Our False Bay garden in October

By Diana Studer

- gardening for biodiversity

in Cape Town, South Africa

White everlasting Syncarpha vestita is called Cape snow. At Cape Point when the little bushes are covered in flowers they look like sheep scattered across the landscape, especially to once were early farmers.

Cape snow Syncarpha vestita

Last night there was effing and blinding on the street outside. When I went out a fluffy ginger and white cat flew home and the dikkop parent went back to collecting dinner from our front gardens. Junior contrives a baleful Don't Mess with ME glare just like his parents. Nocturnal birds with large eyes often heard calling in the night. (Now called a Spotted Thick-Knee. Sigh)

Dikkop parent and chick

In our Karoo Koppie out front the Ungardener complained about the fishbowl effect of the bay window. I concede defeat from low minimalist blue Plectranthus neochilus and yellow Bulbine with spotted aloes. We've added two (bietou) Chrysanthemoides monilifera  volunteers found in our garden (after I carefully brought cuttings from Camps Bay, then Porterville!) Two more Halleria lucida as the plant at the glazed patio has already reached the top of the trellis since December.

Karoo Koppie and verge

Halleria lucida one in, two out

Looking down then back up the sunny west side with Spring Promise and Summer Gold greening and filling in for End of Month View.

Spring Promise and Summer Gold

Cornish Stripe on the shadier (and windier) east side collaged to show what I want. Blue (or purple) and white flowers. Dark Prunus nigra and Japanese maple (singing nicely with the deep red Washing Pergola) or white variegated leaves.

Cornish Stripe

Tiny blue flowers and feathery leaves, from an earlier gardener, perhaps in with the poppy seed is Gilia capitata from California. Iceberg roses blooming for picking again. Deep yellow Hibiscus. Maltese Cross or Jacobean lily, Sprekelia formosissima comes from Mexico via a Porterville neighbour. Tuberous begonia with coral weird flowers. And tomatoes - the volunteer is NOT cherry but growing large!

Foreign flowers in October
Blue one at the bottom is Gilia

South African flowers for Wildflower Wednesday. Butterfly leaves on Bauhinia. Delicate succulent pelargonium. Blue Lobelia in the potted roses. Septemberbossie. Protea scolymocephala. Pink Pelargonium which came with the garden. Burchellia bubalina planted for the sunbirds. Cotyledon orbiculata with reindeer antler leaves. Magenta Pelargonium another gift from the garden.

South African flowers in October

The yellow flowers are the bug's favourite. A bee with her saddlebags SO laden with pollen from gousblom it's amazing she can still get airborne! Monkey beetles in the Hypoxis. Yellow crab or flower spider and green shield bug are both carefully camouflaged. One to eat, and the other to avoid being eaten. We garden for biodiversity on False Bay.

Bee, shield bug
monkey beetles, crab spider

Top 2 are his pictures as we drove home one day. We stopped to watch the trek fishermen bringing in the catch. Bottom 2 are mine as we walked along our local beach. Our False Bay.

False Bay

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