Author: Editor

This latest Inside Guide has the answers for cold winters!  With a stormy winter on the horizon, we’ve rounded up the cosiest restaurants in Cape Town, where fireplaces provide warmth and atmosphere.

Read more here

Valuator:  Our computer-assisted valuation is now only provided free of charge to property owners in the Southern Suburbs, Constantiaberg and False Bay areas of Cape Town.

The valuation will be sent to you by email.

Valuator is a service marketed by Homeimage (in association with Chas Everitt Cape Town South).  HomeImage provides real estate marketing services such as floor plans, professional property photography.

Your local Chas Everitt agent will be able to review the valuation at your request without any obligation or cost to you.  If you subsequently wish to have a local agent provide you with a more detailed valuation assessment after a viewing of your property, please let them know directly.

Proceed to free property valuation 

There’s always work to be done in the garden to keep green fingers busy – even in winter. Our June gardening guide is packed with tips, from keeping your garden healthy to which vegetables to grow in winter.

Spotlight on: Indoor projects for kids
Keep your children busy these winter holidays with fun indoor-garden projects:

• We love this eggshell succulent garden, and so will your kids. They’re easy to make and an effective way to teach the basics of gardening.
• Dress up ordinary flowerpots with these creative gumboot gardens. They are also the best way to upcycle your old boots!
• Transform an ordinary herb pot into a work of art with just two creative tools: blackboard paint and chalk. Simply paint the rim or base of your terracotta pots (whichever style you prefer) with blackboard paint, then label with the herb name in chalk when it’s dry.

ON YOUR TO-DO LIST FOR JUNE  

Plant and sow

• Plant cool-season bedding plants such as alyssum, calendula, dianthus, lobelia, nemesia, pansies, sweet peas and violas.
• Liliums, azaleas and camellias can be planted in dappled shade.
• Add Brussels sprouts, kale, radish, leeks, onions, turnips and members of the cabbage family (broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and spinach) to your vegetable garden.

Feed

• Feed lemon trees with a 2:3:2 general fertiliser.
• Remedy yellowing leaves with a micro-element mixture such as Trelmix.
• Feed bulbs with bulb food once every two weeks and water well.
• Winter- and spring-flowering seedlings require an organic fertiliser such as Nitrosol or Atlantic All-purpose fertiliser every two weeks with a weekly watering.
• Check the edges of sweet peas. If they’re brown and papery, feed with a 3:1:5 fertiliser.
• Feed indoor plants with Nitrosol weekly.

   Prune & Trim

• Remove side shoots on sweet peas to encourage strong upward growth.
• Trim autumn-flowering shrubs like pride of India, ribbon bush, wild dagga and barleria.
• Prune fruit trees such as peach, plum and apricot.
• Prune roses after transplanting.

 Pests

• Keep an eye out for leaf miner on cinerarias and spray with Bioneem.
• Use Bioneem on conifers to ward off aphids, or dissolve insecticide granules in water to pour at the base of the tree.
• Use organic snail bait for snails on clivias, daffodils and young seedlings.

  Thanks to Stodels for this article

The Best May Events in Cape Town 2019 as curated by The Inside Guide

The Mother of all cities is hotting up with a festive lineup of cool events! Here’s their pick of where to go and what to do in May 2019.

Take a look at The Inside Guide 

Sally Gracie, an experienced local agent and MD of Chas Everitt Cape Town South with offices in Fish Hoek, Tokai and Bergvliet says there are plenty of buyers waiting to take action after the election.

“It is not just an observation based on gut feel, it is the clear imbalance between those viewing properties on the portals and the offers being taken. As an agency that monitors many key indicators, we see an issue here showing considerable interest by buyers but a reluctance to follow through with offers. This usually indicates a confidence issue and it’s clear that at the moment we can attribute this to the imminent elections”, says Sally Gracie.

“We measure four major indicators; the number of people viewing our listings online, the number of appointments that result from this interest and then the number of offers taken and sales concluded,” said Sally.  “When the number of people viewing property increases, but the number of offers taken decreases, then it is clear there is a confidence issue we need to identify. Based on our recent discussions with buyers it is clear that it is not Eskom but the election that is impacting on buyers taking action. “

Sally cautioned sellers to not misread the market. “This situation does not mean that we are expecting an increase in prices as we have had a build-up of stock, in particular at the top end of the market where supply has increased substantially since the start of the year. Sellers need to remain competitive! What is needed is turnover, and we expect that movement will pick up, absorbing the increase in stock that we are currently servicing. I think we can say this is good news for everyone,” she said.

Website: www.cei.co.za

For a free market evaluation email Sally Gracie

Klein Constantia and the two exhumed baboons

Noseweek Issue #234, 1st April 2019
By Adam Welz