This is the first of many posts to come on gardening in South Africa, especially gardening inland, and with a delight in Egoli Granite Grass, the natural grassland fauna of the highveld between the north of Johannesburg and the south of Pretoria. That includes the soulless rolling flats of Midrand, slowly being carpeted with concrete slabs to build office parks and distribution centres. And luxury and “luxury” housing estates that stretch as far as ennui itself.
But still home to the last of the African Giant Bullfrogs, pyxicephalus adspersus.
These things are mad. Weigh a kilo and a half, males fight for the ladies like sumo wrestlers. Watch this video, and have tears of relief and joy as the resolute father keeps his tadpoles alive to live another day.
Video: excerpt from NHK Japan programme 2006. Useful vocab: “otosan” = “father”, “mizu” = “water”
Right, watched that video? Bullfrogs are amazing. They sleep in their holes for years waiting for enough rain, patiently, dreaming of electric bugs.
Mizunomiba is a new business in South Africa, bringing to gardeners, gardening services and farmers great product from Japan.
And Japan has great product, Kamaki brand horticultural tools in particular have a pedigree to die for. Kishimoto Agricultural Tools Co in Hyogo prefecture has been manufacturing the tools for 150 years (exactly … established 1876).
Us South Africans have become inured to cheap and crappy, or eye-wateringly expensive and pretty good.
Kamaki is 30-50% cheaper than Gardena and its ilk, better quality and a finer product.
We started with Kamaki brand, adding Miki for its range of traditional kama (sickles) and bonsai tools. More to come as the seasons roll by.
We are also expert in the tools we sell — how to use them, when, why.
What’s the difference between an anvil pruning shear, and a bypass pruning shear (anvil = thick hard dry woody stems, bypass for thick living green stems where the clean cut reduces trauma to the plant and chance of infection getting in the wound. So now you know.)
Right tool, right price, and sharp as hell. And light … so hours in the garden of you concentrating on the plants, and not on how tired your arms are getting.
Prost! To a great future bringing South Africans the gardening tools they want and need.