December around our False Bay garden

  

by Diana Studer

- gardening for biodiversity

 in Cape Town, South Africa

 

Today for Through the Garden Gate Down by the Sea in Dorset with Sarah. Flowers from my garden for New Year fireworks. Cotyledon orbiculata, the variety with soft grey leaves to match that stalk. Fragrant pink rose Thuli Madonsela - supporting 'people empowerment for ethical leadership, development and peace' . Paired golden Euryops chrysanthemoides. Busy bee in a Californian poppy for Californian bloggers Late to the Garden Party and Piece of Eden - who are among the bloggers I started with.

 

Garden flowers for New Year

My Christmas flower is Agapanthus. Again this year just the one flower from Agapanthus praecox minimus. 'Storms River' is a soft grey blue, grown from seed in 1996-7. At the end of the last century. Imagine that?!

 

Agapanthus Storms River

Streptocarpus catches the morning sun and crisps its edges. Just a hint of blue for Plumbago. Potted lime is flourishing in forgiveness, happy with sun and water there.

 

Potted lime

Glass Advent wreath had fresh flowers for the last week. Plenty of Alstroemeria and pink pelargoniums this year.

 

Advent Wreath 2024

Our 2024 Fynbos Rambles in four pictures. Emerging Haemanthus sanguineus bud from flowering bulb after fire in February. Spring visit to Rondebosch Common celebrating reestablished Moraea aristata in September. From Chapman's Peak watching South Atlantic fog fingers eat our mountains in April. Kommetjie to Soetwater with our usual beach walk hidden deep below foam, ahead of a winter storm in August.

 

2024 Fynbos Rambles remembered

Trappieskop fire yesterday. Took only minutes to go from the smoke we saw from our skylight, to serious smoke from the road! Some residual smoulder today.

 

Trappieskop fire 30 December 2024

With Janus we look back to 2024. And warily to 2025. My sister and I try out different Kirstenbosch benches. Which one has the best view? Looking across open and textured green to Teddy Bear rock, as sun glances thru shifting clouds.

 

Kirstenbosch with Teddy Bear rock

Kirstenbosch has a new sculpture exhibition. These 3 are from Anton Smit. Up close the mask is disturbing, riveted together from scrap bits of metal. 'Faith' is about

 

Fragmented beings

Face to face

We see ourselves in glass – dimly

 

Anton Smit - Fragmented Beings

Pleiades (sculpture). Digging stars isiLimela for South African farmers. The 7 sisters in the Northern hemisphere. The Ancient Greek word for navigating the Mediterranean in the safe sailing season. Could this be the oldest story in the world?

 

Anton Smit - Pleiades - 7 sisters - Digging stars - Safe sailing

May we go forward in safe hands. Happy New Year!

 

Whirlwind – “IZANDLA ZIYAGEZANA”

“Hands wash each other”

“One good turn deserves another”

 

Anton Smit - Safe Hands for 2025

Garden year month by month here, back to November 2014.

 

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