Author: Christine

Dominated by large trees on a medium sized property, my garden is very shaded. With no “full sun” areas I have to plant shade and partial shade loving plants. I love shrubs and flowers including camellias and azaleas but Roses and Irises are my favourite and getting these to thrive is a challenge …

Surprises in the pond

At the end of February I wrote about my plans for giving my pond a bit of a make-over. I got as far as adding a few new plants to the pond and then … well Autumn came, it got cold, with that my enthusiasm waned somewhat and I decided to wait for Spring before I continue. But the plants have started to grow …

[one_half]Some of the new pond plants[/one_half]

[one_half_last]My favourite, the Cyperus Papyrus[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Cyperus Papyrus reflected on Alocasia[/one_half]

[one_half_last]The Cannas are growing fast …[/one_half_last]

[one_half]This has trebled in size already[/one_half]

[one_half_last]The bubbling water features[/one_half_last]

So waiting for Spring was not on Mother Nature’s agenda as far as my pond goes. For the first time in nearly five years, my three little goldfish have multiplied … they must be enjoying all the extra greenery in the pond. And it looks like all the babies are going to make it. They’re growing larger by the day, becoming very confident and darting around and putting on a show for me instead of hiding under rocks when I approach. Such fun to watch! I’ve counted about 9 new ones so far. I will try to get some photographs of them soon.

I added a few Waterblommetjies (Aponogeton distachyos) bulbs to the pond in May. Also known as ‘Cape Pond Weed’, for those of you that are unfamiliar with this South African native, I’ve added some notes and a link below. These bulbs were the easiest thing to plant ever … just throw the bulbs in the pond and wait about two weeks and …

Ta Da! The first Waterblommetjie gets a flower

[one_half]The little plant after 2 weeks[/one_half]

[one_half_last]A closer view of the bulb[/one_half_last]

[one_half]The first Waterblommetjie flower[/one_half]

[one_half_last]The flower opens more on day two[/one_half_last]

So I realise they are not as showy or magnificent as Lotus Blossoms or Water Lilies, but here in my pond, they GROW!

Waterblommetjies (Aponogeton distachyos) – The long, oval shaped leaves float on the water, but it is usually the flowers standing up out of the water above the leaves, that attract attention. Waterblommetjies flower in profusion during winter and spring. Large areas of water in the western, southern and eastern Cape are covered with their sweetly scented, white flowers. The flower is interesting in that it is really a forked inflorescence bearing tiny, white, one-petalled flowers with brown anthers. The flowers are also the edible part. Bees are very attracted to the flowers and may be one of the main pollinators. Aponogeton distachyos occurs naturally in the winter rainfall areas of the Cape. It is adapted to growing in ponds and vleis which dry up in summer. The dormant tubers sprout again as soon as the pools fill in autumn. (Information courtesy of PlatzAfrika).

Tags pond plants, waterblommetjies

Christine's garden Gardening Home page features

My Winter garden

The stars of my winter garden are without question, the Camellias. Looking particularly beautiful this year, the big red Camellia in my back garden has just opened her first blooms and is covered in buds waiting to open. Tucked in amongst other plants and taller growing shrubs are the smaller Camellias shrubs, some of which are flowering for the first time this year. Their lovely pink flowers draw attention to the lower growing foliage, all of which is looking lush thanks to the rain.

If you look closely there is a hint of things to come. All over the garden the spring bulbs are starting to wake up pushing their first leaves through the soil. Last years bulbs are forging ahead and newly planted bulbs are coming up, competing for attention. It’s a reminder that for everything there is a season …

I’ve been battling a bit to find ‘blogworthy’ things in my garden. We are having lovely winter weather right now, cold and crisp with sunshine and … my favourite … no wind! But a fair amount of rain has left some of the ground in my garden sodden and this makes gardening not entirely pleasant. I may need to look at the drainage in certain areas if it gets a lot worse.

The “Two Gardeners” have both been sick …flu, sinusitis and then in case the first bout was not enough, flu again. We’ve both been out of commission, so visits to our friends’ blogs have been minimal. We promise to visit you again now that we are up and about.

