Every year I look forward to spring
with great anticipation. There is just so much going on. Almost every
day for six to eight weeks I am almost guaranteed to find something new
blooming.
Reading Bernies Blog
“Here
in my north-eastern corner there are not many discernible seasonal
changes, and certainly not much of a noticeable change between our
Winter and early Spring.” I am
reminded once again how fortunate I am to live where I do.
The Western Cape is home to thousands
of plants and a great many of them will flower in spring.
In winter I cleared a neglected patch
of the garden and filled it with Felicia amelloides, Plectranthus
ecklonii, Pelargonium cucullatum, Pelargonium tormentosum,
Pelargonium ? (still trying to positively ID), all the Pelargoniums
were from cuttings only the Felicias were bought. I dug up some of
the Sutera from other parts of the garden to cover the bare patches
and in between I planted purple and white Freesias.
I have been justly rewarded, even
though the dogs trampled a few Freesias, there were still enough to
enjoy in the garden and enough to pick a few for the vase.
Freesias
Plectranthus neochillus and Pelargonium cucullatum
Felicia and Sutera
Our pavement also got a much needed
make over a while ago. Behind the gravel path I have profusion of
flowers. Watsonias, pink Freesias, Geranium, Dimorthopeca and more.
Geranium incanum, Watsonia bobonica, Salvia africana-lutea
Freesias, Dimorthopeca, Geranium incanum,
My final reward for Spring – Guinea
fowl chicks. We have always had Guinea fowl in the neighbourhood and
this year they laid their eggs across the road in my neighbours
garden, but when the chicks hatched they brought them across the road
to me. It is great fun watching them run about and they are doing a
sterling job of keeping my snail population down. The dogs of course
are confined to the back and are not impressed.
Lovely, hopefully not many cats around! You are lucky to have the chicks in the garden.
ReplyDeleteThe collage of circles technique for presenting your photos is really effective. Oh how I'd love to have Freesias growing like that in my garden! I love Freesias; a vase of them fills the house with scent.
ReplyDeleteHi Mark
DeleteGlad you like the circles. I always used Photobucket before, but their collage maker seems to have disappeared. This time I used Pizap and it was really fast and easy. I agree Freesias have an amazing perfume - I love them.
Lovely mosaics,Freesias are one of my favorite flowers they seem to flower here twice a year.
ReplyDeleteI am amazed and jealous that your Freesias flower twice. Mine only flower in spring and only last about 4 - 6 weeks.
Deletehow wonderful having wild chicks in the garden. Quite a few of your natives are familiar to me, and grow well here.
ReplyDeleteOur countries have many similar plants. Unfortunately careless importation has led to many Australian plants becoming invasive, and I think the same is true by you, many of our beautiful flowers are becoming a threat to your own local flora.
Deletelove to see the little fluffballs sheltering in mum's shade. We have 2 cats, so I must admire guineafowl in your garden.
ReplyDeletewhich are your snowy mountains?
ReplyDeleteSnow on the Helderberg and also in Jonkershoek.
DeleteHi gardengirl in SA,
ReplyDeleteMy name is Tina , the community manager for a new blogger community called Garden Gab (www.atomicreach.com/tribe/gardengab). This community will focus on tips, advice and personal stories on the subject. I want this Garden Gab community to be a place where expert advice and tips are consolidated in one place for beginner (like myself) and experienced gardeners.
I’m currently looking for bloggers to contribute their relevant, existing content to the community, and your blog has caught my attention. I like the way you write about gardening, and how easy and approachable the experience is.
If you decide to join, Garden Gab will publish the title of your blog posts and the first few sentences of each post. If readers want to read the full story, they’ll be pushed to your blog and give you traffic. These readers will be people who share the same passion and interests as you, which is the sole purpose of the community.
If you’re interested in joining our community, please e-mail me back at tinajin @ atomicreach.com with “Gardening” in the subject line. If you have any questions, I would be more than happy to answer them.
Sincerely,
Tina
Community Manager
Hi Tina
DeleteLooks like a great community, will definitely join. Thanks
How cool the Guinea Fowl stutted over to your yard. Do they help with insect populations too? My dog would not be impressed either!
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to think of a region with so many contributions to horticulture in the warmer regions of the United States. Believe it or not, every now and then I see guinea fowl in older Florida neighborhoods too!
ReplyDelete