July in our False Bay garden and my first lockdown hike
by Diana Studer- gardening for biodiversityin Cape Town, South AfricaThis week was my first lockdown hike, our Fynbos Ramble. We
began at Slangkop
lighthouse in Kommetjie and hiked up the slope to Slangkop and the ruined
WWII radar station. A timeless view across to Hout Bay magically rising out of
the morning mist. Pristine nature except the path we walked on (I will ignore
the trig beacon my laptop found)The mountainside scattered with gold. Daisies and proteas.
Low mounds covered in lime gold bracts Leucadendron
salignum. Prickly leaved Cullumia
setosa. Snaking along the ground Leucospermum
hypophyllocarpodendron.A blue and white day. Disperis
capensis, orchid posing next to the path for a photo. Staavia radiata with its central pink flowers was our clue. Lobostemon montanus a soft smoky blue
like rosemary, which glowed true blue in the landscape when the sun caught it.We aimed for Audouinia
capitata. We knew, what
it looked like (seen at Cape Point - where we may drive, but not hi…
