False Bay garden in August

by Diana Studer

- gardening for biodiversity

in Cape Town, South Africa

Little lady Zoë has found a sunny balcony. Making the most of low winter sun. (Sigh as today is grey and drizzly and COLD 19C inside and 7C low last night)

Zoë on her sunny balcony

We look cautiously back at our drought and Day Zero threat. The large bucket that stood here for grey water, is gone - but we have kept the lidded black tank. I still need to stop the Ungardener taking a shortcut NOT DOWN the steps. My mother's tuberous begonia was smothered by striped grass I planted at the same time. Now I can see and enjoy those large asymmetric rich dark leaves (not so enamoured of the coral shell flowers)

New blue pot and mother's tuberous begonia

Blue and white for Cornish Stripe. Small cream thistles on Brachylaena discolor. Tiny lime flowers on Buddleja glomerata. Iceberg roses bloom steadily. White Freesia leichtlinii alba (Max Leichtlin found them in the Botanic Gardens at Padua) and Babiana. Spanish bluebells inherited with the garden. A few straggly flowers on Hypoestes aristata. Silvery groundcover under the lemon tree Helichrysum cymosum. White pelargonium another steady bloomer.

Blue and white flowers in August

My potted lime tree has good fruit, fresh tender leaves and bunches of flowers. Lemon tree is recovering from battling thru the drought - trim, feed and water, more fruit ripening.  

Potted lime, and lemon tree

Feeding the pollinators on Wildflower Wednesday with Gail at Clay and Limestone in Tennessee. This skipper butterfly is a gold spotted sylph Metisella metis.

Skipper butterfly Metisella metis

Summer Gold has inherited Hibiscus in its deeper winter colours. Chasmanthe floribunda, yellow variety named for the Duckitt family in Darling. Tall wands of  Bulbine. Albuca bulbs flowering. New Psychotria capensis has its first flowers. Vivid yellow Euryops pectinatus.

Yellow flowers in August

Spring Promise in 'I like pink' vlei lilies and dusky Veltheimia. Shell pink with cherry hearts Dombeya burgessiae. Pink buds Syncarpha. Barbie pink Oxalis from South America (distinguished from ours by that, blink and you will miss it, dark dot above the notch in the leaf!) Pink and salmon pelargoniums.

Pink flowers in August

Inherited shrubby Plectranthus ecklonii has bounced back to lush 'normal' and the Maidenhair fern has settled in below Rotheca.

But a gap has opened where the camphor bush should shield us from our neighbour. First the Grewia died back, now I see dying branches and lower leaves on Tarchonanthus next to the gap. Olive tree outside the bay window is a sickly yellowy colour.

Happy plants and sad ones

On the patio with a good book, but the retirees are typically busy busy.

On the patio with a good book

And out Through the Garden Gate with Sarah in Dorset to the Autumn Fire orange and red succulents on my Karoo Koppie. Climbing aloe Aloiampelos ciliaris var. ciliaris. Firesticks Euphorbia tirucalli. Burgundy spikes of Melianthus major. Lime and terracotta Cotyledon orbiculata. Russet nasturtium for my sister. Red pelargonium. Halleria lucida has so many berries this year that they are scattered and trampled on the patio.

Red flowers in August

My chosen host Blogger is twenty!

I invite you to join us at Elephant's Eye on False Bay. Please subscribe as you prefer

via Feedly,

or Bloglovin,

Email with Feedburner,

or Facebook 

Pictures by Diana and Jürg Studer

of Elephant's Eye on False Bay

Teal blue text is my links.

To read comments if you are in email or a Reader,

first click thru to the blog)

Thanks for comments that add value. Maybe start a new thread of discussion? BTW your comment won't appear until I've read it. No Google account? Just use Anonymous, but do leave a link to your own blog. I would return the visit, if I could...

I welcome comments on posts from the last 2 months.