False Bay garden and water in May
by Diana
Studer
- gardening for biodiversity
in Cape Town, South Africa
An autumn storm snapped the hand of lady finger bananas.
Time to ripen - turning yellow In
A Vase on Monday.
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| Bananas In A Vase On Monday |
Cape Town Gardening 101. Plant in autumn rain. Your plants settle in during winter. We survive next summer.
Toos van den Berg is closing her nursery. My first choice
for indigenous trees and shrubs! New
branches will open. Metal owl perches in the Karoo Koppie olive tree. Pappea
capensis red berries for birds (between Halleria and Diospyros)
in Rose Courtyard. Euryops tall shrub in Summer Gold. In Cornish Stripe Felicia in two
blue pots for Wildflower
Wednesday, and Buddleja glomerata lime grey leaves to replace Prunus
nigra. Psychotria capensis to hide newest rain tank. Waiting for trellis at
first rain tank is Dipogon.
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| Plants from Toos van den Berg |
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| Leaf detail for Toos van den Berg plants |
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| Metal art owl |
I waited patiently till the weather cooperated to visit Fynbos LIFE (Lowland Indigenous
Flora Education) nursery. I will return. In Spring Promise Eriocephalus
racemosus wild rosemary, white flowers July-Aug, sun (perhaps better for
the grey corner anchors than Dusty Miller which needs hacking back and fresh
cuttings). Eragrostis curvula x 3 weeping love grass, curly leaves, under
our bedroom window in Summer Gold. Psoralea repens x 3 groundcover
between paving slabs. Salvia africana-caerula slow growing between Strelitzia nicolai and the lemon tree. Helichrysum
cymosum x4 grey leaves 'groundcover' under lemon tree, yellow flowers. Ficinia
lateralis (lots of water)
waiting to go next to the frog.
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| Lowland fynbos LIFE plants |
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| Leaf detail for lowland fynbos LIFE plants |
He has finished the pebbles between the paving slabs of Rose
Courtyard. Pebbles wait to be redistributed along the edges of Froggy Pond. Square
pot was replanted in March for the giraffe. Lemon verbena transplanted. S-bend
to pond needs the left side replanted. For Through the Garden Gate
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| Replanted garden |
Simon's
Town 1909 naval dockyard gate with freemasons, the ship Diana from Russia,
and a garden wall cleverly constructed from slender gabions.
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| Simon's Town history |
Hibiscus
tiliaceus leaves endlessly fascinating. Tiny bronze and lime gold
angels unfold their wings and expand to great green hearts. That had its first
flowers here - but sadly on days when I missed photos.
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| Hibiscus tiliaceus leaves |
From our May municipal
accounts in litres per person per day.
2015
garden 288 litres. Planted
the Karoo Koppie and the verge. Our cats were Chocolat and Aragon.
2016
garden 250 litres. More
attractive bones, less jungle! With Thomas.
2017
garden 91 litres. Adding the
first of three and a half rain tanks.
2018 on our latest account 32 litres. So far in May we used 85 litres,
without our rain tanks 20 litres
of municipal water. 21 days off-grid using our rain water. We added Neoperl
Mikado aerators to our bathroom taps - very low flow, but a powerful spray,
with a pretty twirl.
Tom Brown reviews our dam levels each Tuesday (28th May) Our dams are up 3% year on year. Our voluntary target remains 50 litres pp pd.
May flowers. First Lachenalia
bulbifera this year. Two sorts of striped Sansevieria behind Froggy Pond. Delicate pink Nerine. Pink pelargoniums. Deep orange Tecomaria. Orange and gold Hibiscus.
White flowers and red leaves on Crassula.
Yellow Euryops. First stately Aloe ferox marlothii flower for this garden. Soft
mauve Plectranthus and white Iceberg
rose. Spotted leaves of Haemanthus ?
Basil for bees. White pelargonium. April violets Barleria. Yellow Senecio
creeper. Furry Mexican sage. Flat leaves of Haemanthus
? Frilly fan of Boophone. Spotted Hypoestes and blue butterfly Rotheca.
