Our False Bay garden in December

  

by Diana Studer

- gardening for biodiversity

 in Cape Town, South Africa

 

Spent our anniversary felled by flu - but with this lovely bunch of fynbos lighting up the hearth in front of a summer dormant wood stove.

 

Anniversary flowers
Anniversary flowers

A Cape Town Christmas, reading in the garden with Thomas. Stitched tree ornaments from my niece and sister. Little German style wooden ornaments come with my niece's memories of Jo'burg days when her kids were small.

 

Christmas 2021
Christmas 2021

This year's hadeda junior is the usual lonely only. On enthusiastic snail patrol!

 

Junior hadeda 2021
Junior hadeda 2021

Garden is a bit thin on summer flowers - but I did find three pink roses for my sister who could host a family Christmas lunch again this year. I leave lots of dandelions and Hypochaeris as those yellow flowers ALWAYS have pollinators feeding.

 

Pollinators on yellow daisy
Pollinators on yellow daisy

This small aloe has been in its pot for about 30 years. When I worked in the science library at UCT, Mike Picker who wrote my insect field guide - gave me a bag of tiny succulents. This pair has survived.

 

Potted aloe
Potted aloe

White garlic buchu. Two pink fragrant pelargoniums. Sky blue Plumbago. Fending off Cyperus albo-striatus so I can see my cobalt blue pot. Anchusa capensis echoing vivid blue. That Euryops always looks chewed - someone enjoys it. Tangerine Bulbine frutescens. Pincushion from my bunch. For  Through my Garden Gate with Sarah Down by the Sea in Dorset.

 

 

December garden flowers
December garden flowers

The turning year shocked me into realising how overgrown our garden has become. A few days of hard pruning - by me, and the Ungardener does the chipping and taking carloads of hedge shrub tree ivy for municipal composting. First clear the Cyperus and make space to spread out Streptocarpus (also confined to a pot for decades). Tie up the sprawling Anchusa capensis to make a focal centre on the obelix. Keep going, open up the dual carriageway for Thomas to patrol.

 

Open the paths for Cornish Stripe
Open the paths for Cornish Stripe

Our banana is as tall as I am - should get bananas from it this year. Disgruntled Streptocarpus - but I can see my blue pots again.

 

Banana and blue pots
Banana and blue pots

Second, on the other side of the house. Summer Gold and Spring Promise. Open up the paths and trim the Bauhinia so it doesn't shade the afternoon solar panels. Need to find some more yellow for the bare patch - plants are either TOO much or where has it gone?

 

Summer Gold and Spring Promise looking down then up the garden
Summer Gold and Spring Promise
looking down
then up the garden

Third our tapestry hedge is my Firth of Forth bridge. One brick cleared, will need ... 3 more slices off? Next year, the bottom of the garden, and the front garden.

 

Tapestry hedge
Tapestry hedge

Looking backwards to the old year, and forwards to the new year.

I wish you, my readers, a happy New Year!

 

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Pictures by Diana Studer

of Elephant's Eye on False Bay

 

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Comments

  1. Let me be one of the first to wish you all good things for 2022 - may the rain fall more often, and long may your garden grow. Belated anniversary, get well, and Christmas wishes (love the bouquet) and I enjoyed todays walk in your garden feeling that sunshine.
    p.s. I too have enormous hedges and can appreciate the effort needed to stitch back that tapestry!

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  2. I'm sorry your spent your anniversary down with the flue but I hope you were able to celebrate afterwards. Gardens do easily get away from us so good for you for taming yours. Best wishes for a wonderful new year with lots of hikes and colorful wildflowers too!

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  3. Beautiful!

    Happy New Year 🎉

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  4. Sorry you weren't able to fully enjoy your anniversary hopefully you are now fully recovered. Amazing that you have cared and look after those succulents for so many years! I had to smile at your German ornaments they took me straight back to childhood Christmas's in Germany! My husband was so fed up with all the work involved in cutting back shrubs and hedges in our last garden that he won't let me buy any for our current garden! Many thanks for the wonderful insight into your garden each month it always brightens my day with your huge number of colourful and exotic plants. Sarah x

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  5. Such a gorgeous bouquet! Hope you hare feeling better. HAPPY NEW YEAR!
    Amalia
    xo

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  6. Hoping you have recovered from the flu. The finbos are beautiful. So many stunning flowers still in your garden. And the thought of bananas oh my. Wishing you a very happy 2022

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  7. Sorry to hear you were suffering with the flu. I'm glad you are feeling better.

    The blooms in the warm sunshine are so cheerful. Here, it is cold and storming outside but seeing the green in your garden makes me look forward to spring.

    Happy New Year.
    Jeannie@GetMeToTheCountry

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  8. Sorry to hear you had the flu. The bouquet looks gorgeous! Wishing you happy and healthy 2022!

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  9. Happy new year, Diana! I found your blog through a comment on the iNat forum, and have added it to my blog reader. It is nice to see a southern hemisphere garden.

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  10. Sorry about your bout with the flu. Your summer garden looks lovely. Happy New Year. Laura

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  11. I hope you are recovering well from the 'flu. Happy New Year to you and the Ungardener.

    Gorgeous Fynbos bouquet there, along with your garden flowers. Your garden does look as though its grown quite a bit--lush is beautiful, happy plants are beautiful, even if they get a bit overgrown.

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  12. Thank you. My flu is gone.
    Little posy of vivid pink everlasting daisies is all that survives from the bouquet.

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  13. I hope you're feeling better now. Happy New Year!

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  14. Your garden is beautiful, Diana, as always. Sorry you weren't feeling well, but I'm glad you're much better now. That first arrangement is lovely!

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  15. Oh, you have a hadeda in the garden!?! I remember the B&B in Harrismith, there hadedas nested. The host was very happy about it - we weren't quite like that because the birds woke us up at 4 a.m. with extremely loud screams ;-DDD
    Hope you are healthy again, now!
    All the best, good luck, joy and health in 2022! 🍀🥂😘
    Traude
    https://rostrose.blogspot.com/2022/01/ein-kurzer-gru-im-neuen-jahr.html

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    Replies
    1. All better now thanks!
      You can imagine us peacefully gardening ... when a hadeda screams over our heads, like a jetfighter ;~)

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  16. A bit late checking in as I have not been blogging for a while. But I am so happy to see your gardens. Wishing you a much better 2022 my friend.

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  17. I want to walk down the opened-up path and enjoy the pretty blooms in your Cornish Stripe garden. Stay safe and well. P.x

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  18. Hello, Diana! Happy gardening in 2022! It is refreshing to see your summery, exuberant garden. As lovely as ever! I remember when all those plantings were new.

    Thanks for checking on me. I have survived Covid (despite having all those shots to prevent it!), a home remodeling project, and all the usual challenges of an aging body. I needed a break from blogging, and I haven't decided if I will go back. Squarespace only minimally supports my very old platform, and I will need to completely revamp my site. I can't transfer the old blog posts to the new platform, so it will be like starting all over from scratch. I am not sure I am up for that, but if I can get the right frame of mind -and the time- it would be a fun challenge. I know you went through your own transition when you moved. I admire that you have continued blogging through all these years. I think we started blogging about the same time.

    Wishing you the best in all aspects of your life!
    Deb

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