I will be linking this post to Helen of The Patient Gardener who hosts End of Month View. This monthly meme is where garden bloggers share their garden views for the end of the month.

I leave you with these lyrics …

From the day we arrive on the planet
And blinking, step into the sun
There’s more to see than can ever be seen
More to do than can ever be done
There’s far too much to take in here
More to find than can ever be found
But the sun rolling high
Through the sapphire sky
Keeps great and small on the endless round

It’s the Circle of Life
And it moves us all
Through despair and hope
Through faith and love
Till we find our place
On the path unwinding
In the Circle
The Circle of Life

(Lyrics by Tim Rice, music by Elton John)

Tags camellias

Bugs & Pests Christine's garden Gardening

Bug Day

Post author By Christine
Post date May 24, 2012
9 Comments on Bug Day

Is there a ‘Garden Bloggers Bug Day’? Just kidding, I couldn’t actually cope with another ‘gardening meme‘ – there are so many great ones and simply not enough time to join in with all of them, but as I always seem to be posting about bugs and know of at least two other bloggers that do it too, it got me wondering whether it’s just the few of us that are so fascinated by the bugs we encounter in the garden or are there more of us out there? If anyone did start one I’d certainly have plenty of material to contribute. Sometimes I seem to have more bugs than blooms 🙂

Look who’s back! I could cry!

Then we have a good guy … I love photographing them especially when I see them on lovely blooms

And then this one looks ordinary enough and I leave them be even though they cause lots of damage to foliage. At this time of year it hardly seems to matter because everything is going to be getting a jolly good cut back one of these days. So I just let them eat!

I read somewhere that these markings are supposed to scare predators into thinking they are big and scary … I think they are remarkable (and kinda scary)!

I suspect the caterpillar will morph into this …

And then look who’s eating whom!

I don’t have any gloriously exotic bugs to show. But hey, they’re mine!

Who’s been eating your garden lately?

xxx

Tags caterpillar, dragonfly, moles, moth

Christine's garden Gardening

Bulb planting 2012

Last year I spent quite a bit on spring-flowering bulbs and populated my garden with lots of Daffodils, Ranunculus, Tulips, Ixias, Freesias and a few Dutch Irises. After my initial ‘bulb planting’ fest I planted quite a few Asiatic Lilies in the Azalea bed and loved the show I had during Spring right through to the beginning of summer. It gave me so much pleasure to be able to pick flowers in my garden and bring them into my home as well as the many hours spent taking photographs and just generally enjoying the flower filled garden.

So this year I’m adding to my collection. Last year I discovered which bulbs do well in my garden and which don’t, and I’ve bought more of the winners. I especially enjoyed the Freesias and the Ixias last year (both are indigenous South African bulbs), so I’ve bought loads more of those. I’ve bought only a few extra daffodils to add to the collection in the front garden which did well. I’m thrilled to see the ones planted last year are already coming up again. The Dutch Irises are also coming back as well as the Ixias which were planted in a pot and the Freesis which were planted in shade. This year I’m adding another 100 Ixias directly into my sunniest bed and I’m adding the small Ipheon to the mix.

[one_half]Dutch Irises coming up again[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Bulb planting tools make it easy[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Some new bulbs (lots of Freesias)[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Lots more Ixias and new Ipheon[/one_half_last]

[one_half]More Dutch Irises for the back[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Louisiana Irises (not really bulbs)[/one_half_last]

Planting bulbs is not too labour intensive either – I use a dibber (I think that’s what it is called) and a special ‘bulb planting’ tool. Of course planting them into pots is even easier to do. This year I am also planting up a few pots with bulbs which I can then move into beds once they are flowering. This because some of my favourites require sun and I have limited sunny beds.

I hope it all works out as well as it did last year.

Happy Gardening
xxx

Tags bulbs, dutch irises, freesias, ixias, louisiana irises, spring bulbs

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Foliage Follow-up – What happened?

