For Wildflower Wednesday

We have the long promised rain. Most of these pictures were taken on Sunday, ahead of the – promising snow on the mountains – cold front. All are in our garden, this August. Were you with me, for  August daisy chain walk last year?

Blue Felicia, yellow
and purple Dimorphotheca jucunda,
cream and brown eyed Gazania

My pelargoniums are all the simple species, not this year’s horticultural novelty. With lush fragrant, gracefully formed leaves. No flowers to pick? A handful of lavender, or daisies, or pelargoniums, with a collar of pelargonium leaves – makes a clear statement in a vase.

Pelargoniums

Most bulbs came from Kirstenbosch. Some as plants, the Chasmanthe was meant to be yellow, but some orange snuck in. Some as seeds – Freesia alba. But the Melasphaerula snuck in. That is a thug – delicate fairy bells, but the fairies need to call in Gnome Garden Services to thin them out.

Left yellow and orange Chasmanthe
Above  Freesia alba, below Melasphaerula

Melianthus major

My pots of vlei lilies in Plum Creek are blooming. The Buddleja has just opened its first flowers. Knoffel buchu, garlic buchu is hazed with tiny flowers.

Vlei lily, Buddleja, Dimorhpotheca jucunda, knoffel/garlic buchu

Hypoestes and Freylinia both have rather small flowers. The Salvia (sorry it is too wet to check the label) and Plectranthus neochilus sing in their corners.

Hypoestes, Salvia
Freylinia, Plectranthus neochilus

Bom plantchaser asked about the swag from the Riebeek wotsit nursery. This sweetpea bush Podalyria calyptrata, which gives me the joy of flowers, without having to fuss with planting annual seeds. Besides, there is no open space left. Unplanted yes, but that is claimed by Oxalis pes-caprae, even climbing up to nest in the forks of the trees! Dombeya, Grewia and Brachylaena discolor, planted for the flashing silver beneath the leaves, with a bonus of weird little thistle flowers.

Podalyria calyptrata, Dombeya
Grewia, Brchylaena discolor

The reddest aloes have faded, but the next wave of species is blooming in gentler orangey pinks. Crassula ovata Pink Joy is fading. But this tiny pink jewel vygie with its leaves like rice grains, has popped open.

Aloe, vygie
Crassula ovata, Cotyledon orbiculata

Salvia africana-lutea with burnt orange flowers makes three large loud statements around the waterfall. Tecomaria capensis, I am cutting down/back steadily as the flowers fade.  I let it draw a veil over the pond repairs, but now we need to see the water again.

Salvia africana-lutea
Tecomaria capensis

One of our spekboom Portulacaria afra has glowing golden leaves. Bietou bush tick berry – is the shrub planted by well fed birds. A taller yellow vygie, Lampranthus species. And Bulbinella in the usual tangerine, but also in yellow.

Spekboom, Bietou with berries
Lampranthus, Bulbinella

Finally the Third Act of Waiting for Lunch. The whole drama played out with full cast. Flat yellow Euryops daisy. Crab/flower spider. Unfortunate honeybee called Lunch. With a supporting cast of tiny flies.

Waiting for Lunch on Euryops daisy

Gail at Clay and Limestone hosts Wildflower-Wednesday at the end of each month. 

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.)