A surprise sat on the snake plant.

This cactus is what we call a snake plant, and a critter found a use for it.

My wife was looking through a window at the back and she called me to come and see what was sitting on the snake cactus.

We have big windows that look out on the back gardens, and we try to make all of the small spaces between the walkways attractive. At first, we tried with flowers, but they were no match for the scalding African sun. Fortunately, we had also brought some of our cactus plants along when we moved in here, and now, almost every space is filled with various types of cactuses and succulents.

Now just look at this little adult dwarf gecko. He was looking straight back at us, and we both waved a good morning to him :))

I think that he spotted something to eat down below.

And then he was on his way down to go and check it out. Unfortunately, he was soon below the window sill, and I couldn't get more photos of him.

Just a Red-veined dragonfly (Trithemis arteriosa) that I used as a line break.

Here below are 2 new cactii that we will get at the end of this month, and they are of the Echinopsis family. This one has the beginnings of a flower popping up at the top.

And it seems that this beauty will have some kind of a yellow flower.

And then we also have this strange one below.

This below is a female Elusive Skimmer dragonfly (Orthetrum rubens).

We do have the yellow flower "Christ Thorn", but this muti-colored one will also soon find a space somewhere in the garden.

Finally, this is what we do with all of the little spaces in our gardens. We simply cram them with cacti and succulents.

Being water-wise with the plants is vital in the conserving of our water in this province (and the country). South Africa is known as a water-scarce country and the cactus and succulent families need very little watering occasionally, as they are mostly self-sufficient. The succulent plants store up their water and can also go without water for months, or even years, in times of drought. They almost become dormant during the dry times. "Day Zero", means that our drinking water is almost finished, and we have had such an experience two or three years ago. We are in a better state now, but we don't use a hose for any purposes as we water by hand, and we even wash the car by hand with buckets.

Another way to prevent evaporation in the garden is to mulch. This not only provides nutrients to the soil, but it also prevents the sun from evaporating the water and moisture. And the insects love the environment under the plants, which in turn also draws reptiles and birds for food.

I hope you have enjoyed the pictures and the story.

Photos by Zac Smith-All Rights Reserved.

Camera: Canon PowershotSX70HS Bridge camera.

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