Post author By Christine
Post date May 16, 2012
13 Comments on Foliage Follow-up – What happened?

It’s the 16th day of the month which means its time to join Pam at Diggings for Foliage Follow Up, the monthly gardening meme where garden bloggers showcase the beauty of foliage in their gardens. This month I’m looking for advice …

“Variegation is the appearance of differently coloured zones in the leaves, and sometimes the stems, of plants. This may be due to a number of causes. Some variegation is attractive and ornamental and gardeners tend to preserve these”.

Most gardeners love variegated foliage and I’m no exception. I love the contrast they provide and discovering how one can add interest in a garden with different colours, shapes and textures of foliage is what really got me interested in gardening. I can spend hours looking at different foliage types in a nursery and I have spent many, many hours pouring over books learning about different plants and their foliage and how to use them in a planting scheme.

One of my favourites has been the unassuming Acorus gramineus ‘Variegatus’ (Japanese sweetflag) that I use as a contrast in my back shade garden. I’ve really loved this easy plant and have used it in my big plant bed as a border at intervals, for repetition and colour. Its been a stellar performer up until very recently when I noticed one of the groupings starting to go ‘all green’, i.e. reverting to all one colour (‘reverting to type’ is what I believe it is called).

I thought I’d show a few photos of it … the way it was and how it looks now.

In my ‘brand new’ garden in February 2011 …

And then a few weeks later I planted some more in another spot …

Still more, I have this in groups of five in four differences places …

A closer view of the variegated foliage …

Here you can see what a wonderful contrast it provides to some of my foundation plants …

And now … just a few months later its ‘returning to type’ / going green. Sigh … what to do?

Is this something I should be expecting? Is this normal? It is not an expensive plant. In fact I can buy them very cheaply and am wondering whether I should just yank these out and replace them with fresh new plants, or will they change back again? I love this plant – It’s evergreen, has narrow, shiny erect, fine leaves that are about 12 – 18 inches long. According to my notes it likes Sun to light shade; prefers moist to wet organically enriched soil.

I’d really appreciate any opinions and advice on this. They don’t look attractive the way I’ve planted them if they are all just green like this as they just look like ordinary lawn that has been left to grow wild – which is not the look I was going for, or want right here. It looks exactly like overgrown lawn right now.

Happy gardening
xxx

Tags foliage, foliage follow up

Barbie's garden Christine's garden Gardening Home page features

It’s almost Winter in Two Gardens for Garden Bloggers Bloom Day

Post author By Christine
Post date May 14, 2012
16 Comments on It’s almost Winter in Two Gardens for Garden Bloggers Bloom Day

Brrr … Winter is officially two weeks away but it’s feeling decidedly cold and ‘wintry’ already. There’s not really much blooming in our gardens right now but a little planning means we have a few pretty blooms so that we can still take part in Garden Bloggers Bloom Day – this being our 15th time!

Thank you for joining us for our late Autumn show of whats flowering in our South African gardens.

Here’s whats blooming in Christine’s Garden in May 2012 …

I’m not loving Autumn as much as I did last year. I think it may have something to do with some of the plants maturing in my garden and not acting all “fresh and new” as they did last year this time. I’m noticing variegated foliage returning to type (more about that in another post) and just in general I can see some plants need replacing or a severe cutting back (aka a complete makeover). Or perhaps its the change in weather patterns? We seem to be having more rain this year, which is a good thing, but it does change the way some plants behave. But lets see what I have to show …

[one_half]Looking for blooms under a sea of leaves 🙂[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Yay! There’s one! It’s Barleria obtusa[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Mandevilla splenens flower all year here[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Abutilon has flowered for months[/one_half_last]

[one_half]A few Azaleas are flowering now[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Camellias are flowering en-masse[/one_half_last]

[one_half]I love these pretty little daisies[/one_half]

[one_half_last]My new Salvia greggii ‘pink’[/one_half_last]

[one_half]And Salvia greggii ‘white’[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Japanese anemone ‘Honorine Joubert’[/one_half_last]

Also flowering are some indigenous beauties that I will share soon on a ‘Wildflower Wednesday’ post.

