The Zimbabwean Gardener Issue 19 Summer 2016/17 | Page 3

editor’s letter
THE GAME CHANGER
OUR GARDENING TREND IS NOW PURELY FOCUSED ON OUR WATER LIMITATIONS.
Another year is behind us, and we have
another one to look forward to and we
will wait with much anticipation to see
what 2017 will bring. The Zimbabwean
Gardener had an interesting year, as we
knew we had to keep up with magazine
design trends or we would be lost to the
drowning seas of the magazine racks.
With the help of a wonderful friend, we
gave life to a new design and cover that
breathed a fresh take on gardening for
Zimbabweans.
In the gardening world, trends are
generally based on the colour of
the year, food and health fads or the
design concept of the year; the general
worldwide trend for 2017 focuses on
growing your own food, which is a
very inspiring one. In Zimbabwe, our
main trend is currently based on our
water supply. And as quickly as our
trend is changing, I must congratulate
Zimbabwean nurseries and gardeners for
being on trend or putting a foot in the
right direction. This trend has not been
an easy one, as many of us have stepped
into unchartered waters and changed our
ideal lush flower beds into the humble
and unfamiliar water wise ones.
wonderful contributors for their inspiring
articles, regardless of the subject; I know
that your articles have had a profound
impact on our many readers. beautiful venue to enjoy a drink or a
dinner with friends. The Williams family
have sure joined forces in making this
place a success!
Also, a big thank you to our cover girl,
Kirsty Benning, who runs the Jam Tree
Market on Thursday mornings. She did a
wonderful job in preparing the stalls for
the photo shoot. I would also like to thank
her sister, Asher, for allowing us to use
her beautiful boutique shop, Kisses for
Jack, at The Jam Tree for the ‘Keep it cool
this summer’ photo shoot. The Jam Tree,
which is run by their brother,
Paul Williams, and Nathan Hook, is a To all ye readers and contributors,
and to the people I will convert into
Zimbabwean Gardener readers one day,
I wish you all a very Merry Christmas
and may 2017 be your most happiest and
water wise one yet!
Happy gardening!
Kari Olivey
They say it normally takes generations
for change to happen, but in true
Zimbabwean style, we have made a plan,
adjusted and started to mulch. We are not
there yet. We, both you and me, still have
lots to learn and more water to harvest.
We have to thank the game changers,
those who have put their necks out onto
the gardeners’ chopping block to remind
us that mulching is an absolute must,
and that green lush lawns during the
dry seasons are not. Many of the game
changers are the passionate writers who
contribute to the magazine and share
their knowledge with us; they make us
Zimbabwean gardeners, trendy gardeners
and water wise gardeners. I thank all the
Kisses for Jack (top left), Kirsty Benning (top right), and The Jam Tree restaurant
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