Category: Christine’s garden

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 cammellias and azaleas but bougainvillea and Irises are my favourite and getting these to thrive is a challenge …

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

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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

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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

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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

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Garden Bloggers Harvest Day in May

Post author By Barbara
Post date May 5, 2012
9 Comments on Garden Bloggers Harvest Day in May

Welcome to our fifth Garden Bloggers Harvest Day this 5th day of May 2012. Our Two Gardens are in a change of season mode and being faithful to nature, we are preparing our gardens for the new growth ahead. So the sowing and the harvesting of seeds are the topic of discussion. We can officially declare summer over and the Autumn short! We are looking past all the fallen leaves and dead branches and, just by shifting the viewpoint, we can see our gardens as places of beauty to come and this sparks a whole new relationship with our plants and veggie patch!! Even though the beds are bare, lets bless our mess!!

Let’s see what can be harvested from Barbies Garden this month

Well, the month of May, for me, is a time for harvesting seeds and starting a formal seed bank. This I have never done before – yes, the odd seed or two, but this time I have a collection of seeds from my garden from swopping with friends and the yet-to-plant seeds that I have bought from various food and plant markets and garden shows. But I have a few veggies and incredible edibles that I can harvest and display with a smile on my face – we use these regularly in the kitchen and I have friends who call and ask for my herbs and lemons!

[one_half]Love Swiss Chard and its versatility[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Also fun to photograph[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Parsley, Sage …[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Rosemary and …[/one_half_last]

[one_half]… Thyme![/one_half]

[one_half_last]Origanum and Chives make a pretty picture[/one_half_last]

The back garden has accepted its fate and has now officially gone to seed and the harvesting of Sweet Basil and Rosemary seeds and Celery is in full swing. The Parsley and Thyme still grow on.

[one_half]Sweet Basil gone to seed[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Rosemary seeds now need to dry out[/one_half_last]

Other great harvest gifts from my garden!

[one_half]The lemon tree is bursting with growth![/one_half]

[one_half_last]Chilli is still going strong![/one_half_last]

[one_half]Celery for winter soups – yum![/one_half]

[one_half_last]Something new – Peppadew Chilli[/one_half_last]

These versatile and great to eat plants add flavour to so many warm winter dishes – soup comes to mind – Yum yum!

Let’s see what can be harvested from Christine’s Garden …

My veggie garden is mostly confined to planters and pots which are still producing plenty of herbs and chillies which I am using in soups and stews. I’ve finished planting out all my garlic bulbs and have been planning what else to grow that can grow well in containers. Although my tomatoes are finished and we’ve removed the spent plants, other things are growing well, some profusely including the new fennel, the bell peppers and the lemon grass plant is huge and lush. Basil never seems to give up and i’m still getting lots of parsely.

Here are a few of the edibles I’m harvesting for soups and stews …

[one_half]A basketful of goodies[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Chillis, peppers and herbs[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Lots of lovely chives[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Lovely fennel foliage[/one_half_last]

[one_half]The bell peppers are growing[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Oh dear! What have we here?[/one_half_last]

That’s all for this month – What’s growing in your Veggie Patch this month?

About Garden Bloggers Harvest Day

Please join us on the 5th of every month and show us what you’ve harvested. Whether you have a massive vegetable garden or grow a few herbs in pots or just pick a few peaches from a tree … we’d love to see! Its all about sharing our experiences, photographs, successes and failures as we “learn to grow”.

So prepare a post on your blog about what you harvested this past month, link up to us at The Gardening Blog and then, add your link to the Mr. Linky below so we can all visit your blog and “share in your harvest”. And leave us a comment! We LOVE hearing from you!

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Tags garden bloggers harvest day

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

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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.

The Cape primroses I bought are blue and white. I think they are very pretty.

Now I’m hoping for a day with no wind and rain so I can get outside to plant these and my hundreds of bulbs …

I did brave the cold to plant out the Argyranthemum ‘Angelic chic white’ which are now living in my new sunny bed. I’ll show you tomorrow …

A few scenes from my wind-swept garden …

[one_half]Leaves collecting in the alley[/one_half]

[one_half_last]In the “Gardenia Bed” lots of green[/one_half_last]

[one_half]And the Rose Bed is past its prime[/one_half]

[one_half_last]But the Camellias have started to bloom[/one_half_last]

Happy Gardening
xxx

Tags coleus, geranium, primroses

Christine's garden Gardening Home page features Perenniels

The Colour of Autumn

If you look past the mess and obvious work that needs to be done you will find little spots of colour and beauty in my Autumn garden. But, you reee-ally need to look past a lot of debris and fallen leaves to see it. If you love the look of fallen leaves and fading blooms, then you don’t have to look too hard to marvel at the changes that are happening in my garden. And if you go outside at the right time of day … you know, that special time when the sun catches the foliage at that splendid angle … well then you will see lots of beauty and colour in my very messy autumn garden!