That’s it from Claremont in Cape Town, lets see whats happening in Barbie’s garden in Philly …!

Here’s what’s blooming in Barbie’s garden in May 2012

The autumn is ending on a cold note, but I still have the feeling that the warm sun is there to bring life to new seedlings. I have a little meadow patch that will delight me next Bloomers Day, so I look forward to sharing that. There are blooms in special corners, so the mass of colour may not be there, but I do delight in the hidden treasures. Here’s a few colourful corners …..

[one_half]Cosmos looking for the sun[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Gerbera and Alyssum still friends[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Cleome still delight me[/one_half]

[one_half_last]My potato bush amass with flowers[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Salvia Coral Nymph[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Rosemary full of blooms and bees[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Yarrow plant[/one_half]

[one_half_last]White Salvia[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Tansy back in bloom[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Love the blue-face lobelia[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Such a great ground cover – fleabain[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Spearmint flower[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Apple blossom already?[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Pineapple sage delights the sunbirds![/one_half_last]

[one_half]Protea bush is full this year[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Roses are not spectacular this year[/one_half_last]

[one_half]But have a few beauties[/one_half]

[one_half_last]The pink roses smell devine[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Hot lips Salvia and Powiss Castle[/one_half]

[one_half_last]and Alyssum hidden in the grass patch[/one_half_last]

About Garden Bloggers Bloom Day

Join Carol and friends over at May Dreams Gardens for Garden Bloggers Bloom Day in May to see what other gardeners around the world have blooming in their gardens today or see Seepferds Garten for the German version. And if you haven’t joined yet and have some blooms you’d like to show off, please join in the fun of showcasing your blooms! We’d love to see what YOU have blooming in YOUR garden right now!

Thank you for joining us!

PS: Please join us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter – we’ll be so happy if you do!

[note_box]If you are new to blogging and want to get involved in a Garden Blog Meme, see the list of Garden Blog memes we recommended.[/note_box]

Happy Gardening!
xxx

Tags garden bloggers bloom day

Christine's garden Gardening Home page features

Camellia bed update

I don’t really know why I call this ‘The Camellia Bed”, I have far more Camellias in the back garden than in this small corner, but that’s its name … the Camellia Bed. It started out as a very dark corner with overgrown trees casting deep shade onto the swimming pool – as a result we hardly used the pool). We slowly transformed the area as detailed in this post and then later I added the DIY trellis against the wall on which to train the Star Jasmine that thrives in this space.

I realised that it has been a year since I’ve photographed and talked about this corner on its own so today I took a few photos. Winter is not the best time of year for this bed, but three of the large Camellia shrubs are flowering and a ground cover shrub is also in bloom so it has a few pops of delicious pink and cerise blooms. The petals that fall off the spent blooms also create a pool of pink at the foot of the shrubs which just adds to the charm of the Camellias.

Here are a few photos I took today and then a few older ones to show how it used to look. Am I happy with it? Mostly I am … It’s a very shaded area so I am making the most of it.

A few “before” photos …

[one_half]Camellia bed in March 2011[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Camellia bed in March 2011[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Camellia bed in June 2011[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Camellia bed in June 2011[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Camellia bed in January 2012[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Camellia bed in February 2012[/one_half_last]

It’s become lush and very green. I might need to start doing some cutting back and pruning. Happy days!

Happy Gardening
xxx

Tags camellias, star jasmine, trellis

Christine's garden Gardening Home page features

Lovely Camellias

Flowers are the poetry of earth, as stars are the poetry of heaven ~ Unknown

The Camellias are like stars twinkling in my winter garden …

Some of the branches have too many buds on them so I’ve been picking off the weaker looking ones so we get better blooms. There are so many flowers and hundreds and hundreds of still-to-open buds … it’s just lovely!

