July and our False Bay garden

  

by Diana Studer

- gardening for biodiversity

 in Cape Town, South Africa

 

Today is the First of August the Swiss national day. Flying the flag in our Porterville garden, over ten years ago!

 

Swiss flag in Porterville

We are in a cold snap. 7C this morning. When Cape Town drops to single digits we whine - it's freezing. Lucky to live in that rind moderated by the South Atlantic Ocean. Not quite blue with cold. Picture is from LandWater on Facebook

 

Cold snap with frost pockets from LandWater on Facebook

Thomas and Zoe squeezed into a little patch of sun. Budge up!

 

Cats catching winter sun

It is winter and our potted roses are flourishing. Looking back at July for Through the Garden Gate Down by the Sea in Dorset with Sarah

 

Winter roses

Need some sunny yellow flowers. Lime gold companion to snowdrops is Albuca. Yellow Bulbine with fluffy stamen filaments. Buttery yellow Oxalis pes-caprae.

 

Yellow flowers in July

Shell pink Dombeya burgessiae bells. Mellow terracotta Cotyledon orbiculata. Salmon pelargonium has tight deep coloured buds opening and fading to a softer colour.

 

Pink July flowers

Lighting up the winter gloom (moved our sad potted lime out front into the sun and have a teensy sprout). White flowers - pelargonium, garlic buchu, fairy crassula and Albuca bracteata.

 

White July flowers

But my heart sings with blue Felicia.

 

Felicia happiness flowers 

I loathe indoor plants; they should be out there with bugs for the sunbirds. But this is for the Swiss Ungardener - a potted palm sheltering the giraffe - who would rather be on the other side of the window nibbling spekboom leaves.

 

Parlour palm

What would the gardener hurtling to 70 like for her birthday? A chainsaw please? He hunted for weeks. Finally as a last resort he looked at our local hardware store. On the day they celebrated their 70th birthday! Special offer on a chainsaw - small and light, rechargeable battery - my new friend - Stanley? Cut that branch for me, just there? (Hurtling - but still a couple of years to go to 70)

Don't argue with me! I have, a chainsaw.

Thanks for the warning about the weight of a pole saw. 

Chainsaw at work

Meanwhile at iNaturalist we have launched into August for Africa (the map). An IDathon for African plants. I will digital detox in November.

 

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