June flowers in red and yellow

Starting last Christmas, around the 25th, my camera and I stroll thru the garden to see what is in bloom this month. Not an exhaustive archive, nor when did it open. Just the OTT, in your face impression. Right now it is red flowers. And yellow flowers. Or red AND yellow flowers for a change? June, winter, is our garden at its most flamboyant and exuberant. Everything that is green is growing. With a lush ankle deep layer of Oxalis 'three-leafed-clover' everywhere it can be.

The OTT prize goes to the Japanese flowering quince we inherited.
Because it is a flowering shrub it is a wash, a billow, a tsunami of pink coral salmon, not quite red, but much louder. Noel who lives in Hawaii has a hot-loud-proud meme. This month we are washing in on our tsunami of quince flowers.

Second prize goes to the flaming torch of the Kniphofia, bought as yellow, I guess the lower flowers do mature to yellow.

We have Strelitzias. Nicolai which is at the creeping stage, and will get hugely tall (with quiet white and blue flowers). The original species regina, and also Mandela's Gold in yellow and a gentler blue. The species with its implausible combination of electric orange and blue used to match our old flag, William of Orange tracing back to the country's Dutch roots.

The Karoo Koppie is awash with red aloes, and a carpet of yellow Oxalis. More yellow each day as the waves of flowers open. We have the aloes we brought with us from the first garden, and a few special ones we added when the Karoo Koppie was planted, and the third wave rescued from our neighbour. Who ripped them all out, off to the dump, just before they flowered, and who now has a blank scorched earth patch inside his side gate?!

Our mostly indigenous succulents (there's also an Aeonium in there for the maroon leaves) offer a multi-layered tapestry with their leaves. Regardless of whether there are flowers or not.

Snow on the mountains, but never frost in the garden, gives us the best of both worlds, with the leaves dancing to the red and yellow tune, when you turn to them.

We have, almost always, some roses. The newest member has the twee name of Tiny Tots. I needed to replace a miniature, which was cooked last summer. This one smells delectable, flowers in cream and apricot. Altogether good enough to eat. Bedded down in a thick layer of peanut shell mulch, as recommended by Ludwig's Roses.  

Above Courvoisier, below Casanova, Karoo Rose

But my first love as we enjoy our winter, with a fire blazing in the evening, and sunny blue sky gardening days is this. Lachenalia rubida. One of our MANY Western Cape indigenous bulbs. Exactly the same luminous colour as that Japanese flowering quince we began with.

Gail at Clay and Limestone has a Wildflower Wednesday meme, so I'll tuck my Lachenalia in there. Noelle my A to Z plantlady (she thinks it stands for Arizona, bit I'm not from the USA) has a monthly garden bouquet meme - for me, June's vase is virtual, with My garden as the virtual container.

Pictures by Jurg and Diana, words by Diana of Elephant's Eye