Happy Gardening!
xxx

Tags camellias

Christine's garden Gardening Home page features Perenniels

New plants and grasses for the sunny bed

Post author By Christine
Post date April 30, 2012
16 Comments on New plants and grasses for the sunny bed

I’ve been dragging my feet with planting up the new bed in the back. I spent so much time “designing” and “planning” that I wasn’t actually getting anything done. I had this idea to add a rose on either side and a huge pot in the middle back spot. I hunted for the pot I have in my mind and I couldn’t find it. I don’t want to buy the first pot I see, or a substitute pot … I want the pot I’ve envisaged (seen it in magazines) so I will wait until I find it. In the mean time, a collection of sun-loving plants was starting to gather in my holding area – a few Salvia and some grasses I found.

Two weekends ago Barbie and I went to the Rare Plant Fair and we found a few ornamental grasses we’d not seen for sale before. I bought enough to actually start planting up my bed.

It’s the only sunny area in the back area and it gets really hot in one corner of the bed and the other half is partly shaded. I already have a few things in here. Carex at the front, a small Japanese Cherry blossom and the Silver Birch tree. My initial idea of planting roses here will have to wait for a while. For now I want to play around with grasses and a few sun-loving flowers.

[one_half]It doesn’t look like much yet …[/one_half]

[one_half_last]But I love the colours and foliage[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Carex and Helichrysum are established[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Salvia and grasses are all new[/one_half_last]

[one_third]Lots of different colours[/one_third]

[one_third]and varying textures[/one_third]

[one_third_last]make it look interesting[/one_third_last]

[one_third]Mostly … I love the colous[/one_third]

[one_third]a few little flowers[/one_third]

[one_third_last]and tall willowy foliage[/one_third_last]

[one_half]Festuca Glauca fills a few gaps[/one_half]

[one_half_last]It will look great … next year[/one_half_last]

I plan to plant a few bulbs here too – Ipheon towards the front and taller Ixias in the middle of the bed. I’m really looking forward to seeing how this bed develops over the next few months.

Here’s a look at the Before and after …

Plant list …

Panicum virgatum “Shenandoah”
Panicum virgatum “Warrior”
Pennisetum setaceum “Rubrum”
Argyranthemum Angelic white chic
Carex evergold
Salvia ‘Blue Emotions’
Salvia greggii ‘Navajo White’
Salvia greggii Pink
Miscanthus ‘Morning Light’
Miscanthus sinesis “Yaku Jima”
Helichrysum petiolare
Calamagrostis (I forget which one)

Tags grasses

Christine's garden Gardening Home page features Perenniels

Garden update

The wind has been whipping through my garden stirring up lots of mess and exposing areas in need of attention. I’m itching to get outside and get my bulbs planted but it’s really not much fun when its cold and blowing a storm. Today when I went outside to start planting, my sweet gardening buddies (dogs and cat) sat at the window and watched me from inside – so I realised my time might be better spent investigating what’s available at the nurseries. The last few weeks have taught me that I do not have enough “Autumn Interest” going on in my garden and I’m trying to change this.

I went to the nursery and came back with a few plants for shade to add to my back garden. I bought Coleous, a few white and blue Cape Primroses, a Geranium Palmatum and a few Argyranthemums for the new sunny bed at the back.

The Coleus is marked as “Flower Power Lime”. It’s a lovely limey/Chartreuse and I think it will look great as a contrast plant in the back garden.

I’m not a huge fan of Geraniums but this one caught my eye because it has interesting foliage which I like. I have no experience with growing Geraniums but thought I’d give this one a try. It is marked as Geranium Palmatum (Geranium Anemonifolium) and requires morning sun. I have a spot in the back I think will suit it. I will leave it in its pot for a few weeks to see how it copes there and if it seems happy I’ll plant it. I Googled it and it looks like I made a really great purchase. The flowers are lovely.

Then the Cape Primroses … Labelled as Streptocarpus Hybrids (Cape Primrose). Indoors in bright light or outdoors in semi-shade – I’m planting them out back with the other “house plants” that are happy under the big Pepper Tree.