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| Hail on the 11th August |
Picking up my Dozen-for-Diana meme, the first six were easy and
obvious. Now the choices are wider and fuzzier. If I keep my choice appropriate
to August, winter, cold – then it must be a small garden appropriate version of flaming red aloes in the Karoo.
'Small leaf syndrome' among the first seven begs the contrast of a plant
with dramatic big leaves. The first Dozen included the arum lily, but that is seasonal, would like
wet feet – and I've already chosen my one plant for the tiny pond, my can't live without bulb. Would love a Melianthus, and I learn from Northern
gardeners who coax their plants thru winter, that I can cut back last year’s
woody growth to the ground. But the plant is still a little OTT in our climate.
My severely pruned plant is already rubbing shoulders with me, and I've harvested two cuttings to spread the feathery blue leaves to Apple and Plum
Creeks.
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| Despite snow on the mountains, the birds queue for a bath |
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| High Tea at Spirulino's |
Wish list – tough climate adapted, big statement
leaves, winter flaming flowers. I’ll take the Cotyledon orbiculata again. The leaves are always
garden-worthy for Pam @ Digging's Foliage Follow-Up. The flowers are good to look at. Especially when the malachite sunbirds bring added wildlife value.
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| Cotyledon orbiculata leaves |
Amenable to being cut back and rejuvenated by
striking cuttings, when it gets leggy. Makes a clear statement in a pot, alone
or with friends – I have one at the hot end of the path in Paradise and Roses.
My virtual courtyard garden would have a north-facing wall catching the
afternoon sun. There I could sneak in a token Karoo Koppie, a Karoo Corner. With a smaller aloe, a Crassula, a Lampranthus, a Euphorbia? August’s choice is pig’s
ears. And again
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| Cotyledon orbiculata flowers, far left split by a nectar-robbing bird |
I’ve pruned the roses with revenge and even the
half-hearted ones are bouncing back with great bunches of fresh wine-dark
leaves exploding from dormant buds. When we get thru this weather towards
September and spring is coming, I’ll continue with the heavy pruning, weeding
and rediscovering the original landscaping which has gone a little fuzzy in
places. It is disconcerting quite how much the garden has grown just in the few
days I spent in Cape Town with my mother.
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| Eight plants in Dozen for Diana |
What is your big-leaved plant? The interesting
one that garden visitors are drawn to? The one that makes the planting scheme
come to life? What gives your garden look at me colour?
Pam's English Cottage Garden in the Poconos Pennsylvania has a cornucopia - with her August choice a gentle pink milkweed, with Monarch!
PlantPostings in Wisconsin has fallen for crape myrtle, Pride of India to me. She for the flowers, I for the peeling shiny bark and the graceful branching.
Pam's English Cottage Garden in the Poconos Pennsylvania has a cornucopia - with her August choice a gentle pink milkweed, with Monarch!
PlantPostings in Wisconsin has fallen for crape myrtle, Pride of India to me. She for the flowers, I for the peeling shiny bark and the graceful branching.
Donna near Oneida Lake NY of Garden'sEyeview brings the magic of forging a sword for a Celtic sorcerer. Clethra alnifolia sweet-pepperbush.
Pictures by Jurg and Diana
words by Diana of Elephant's Eye
- wildlife gardening in Porterville,
near Cape Town in South Africa
near Cape Town in South Africa
(If you mouse over brown text, it turns shriek pink.
Those are my links.)
Those are my links.)
It's always tough to visualize snow down there in your mountains as I suppose I mistakenly think it's only a Northern Henisphere phenomena aside from the Southern Hemisphere Antarctic. LOL
ReplyDeleteLove those pictures of the birds. Almost sparrow-like and yet different as well. Only big leafed plant we have in our yards are Rhubarb which can often get raided by neighbours if you're not looking. Usually the Somalia immigrant kids out foraging for Mum.
I've lately been writing about Göteborg's Desert Life 2012 theme this year. Appears to be quite alot of succulant varieties from your neck of the woods being used. also Crocosmia 'Lucifer' (hate that name - should be renamed) flowering plants which evidently come from down your way. I miss the deserts and have written about immitation or Faux Desert Scapes by using plants substitutes which have similar patterns and colouration to them. The gardens there have some great examples though I doubt the caretakers really know what they have.
Hard to for me to imagine cold down there, but southern Africa I guess has areas more similar to Europe than elsewhere. I see your various wines at our stores up here in Svenskland.
