Winter August flowering into Spring

What flowers are in our garden in August? Still winter, but we have had rain and the winter snow grows as I watch. Sometimes in quiet horror. That handful of gravel is all you can still see of this path, which is next on the list for weeding and cutting back. For clearing, so the cats can still get thru. They make it quite obvious when they are not satisfied with their garden service.

In our kind and temperate climate, mid-winter rolling into Spring Day on the 1st September, the ash trees are already covered in fresh lime green leaves, luminous against the blue mountains in the distance. That white marguerite daisy has pretensions of becoming A Tree next year. Covered in flowers and buds.

I pruned the roses at the beginning of August. They have russet bunches of healthy new leaves, fat buds, and the first generous flowers are coming. We have a rolling wall of self sown nasturtiums around the gravel turning space outside the garage.

I love bulbs. Freesias are coming into bloom and I bring the best pot into the living-room, where the fragrance wafts over me in the evening. Lemon yellow and pink striped Oxalis, with friend thanks to my new Canon. Tulbaghia. Orange and yellow Chasmanthe which have such large heavy flower heads that the plants keep keeling over. Should have planted them deeper.

We’ve done the august-daisy-chain-walk blooming their little hearts out. An earlier generation of naturalists would pull out a magnifying glass, we use the macro and gaze in wonder at the details that emerge on the computer screen. Little lives lived out beneath our unknowing gaze.

On our Karoo Koppie most of the aloes have faded, but the next wave of flowers is coming. Burnt orange Cotyledon orbiculata for the sunbirds. Euphorbia mauretanica bought for these magnificent lime green flowers, sulked in the rose garden, too hot. Was moved here, then sulked some more, Because You Moved Me. But now at last I have the flowers I was waiting for. Crassula called Pink Joy. And Lampranthus in yellow and yellow and pink (and purple and white and red, but not here).

Indigenous sage. Burnt orange Salvia africana-lutea, and a very soft and gentle pinky-mauve Salvia dolomitica.

Turn to Paradise, the rose garden. Begin at the dark side. Autumn Fire. Red colours. Prunus nigra planted for the dark leaves, is doing Lighten our Darkness. Scarlet pelargonium flames in the darkness.

Then to Spring Promise. Any colour, so long as it is pink. Lavender Jade miniature rose coming into bloom.

And Winter Chill. With yet another of my favourite pelargoniums. Nutmeg scented. Someone was looking for a pelargonium with a leaf like gingko? Pelargonium fragrans 'Nutmeg'  

And ending with Summer’s Gold. Yellow Dimorphotheca jucunda. A Tropical Sunset striped rose.

It is green. There is lots of colour and it is growing like mad. Ungardening Pond is holding water and the wagtails are delighted to be able to putter along the shore foraging for dinner. The raucous toad is honking in my ear.


As most of my plants are indigenous to South Africa, except the obvious (roses, lavender, nasturtiums, ash trees, flowering plum and marguerite daisies) this is my bit for Gail at Clay and Limestone who does a Wildflower-Wednesday

Pictures and words by Diana of Elephant's Eye