False Bay garden and water in April

by Diana Studer

- gardening for biodiversity

in Cape Town, South Africa

Barleria obtusa earns its name of April violets. Smothered in flowers and it volunteers around the garden. Blue trumpets folded open.

April violets Barleria obtusa

For Cornish Stripe I wanted blue and white - but the moody blues are mostly purple. My two dark blue pots need replanting and I have gaps for fresh herbs. Perennial basil is top heavy and leant to one side in the first storms. Third Polygala is turning brown and crispy; perhaps the square pots will simply be yellow Bulbine.

Cornish Stripe and lemon tree

In April my garden turns to purple and moody blues Sky blue Plumbago, Oxford and Cambridge Rotheca, Plectranthus, ribbon bush curls of Hypoestes, Barleria and Mexican sage.

April purple flowers

I weeded the Karoo Koppie of Californian poppies. Last year's plants have an efficient fleshy orange tap root like a carrot. I cleared the top of the retaining wall for emerging Lachenalia.

Karoo Koppie

With the pots of Nerine sarniensis this is looking good, as the large aloes begin to fill in.

Karoo Koppie

Nerine sarniensis dusted with gold sparkles in the sun. Halleria lucida carries its masses of red flowers on the woody branches. Autumn rain and the garden explodes into fresh green - heart leaf on Hibiscus tiliaceus. Zoë claims Thomas' nest. Buds on Tecomaria. Pelargoniums in salmon and scarlet. Furry orange Leonotis.

April red flowers with Zoë

From our April municipal accounts in litres per person per day.

2015 garden 566 litres (we were renovating) The lemon tree bears less fruit.

2016 garden 274 litres The first year in the garden is the one that changes from nothing to something. Slipper orchids don't even have buds this year.

2017 garden  120 litres We were aiming at 100 litres per person per day.

2018 on our latest account 32 litres. For the whole month of April, we have used 74 litres. Without our rain tank, we average 21litres of municipal water (compared to the voluntary target of 50 litres) 19 days off-grid using our rain water which includes 7 deluverly bubble baths!

Tom Brown reviews our dam levels each Tuesday (24th April)

For Summer Gold and Spring Promise this year's change is the second rain tank hidden from the patio side by Bauhinia bowkeri. I moved the yellow iris to the sunny wall, hoping for flowers, and repeated the Gazania across the path.

Summer Gold and Spring Promise

Yellow dandelion. Well chewed Euryops daisy - we garden for biodiversity and it earns its space. Hypoxis. Flash of deepest pink from exotic Salvia greggii. Oxalis in strong pink and barely pink. Pink pelargoniums. Iceberg rose. Creamy Metalasia. White pelargonium and curls of Hypoestes.

April yellow pink and white flowers

Around Froggy Pond I replanted the tired border of yellow Bulbine. That pretty sinuous path is overwhelmed by Plectranthus neochilus. Need a tidy fresh look there. We have a third rain tank - two kilolitres together to last three emergency weeks.

Froggy Pond and Woodland Walk

One afternoon as I read those pink and blue striped clouds hovered for hours. Another evening the filigree of clouds melted as I caught the photo.

Cloud stripes in April

For Through the Garden Gate with Sarah at Down by the Sea in Dorset

and Wildflower Wednesday with Gail at Clay and Limestone in Tennessee.

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