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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.


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Pictures by Diana and Jürg Studer

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Comments

  1. Your garden looks fabulous, Diana! I loved the photos of the cats - if my Pipig was as well-behaved about staying in our garden (rather than wandering toward the canyon where the coyotes live), I'd let her outside. I'm sorry to hear about the paltry rain in July.

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    1. I wonder, without a kitty cam or a tracking device how far Thomas goes in the evening. Zoe will only spend minutes in neighbouring gardens then she zips back to safety.

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  2. So much cololour in your garden despite the lack of rainfall. Love your froggy pond and your cats. Of course :). B x

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  3. Your always give us such an extensive visit to your garden each month. The selection of plants in your garden are amazing. How many different plants do you think you have? That looks quite a knock by Undergardener, glad he didn't suffer too badly as a result. It must have been fantastic to see the whales! Sorry the rain situation isn't improving very much. Sarah x

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    1. How many - including the ones that came with the garden, and potted bulbs ... ?? Maybe 150?

      Given what the door looked like, he didn't even have bruises.

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    2. I envy you seeing the blood moon and eclipse -- not here. Every turn through your gardens shows a stunning scene. We had the wettest July on record -- but you don't want to hear that. Hope you receive more rain soon. P x

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    3. That is where our rain went ;~))

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  4. I remember when you moved in! Wow, how amazing it looks now! And I'm so impressed with how you've reduced your water use--bravo! The froggy pond is really special.

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  5. Your garden is looking lovely & lots of colour and greenery especially considering it is winter & your rainfall is low. Congratulations to you on being so disciplined with your use of water. Hope the Ungardener is okay after the collision with the glass.!

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  6. the bouquet was truly lovely Diane- nothing beats a hand picked one, especially from your garden. Always a joy to walk round with you and see how each area is growing/bearing up in the current conditions. As you know we in London and the South East are dry as bones and not prepared as its a one off occurrence every so often - a few rains the last two days at least. Particularly like the pipe camouflage choices - looked up Cyperus - and presume yours is drought resistant rather than the sedges I associate with water
    p.s. glad the the ungardener has not cracked up like the patio glass!

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    1. The Cyperus is from a bit my father once dug up alongside a stream. But it grows happily without watering, once established. Moved the Sansevieria there, as they are happier in shade.

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  7. So many beautiful blooms despite the low rainfall! Glad the ungardener was not seriously hurt - that was quite the crack!

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  8. Oh, ouch! I'm glad to hear Jurg wasn't seriously hurt (although I'm sure his dignity was). I am generally smitten by Sterlitzia, but Mandela's Gold is especially stunning. I love the soft look of your garden in the slanted rays of winter sun.

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  9. The Mandela's Gold Strelitzia is striking. I always enjoy the variety of plants you show in your collages. And your images of the lunar eclipse and blood moon are amazing! How cool to experience both. Also, I am glad Ungardener was not seriously hurt! The photo of the broken glass door is sobering.

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  10. Thank goodness the Ungardener wasn't cut by glass! Exciting to see the whales. I love, love, love your pond.

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  11. Amazing how wonderful your garden looks despite little water. Sorry to hear your July rains disappointed.

    Glad the ungardener was unharmed!

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  12. All those beautiful flowers, but all I can think of is the sound of breaking glass.

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    1. Not so bad, it is safety glass like a windscreen. All the bits stayed together. It was the bang - makes me realise what it must be like for a bird flying into a window!

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  13. Everything looking perfectly beautiful in your garden Diana, perhaps you should stop cleaning the patio doors though.

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    1. He has added a tweety bird decal at eye level.

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  14. Adorei o espelho dágua com as pedras.
    janicce.

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    1. Thank you - since it's a small pond I work hard to keep a space open for reflections.

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