Outside our bedroom, festooning the evil green
plastic rain water tank, I have a wild jasmine Jasminum angulare. For Gailforce at Clay and Limestone’s Wildflower Wednesday. The computer reveals a white crab/flower spider, front legs
raised in an eager invitation to Lunch.
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| White crab/flower spider on wild jasmine |
In the ‘shade’ beneath the ash, who are
shedding leaves cooked by the summer sun, Mackaya
bella blooms. Feeding a tiny bee. Plumbago
flowers hitch a ride on cats and gardeners, sticky little hooks. Tiggers HATE Plumbago! My white pelargoniums stand
hip and even shoulder high, keeling over, top heavy.
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| Left Mackaya bella, Right plumbago and pelargonium |
What lights the garden now are sparkling salmon Pelargonium flames. The
really deep red has only a few scattered blooms. Nerine sarniensis, Jersey lily, but only because our bulb was
shipwrecked there – has already faded that lonely flower.
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| Salmon and red pelargoniums Nerine sarniensis |
On the verandah the Streptocarpus sings on, while I remember to keep its saucer filled
with water. Each independent leaf bears its own pair of flowers. Agapanthus from Christmas have faded
away. Plumbago, blue sage and Plectranthus neochilus blaze on thru the
summer heat. My Clerodendron ugandense
is African, but would prefer more humidity.
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| Streptocarpus, Plectranthus neochilus Blue sage Plumbago, Agapanthus, Clerodendron |
Aptenia cordifolia is an obliging groundcover, lush
succulent leaves, many tiny pink/red fluffy flowers. (Heartleaf, Hearts and
Flowers -- brakvygie will return for
Valentine’s Day!) Phyllis van Heerden Ruttyruspolia
also battles without summer rain. Sugar pink Pelargonium and the more enticing species with delicately marked
petals.
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| Aptenia, two pink pelargoniums Phyllis van Heerden Ruttyruspolia |
A succulent pelargonium is careful not to waste
its effort and water on OTT flowers. Planted for its fiery orange/red leaves a Crassula, with the J and D rocks we
harvested in the Karoo on a distant wedding anniversary.
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| Crassula, succulent pelargonium |
Aller guten Dinge sind
drei. In German
optimistic, in English plodding. Things come in threes. But also, third time lucky! The sedge has a
triangular stem, and flowers are in triplicate. Bullrush peacefully taking over
Apple Creek. At the end of summer we need to cut back, and rediscover some open
water for the reed frogs to click over. Bulbinella
in pots in blistering sun, or leaning over the path to trip up the unwary.
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| Sedge, Bulbinella, bullrush |
My favourite grasses are the ones gifted by
nature. The sedge growing in the pond or the creeks, where its feet reach
water. The Briza quaking grass, we
used to chew green as children. Tall golden wild oats (introduced = foreign!). And the spiky cousin who burrows thru our
socks, clothes, inside our garden boots – and chews us up!
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| Briza, sedge in Ungardening Pond, 'burrowing' grass Wild oats |
I have an ongoing battle with my Swiss husband, who cannot bear to see a plant with leaves hanging. Water, water! Trying to convince him, it would be like going out into a Swiss garden with a hairdryer to defrost. Wish me luck!
In January 2010. A year ago.
This year our garden will claim the time my blog devoured. Looking at a four year old garden thru blog
eyes, it ‘finishes’ either jungle (prune hard, rejuvenate, harvest cuttings to
spread around this March) or sadly (failed, move to shade, try again). As catmint in Melbourne wrote of levels-of-garden – to see the garden that IS there, not the vision in my
mind.
Pictures and words by Diana of Elephant's Eye
- wildlife gardening in Porterville, near Cape Town in South Africa
(If you mouse over brown text, it turns shriek pink. Those are my links.)