Those spring or winter planted fields are a beautiful site. The Canola or Rapseed as they refer to it here are beautiful as well. Lots of Rapseed fields in Sweden.
Maybe in September I'll do a latitude, where are you, meme again. We are a long way down south, but New Zealand is even further towards Antarctica.
DeleteSnow in the southern hemisphere. Yes. It's winter here now and we are in the middle of the ski season.
DeleteTry http://thefieldofgold.blogspot.co.nz/ for some snow landscape in the south Some of the mountains in the first post (Dark Park) are 4000 metres high. Kerry
So beautiful! Those mountains are so great. We don't have any mountains here in Finland, only some hills...
ReplyDeleteI lift my eyes to the quiet hills - is where my heart sings.
DeleteHigh Tea certainly is popular in your garden. I'm still trying to encourage the birds to eat more than breadcrumbs from the ground. Even the sunbirds are ignoring my sugar water feeder.
ReplyDeleteIt has been cold hasn't it. There is still snow remaining on top of the mountains behind Swellendam - a sight to behold as I draw back the curtains every morning :)
Will you have a Sunbird Garden with nectar plants?
DeleteDiana - I have seen them round the aloe flowers - both male and female ones. But - they haven't discovered the sugar water yet...
Deleteawww your so lucky, I love watching birds playing in the water and taking baths.. it's so peaceful.
ReplyDeleteWhen I think of South Africa, I think of exotic flowers and never of snow. How high are those mountains?
ReplyDelete2077 metres. There is a band of mountains swinging from the Cederberg beyond us, to Cape Town, and then reaching up to the Drakensberg.
DeleteThat first picture of the mountains with the snow, it's gorgeous !!!!
ReplyDeleteWhen you say it is cold do you have frosts then ?
We have the best of both worlds, living down with the canola fields and no frost.
DeleteThe shot of the snow on the mountain with canola in the foreground seems so odd to me...when we have snow there is nothing else to be seen,especially flowers!
ReplyDeleteJane x
I'll just murmur then, spent two sunny hours happily planting my last rose and friends today.
DeleteWonderful shots of the mountains of the Cape, something one misses at times. We had light hail luckily, but still made an impression on some plants, leaves little scattered scars, those look a little more intense. Lively bunch and variety at the dinner table (feeder). Cotyledons take a little time to open (flowers), but luckily they stay for a while as well. Always looks nice in the garden.
ReplyDeleteLovely shots, Diana. Enjoyed it. LT
That is a stunning first picture, Diana. I'm not familiar with your pig's ear, but it reminds me of the kalanchoe flapjack plant. Great leaves!
ReplyDeleteThe snow looks amazing. I am still hoping my pigs ears will become late bloomers. They receive sun all day in summer but in winter too much shade. I watch the sun anxiously waiting for it to rise a little higher and clear the winter shadow cast by the house. My big leaf would definitely be Arums - they are popping up all over the garden and really stunning near the pond. Maybe I should post.
ReplyDeleteLove the pic of the snow on the mountains. My family had their first snow experience although there wasn't much left when we got there. But all and all I'm so over winter. Its been so wet this year.
ReplyDeleteSnow! Amazing! Love the high tea, too! haha I don't know pig's ears, but I love the color! And you are so right in remembering the leaf shape/size when choosing plants.
ReplyDeleteI hate using amazing, beautiful, wonderful.....but I don't know what else to say about the snow capped mountains and the plants below in the valley. It's really a piece of art, isn't it? I just appreciate you sharing these moments and pics with us. Your climate is much like Tucson in so many ways. We have the same events occur....and while not often, they are a treat and a wonder to behold. But you have yet another fun pic in the mix....the bird feeder that is full of birds....and the puddle full of birds.....that is really neat to see. Plus I love the birdfeeder:)
ReplyDeleteLarge leaf plant in the garden that makes everyone ooohh and ahhhh? The Caladium and Elephant Ear. Enjoy the rest of your weekend and cool temps:)
Snow and Canola in flower. Wonderful photo.
ReplyDeleteI guess I didn't realized you sometimes get that much snow. What a glorious view of the snow-capped mountains with the Canola fields in the foreground! My plant of the month is one I can't/shouldn't grow in my garden. But if zones/native plants weren't issues, I would plant it: Crape Myrtle. http://bit.ly/QL2Q3S
ReplyDeleteLovely photo's i wish it snowed here.
