False Bay garden and water in July

by Diana Studer

- gardening for biodiversity

in Cape Town, South Africa

Pink chrysanthemums from my sister, combine with Dusty Miller leaves and lavender and Iceberg roses from my garden.

Florist's chrysanthemums and garden flowers

 

For Through the Garden Gate with Sarah in Dorset. Open the kitchen door to Cornish Stripe. Yellow daisies on a climbing Senecio macroglossus. Dipogon lignosus at the rain tank has reached its first two fingers on the trellis! For the 'blue', lavender, Polygala myrtifolia and Hypoestes. White perennial basil for our bees, Pelargonium and fragrant Freesia.

Cornish Stripe in 'blue' and white

Down the path and around the corner to Froggy Pond at the bottom of the garden. Sansevieria and Cyperus along the wall to camouflage pipes. Delicate pink Pelargonium.

Froggy Pond

This is what happens when the Ungardener walks thru the patio door. While it's closed. He was unhurt but shocked, and the NOISE! We have added 'the eagle has landed' stickers to 3 glass doors.

Broke glass patio door

Open the door to Rose Courtyard, where Thomas mentors Zoë as she flies solo on neighbourhood watch. Headless cat as she tracks the noise of the camera shutter. Thomas being Swiss and enjoying the last rays of evening sun before the First of August. The wild orchid Corycium which we rescued from our Porterville garden - three flowers this year. Great fronds of Melianthus (definitely Major!) fill the Courtyard.

Cats and Rose Courtyard

We went to Mary-Ann's in Gordon's Bay. After lunch we drove up to the view point at Steenbras Dam and saw whales in False Bay.

Whales off Gordon's Bay

In the corner wrapped around Froggy Pond is Summer Gold. Mandela's Gold Strelitzia, Euryops yellow daisy, leaves of Salvia africana-lutea, golden yellow Hibiscus.

Summer Gold

Circling back towards Rose Courtyard via Spring Promise. Grewia, variegated Coprosma and silver Dusty Miller. Pink and white flowers - tiny garlic buchu Agathosma apiculata and pink bells of Dombeya burgessiae. July flowers (indigenous except chrysanthemum, lavender, Iceberg rose and Hibiscus) for Wildflower Wednesday with Gail in Tennessee.

Spring Promise

Discovered too late that we could have tried photographing via my binoculars. These are handheld with his camera.

Lunar eclipse and blood moon
27 July 2018

Full circle to the front at Karoo Koppie. Butter yellow feathery flowers of a wild sedge. Red Pelargonium, climbing Aloiampelos ciliaris and dangling terracotta Cotyledon orbiculata. The owl keeps watch.

Karoo Koppie

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

2015 garden  250 litres. Planting Spring Promise

2016 garden  233 litres. Counting up the gaps in our garden. Surviving Halleria fills in at the verge.

2017 garden  78 litres. We added the second rain water tank.

2018 on our latest account 16 litres.

In July we used 80 litres, without our rain tanks it is 30 litres of municipal water. 17 days were off-grid using our rain water. June rain was so promising, but sadly July was below average and August looks doubtful.

Tom Brown reviews our water situation each Tuesday (31 July)

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Pictures by Diana and Jürg Studer

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