the kitchen garden was a disaster. It produced exactly two French beans ... But then, when your packet of lettuce seeds assures you you´ll be harvesting tomatoes, I suppose failure is to be expected. Confused? So was I - click here.



May. If the balcony isn´t looking good in May, then it never will be. My pride and joy this year was my little campanula, which bloomed its heart out for me all month.

June was pretty good too, with nasturtiums, petunias and surfinia, pelargoniums, hollyhocks and begonias all in full bloom. And for the first time ever, I managed to persuade the great tits and blue tits which live in the garden surrounding the flat to come on to the balcony to feed.

In July we were off to England - where I found my garden completely overgrown. The photo below shows what used to be the rose bed. Two months hard work followed, to get it back to some semblance of order. I planted a lot of bulbs and other stuff while I was there - and hope to get back soon to see how they are doing.

However, the overgrown state of the garden meant that it had become a haven for wildlife - including a family of foxes, who soon realised that dinner was on offer nightly. Not too much - we wouldn´t be there to provide for them forever and the young ones had to learn to forage for themselves. But enough to encourage them to come and check us out every evening.

In September my son and I went to the sea for ten days - to Eraclea Mare, not far from Venice. It was undoubtedly the best two weeks of the year.



On one of our many walks and bike rides into the lagoon, I spotted a buzzard circling high above us.

September also brought the honour of being voted "Best Container Gardening Blog" on Blotanical - something I truly didn´t expect as the competition was so strong.

In October I found a mystery plant had self seeded itself in one of the containers. But several people who read the post were able to identify it as Kalanchoe daigremontiana - or Mother of Thousands. Sadly it succumbed to the sudden drop in temperature we had in December. It was looking very sorry for itself when I left for Christmas holidays, and I very much doubt if it will have made it.

But on a cheerier note, October was also the month when the Hummingbird Hawkmoth visited the balcony.


In November the chrysanthemums were in bloom ....

... and it was also the month when Bilbo the garden gnome visited the Balcony Garden. for those of you who don´t know him, he´s doing a world tour, and visiting people´s blogs along the way. When he left me, he went off to Sweden to visit Gittan and play in the snow..

In December the weather turned chilly and it was time to cover up the balcony before the first sprinkling of snow fell. Everything was covered with fleece and moved back against the warmth of the walls of the flat. But temperatures were about to fall to a record -14C (that´s 7F). That happened the day we left for Germany again, so I´ve not yet seen what damage it´s done. Will anything have survived?

So, the year has come full circle, and in a couple of days will start again. It was a busy, and at times hectic year, but without real ups and downs. I had little time for the balcony (and some months even less for blogging) and it showed in the results. So my goal for next year is to find the time again, and to have the balcony looking as good as it has in some past years. And of course, to get a few more than two French beans ....

To everyone who´s followed the Balcony Garden over the past year, I hope you have a very, very

Happy New Year!

Modern Luxury Mansion in Bryanston, South Africa

This Property is worth 20 Million Rands!

5 Bedrooms and 7 bathrooms with sweeping view of the estate.

Castle in Vumba area of Mutare, Zimbabwe

"The Castle", Upper Vumba - Peri-urban (Mutare)

Beautiful romantic Castle with stunning views of Vumba and overlooking Leopard Rock Golf Course.
Ideal Honeymoon destination.

The Castle provides unique and exclusive accommodation for small groups of guests — (maximum eight as a single booking).

USD110.00/person dinner & B&B. As there are many steep old-worldy steps to climb, accommodation is preferable for the agile. Being unlicenced, guests are required to bring their own beers, wines and spirits. Mixers and minerals are available.

The Castle comprises of two lounges with fire places, dining room, guest's terrace and four bedrooms with three bathrooms of which the Garden bedroom is en-suite.

Built on the very original "Leopard Rock" and at the base of the Enchanted Forest, The Castle views are breath-taking with sunrise to the east over the Chikamba Dam in Mozambique and sunset over the Leopard Rock golf-course nearby and far-away hills and valleys to the west.

For golf lovers, the picturesque Leopard Rock Hotel golf course is a mere 5 minutes walk away. 

On 2.8948 hectares,

Small Country Hotel
Constructed of stone under concrete/asbestos
Bottom Lounge
Dining room with sprung floor
Fitted kitchen with double stainless steel sink
Walk-in Pantry
Top Lounge carpetted with fireplace
Balcony Tiled terrace
Bedroom 1 with toilet with hand basin
Main Bedroom ensuite with bath, toilet, basin
Lower Bedroom, Shower, toilet, basin
Upstairs Bedroom
Garden Bedroom ensuite with bath, toilet, basin and
built-in dressing table.
Terrace Bathroom with shower, toilet, basin
Adjoining storeroom, Office/Bedroom

OUTBUILDINGS:
Workers accommodation

Concreted Driveway
Beautiful romantic gardens

Water Supply:Mountain stream - gravity to Castle