Winter sun and Japanese flowering quince

In July, our garden greets us with an explosion of Japanese flowering quince. The inherited shrubs are halfway down our driveway and turn passing heads. Time to harvest cuttings for False Bay? September?

Japanese flowering quince

First the foreign flowers. The next ‘last rose of summer’ ahead of pruning which is now due, is Burning Sky. Working with colours and textures of foliage – bronze fennel sprouts against a backdrop of silver velvet from Dusty Miller.

Bronze fennel and Dusty Miller, lavender
Burning Sky rose, King Arthur slipper orchid

My Ifafa lilies sulked last year. Now I’ve dug them up and packed them in pots for moving – we haz flowers! Chasmanthe, meant to be buttery yellow as well, but the dominant orange sneaks thru as well. Dietes are ephemeral here today, and gone tomorrow, with buds in waiting.

Ifafa lily, orange Chasmanthe
Dietes, yellow Chasmanthe

Kniphofia does the strident primary red, yellow, and electric blue sky. A detail of the terracotta curls of pig's ears flowers.  Lachenalia rubida planted as a tiny avenue along the path between the ash tree planters. My mother’s snowflakes, also respond with flowers to attention, and seasonal watering.

Kniphofia, Cotyledon orbiculata
snowflake, Lachenalia rubida

Our rain garden at Apple Creek was dense with reeds. I spent a few days as a ‘little hippo’ opening paths down to the water. Again we can see the sky reflected from the pools caught (on one day we had 38 mm rain).

Apple Creek rain garden

Both the original species Strelitzia regina in orange, and Mandela’s Gold in gentle yellow, are blooming. Heart-shaped leaves of Hibiscus tiliaceus. The wild jasmine is campaigning to twine in thru our bedroom window.

Mandela's Gold, orange Strelitzia regina, 
Hibiscus tiliaceus, wild jasmine

Crassula ovata, Pink Joy covered in flowers and I have volunteers to plant, somewhere. The second wave of aloes has huge candelabras of buds in waiting. Pelargoniums and Tecoma still in their winter party gowns.

Pink Joy, Aloe
Pelargonium, Tecoma and Euryops

And daisies. Sunny yellow Euryops, 3 bushes full. Dandelions, leaves, flowers and seedheads each give architectural interest. Dimorphotheca jucunda in purple and white, with a ‘universe in a grain of sand’ tucked in their hearts.

Euryops, dandelion
Dimorphotheca jucunda in purple and white

Thanks to Wildflower Wednesday motivation from Gail at Clay and Limestone I have a record on my blog of what is BLOOMing in my garden each month. Today almost all my wildflowers are Proudly South African.

Pictures by Diana and Jurg,

text by Diana Studer

AKA 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)