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| May flowers |
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I welcome comments on posts from the last 2 months.
its amazing the beauty where you live, such a treat to the eyes, so much work and beautifully landscaped!
ReplyDeleteYou should write a book on your experiences in reducing your water consumption, Diana. As things are going, it could become a best seller here in Southern California! I love the leaves on that Hibiscus, another species I've never heard of before this.
ReplyDeleteThank you - I'm flattered.
DeleteIt's so impressive how much you've reduced your water use! Bravo! I'm so jealous of your year-round blooms. And they're all so colorful, too!
ReplyDeleteSo much still flowering in your garden despite the lack of rain! .. I didn't realise you could grow lady finger bananas in the Cape. .. My Dad grew bananas in Zambia but my memory is it was almost always hot there unlike the Cape!
ReplyDeleteYou are doing a really impressive job reducing your water usage & still having a florishing garden. It makes me think we are not as vigilant as we used to be in drought time. You are giving a good example to us!
I also find the bananas hard to believe - they look such fun in our bay window as you drive past ;~)
DeleteIt is always a delight visiting your garden once a month Our rain barrows have run out of water since we returned from holiday. It always amazes me how good and colourful looks despite the lack of rain. I'm sure if we had a drought the garden would look all brown and dreadful! A rosemary with white flowers that seems so unusual! Sarah x
ReplyDeleteI love the way your garden is still flourishing despite your huge water shortages. I guess it is all about correct plant choices. A fascinating post as always. B x
ReplyDeleteA well-meaning friend has shared some of his online research on the lack of growth in the landscape industry in the US, though I no longer make a living as a landscape architect. It is for some, and I was one. Nurseries - I've known of their demise and challenge of owning for 25 years, but it's always sad to lose one like Toos van den Berg's nursery. Hopefully a replacement and those new branches...
ReplyDeleteLove your native Rotheca -- such a pretty blue. Square pot planted for the giraffe? P. x
ReplyDeleteThe giraffe wanted a better view out the window
Deletehttp://eefalsebay.blogspot.com/2018/03/false-bay-garden-and-water-in-march.html
A little alarming how that cutting of Gazania has exploded!
Yes, I saw his new view and love it! Mine is guarding my Froggy Pond right now against bears!
DeleteThat you manage to create a beautiful garden with just rain is amazing. The ornamental nursery business is a difficult one the world over, it seems.
ReplyDeleteThis past year I put pebbles in between the stepping stones--it has worked out surprisingly well. Hope yours produce pleasing results.
Mellow colours of the river / beach pebbles pull our paving and paint colours together. So much better than the dazzling white quartz chips when we moved in.
DeleteWhite quartz chips were a thing here quite a long time ago--it wasn't good here, either.
DeleteBeautiful May flowers as if it were spring here....and wonderful vase of bananas :) I also prefer to plant in autumn for a better spring bloom.
ReplyDeleteWhat is wrong with the left sideS-bend to the pond? Don't you like the plants?
ReplyDeleteYou know - how you have an empty space in the garden, and you quickly plant what you have available? For me it was Plectranthus neochilus, a succulent which has exploded to take over. The. Entire. Garden.
DeleteNow we have a wide and welcoming S curving again!
Your thread on water conservation is so appropriate to these times of global climate change. Thank you for including the comparative figures--they're inspiring, especially when combined with your beautiful photos. And then the vase of bananas ripening--what a different world from mine!
ReplyDeleteIt continues to amaze me what you achieve with so little water. The garden looks beautiful.
ReplyDeleteAmalia
xo
Cape Town Gardening 101 is like Melbourne Gardening 101, important lessons to be learned (usually the hard way). So many gorgeous May flowers, shows good management and commitment waterwise.
ReplyDeleteHope your bananas ripened. Very nice piece of artwork is the metal owl.
ReplyDeleteEvery last tiny one. Delicious! All et and we must wait longingly for next year's crop.
DeleteDiana, It's really interesting to know how few watter you use to keep your garden looking so good. It strikes me the way you are reducing your water consumption, I feel I must do much more to reduce mine. Rain tanks, I think I underestimated those. Thank You.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, I only use that rain water in the garden for new plants and to get cuttings established.
Delete