ReplyDeleteSnowy mountaintops and clear blue sky is the chocolate side of the Cape's cold wet mediterranean winter. My born and bred expectation of at least some days in winter.
DeleteHi Diana, those wide shots are fantastic, especially the one with the yellow canola flowers. Don't think I have a plant with large leaves - must remember that Cotyledon, although i think it probably needs sun. For contrast I think i depend on different shades of foliage, silver and burgundy. Possibly the garden would have grown just as much if you hadn't left it for a while, but maybe it's like a watched pot never boils ...? cheers, cm
ReplyDeleteAdmittedly that entire post and I am fixated on one line, you pruned the roses hard and they rebloomed? I am new to roses, and besides the one little bloom this spring they are sulking.
ReplyDeleteHow can you have snow on the mountain, and still have flowers down below, does the altitude not affect the blooms?
Dianna, I so loved your comment, just the thought of a black cat, black soil....garden day. I've come across Boo sometimes and not expected him there either.
Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams
Two thousand metres difference in altitude means today I was in the garden in T shirt and sunhat, with the last rose blooms. Our climate is quite kind and the roses bloom pretty much year round, resting in the summer heat, and when recovering from pruning.
DeleteDiana, Your mountains look lovely in their white coat. That first photo of the canola in the foreground and the snowy mountains against the clear blue sky is stunning. -Jean
ReplyDeleteThe snow forms a wonderful backdrop to your garden. When I take the road towards Terni (Umbria) I have a great view of the Apennines, often with snow on in winter although at lower altitudes there is no snow whatsoever. Your garden is full of life with the beautiful birds. I’m sure with your mild climate you must almost dread the onset of summer as you have so much flowering all the rest of the year. Christina
ReplyDeletefrom the garden we see only the foothills. We have to drive a few minutes away from the mountain, to see if there is snow on the hidden peaks.
DeleteCome summer the garden hunkers down and looks embattled till March, when it is cooler, and may rain ...
Gorgeous pictures of snow!
ReplyDeleteThe snow does make lovely pics though!
ReplyDeleteWhat stunning pictures of the snow on the mountains! I love the one with the canola blooms down below! When I was a kid we lived in a valley in Alaska where we could always see mountains with snow on the top. I wish we still lived somewhere with mountains on the horizon.
ReplyDeleteThe Pig's Ears have such interesting leaves. I like the umbrels of brightly colored blooms as well!
They are beautiful peaks!
ReplyDeleteLife got a bit busy in August so my post is delayed until next Monday...I adore your choice. So unusual with the foliage and the flower is beautiful...I love the red coloring.
ReplyDeleteAll the layers of color and texture in your area are breathtaking.
ReplyDeleteBreathtaking is the view of Groot and Klein Winterhoek, probably not quite the skiing stuff though. Love the picture of High Tea at Spirulino's.
ReplyDeleteSnow in South Africa, I never would have imagined, it looks so beautiful up on that mountain. My favourite big leafed plant of the moment is Plume Poppy, now at the end of our summer my plant is topping out around 8 feet high and the leaves are double the size of my hands. Blueish grey with purple edging and silver undersides. Makes me happy every time it catches my eye.
ReplyDeleteOh how I have missed your blog, I'm so glad you found me.I have you on my blog list now and will visit often, I enjoy your photos so very very much!!!
ReplyDeleteStunning photos - I especially like the contrast between the yellow canola blooms and snowcapped mountains in the backdrop. Wish I could trade some of your cold weather for our triple digit temps here in Southern California!
ReplyDeleteyesterday was T shirt and sunhat in the garden, so I think we go a little of your Californian sunshine, thank you!
DeleteDiana, I love your snow covered mountains! We don't get much snow here, either, so I am always impressed by it. I love your plant choices. My most impressive big leaf plant this year has to be the red banana plant by my patio. Everyone comments on it!
ReplyDeleteSnow and canola in the same sentence - an oxymoron I would have thought. And my Pocono Mountains are just rolling hills compared with your majestic peaks -- Stunning pictures, Diana. I have no plant with leaves so big they 'rub shoulders with me'. The large leaves of the catalpa tree probably make the biggest statement here. P. x
ReplyDeleteBeautiful words and pictures - snow on the mountain and jeweled birds at the tea table. Pigs ears it is then ...And coming in last my one for a north facing wall - as well as another for July :(
ReplyDeletegoing to link you in on the 28th September, FIRST in line!
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