EDITED in May 2014
Mid-month garden walks were going to be about commonorgarden foreign exotic plants. On Friday I will return to the next quarter of the Paradise And Roses garden. Lots of colour in the garden now, and it delights me that it is all indigenous/native. Except Salvia greggei and our sunbirds love that.
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| Hemizygia |
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| The Woodland we planted, Chasmanthe sprouting under the ash trees, looking over Grewia occidentalis ?? to the pond |
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| Brunsvigia with the flat leaves Boophane with the twirled hourglass leaves |
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| Bulbs bulbs bulbs!!! Dietes our wild iris |
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| Yellow Aloe |
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| Orange Aloe, Crassula Cotyledon orbiculata buds turning colour |
Belinda – Wild Acre Hallelujah-its-raining-rain – growing cut flowers sustainably in England, where they have been experimenting with a hot dry mediterranean summer.
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| Plumbago, Chrysanthemoides monilifera Salvia greggei, Phyllis van Heerden |
Guenstig Gaertner – a wordsmith whose blog is best appreciated for the way her words sing and dance, if you can read a little German. And I can see from her German comments, that her readers come for the wordsmithing!
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| Tecomaria all the way |
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| Two common hairtail on Grewia occidentalis ?? |
I like to see the world thru foreign eyes, so most of these blogs are in languages where I rely on Google’s instant machine translation. Very much is ‘lost in translation’ but as these blogs all use pictures, you get the gist. If you use Google Chrome, right click will offer you Translate into English (or your chosen language). You can also set it to Always translate Spanish, Never translate German …
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| Strelitzia regina The first flower, opening as I watch! |
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.
- wildlife gardening in Porterville,
near Cape Town in South Africa
(If you mouse over brown text, it turns shriek pink.
Those are my links)
I like the Boophane - what unusual leaves. Somtimes I do wonder why plants look the way they do.
ReplyDeleteWill check out some of your sprouts!
Dear Diana, I was pleasantly surprised from the first day and you still amaze me today, your comments are always special, like the post I read. As you say, machine translation does lose some charm to the original writing, but with a little effort is made understandable to the reader. I browsed your blog with interest selected to go into your world view from outside your country, I agree with you on the need to live elsewhere, even from the perspective of a blogger in the distance. Nice to meet you, or find, depending how you look. Sorry if some expression is misplaced.
ReplyDeleteDear Diana - I did not realise that Guru Blotanists really were gurus! I just thought that you had a 'hotline' to Stuart. Reading through your post makes me realise how much energy, enthusiasm and kindness you put into mentoring new Blotanists. Admirable! I'm afraid my mentoring, and general exploring, is happening mostly in the classroom these days. There are no more than 5 blogs that I can claim to be 'following' now, for there simply is not the time. Even for my own blog... I have downloaded but not processed over 150 pictures taken on Sunday, and I doubt if I will get to them at all this week. Oh, for 40 hours in the day! ;) Jack
ReplyDeleteI forgot something in my last comment - Thank you for your patience when you mentored me and Barbie. Without your persistence I think we might not have persevered, and we we are having so much fun being "Blotanists" - Thank you for being such an amazing mentor to us - we both appreciate it tremendously. Xxx
ReplyDeleteI hadn't realised one can right click to translate. Handy!
ReplyDeleteEsther
You've mentored twice the number I have, it seems. Good for you. Of course, with one exception, most of my "Sprouts" haven't been asking for help. Okay then!
ReplyDeleteChristine - the Ungardener didn't recognise his own Woodland Walk ;~) The trees are now a little taller than we are, but ON the path you don't realise that. Looking across the garden, all is revealed.
ReplyDeleteSusan - Nell Jean also said her sprouts don't ask for help. Mine don't ask exactly, but I poke, gently ... I remember when Christine told me she'd had it, Blotanical is not for her ... but she sorted the feed and hasn't looked back.
What you see of our garden on the blog, is the plated presentation at your table, not the chaos in the kitchen!
Your woodland walk is stunning! And I really love those hairtails. Some day I will figure out how to use Blotanical. Until then, it seems like you are doing a fabulous job :)
ReplyDeleteHi, Diana. I am not much of a gardener, but your flowers are great. Forgive me, but I just can't stop saying that your site provides me the respite when I am snowed under. When I feel like I need a breather, I come here and do so...and, you never disappoint. Thanks, Diana. You, your blog and your beautiful living things are such blessings. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for my blogaversary wishes. And thanks for a wonderful wander through your garden! Most entertaining and interesting and visually stunning. I loved the hairtial butterflies the best.
ReplyDeleteYou are indeed a guru, Diana, or like a mother hen, tucking chicks under your wing.
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful day/evening.
Oh the Blotanical feed problems are so disorienting. Glad I've got a few months under my belt or I'd be really confused I think.
ReplyDeleteSusan in the pink hat: I'd say you were a very efficient mentor. Plus I consider myself a "shoot", not a "sprout". ;-)
Even as a non-garden blogger I always enjoy visiting your blog and seeing your and other gardens. Specially seeing that I don't have much of one.
ReplyDeleteYou plants look so...Southern Californian. Thanks to South Africa for sending us so many wonderful plants that have set up household half a world away. Thanks too for your explanations about what's happening in Blotanical-land. The mounting site issues have made me an ex-pat, ex-Blot, and I look forward to the revamped version. In the meantime your post has given me some new places to visit.
ReplyDeletelovely foliage in the first few pics... very cool.
ReplyDeleteI love the boophane! It's the kind of exotic I would find a place for, if I ever saw one in my part of the world. I am looking forward to the blotanical revamp ...I think!
ReplyDeleteLove the yellow aloe - and your woodland! Followed some of the links too, though not via Blotanical ;-)
ReplyDeleteDear Diana, many tnx for ur kind attention :)
ReplyDeleteDear Diana, Thank you for another walk around your amazing garden. Thanks also for introducing newbies. They are lucky to have your sage advice. I really enjoy Blotanical, but have to limit my time there, because it can become addictive, and I have so many other commitments. Consequentially, it is taking me a very long time to reach Guru status. I'll get there eventually. P. x
ReplyDeletePam - 3 points for picking, and 2 for each message you leave - surprising how quickly it adds up. Slow and steady wins the race, and enjoys the journey ;~)
ReplyDelete