INDIGENOUS AUTUMN GARDEN FLOWERS

Autumn is a beautiful time of the year here: clear blue sky, sunny days, crisp air and the blooming of some interesting indigenous flowers in my garden.

The White Paintbrush Lilies are coming into bloom and will look their best in a few days time. Soon after they will probably be covered by ants seeking their nectar. This plant arrived unannounced in a shady part of my garden many years ago and is gradually multiplying.

One of the more attractive, I think, species of Bulbine. The plain yellow ones are common around here so I treasure this one.

I planted a Forest Pink Hibiscus from seed decades ago and am still surprised by their delicate pink flowers that brighten the forested section of our garden every year.

When I planted a slip of Scarlet Pelargonium, I had no idea it was going to grow to be so tall and spread as quickly as it has. It is seldom without flowers that brighten this corner of the garden.

This Osteospermum has battled its way through several drought years and, after early autumn rain, is looking particularly bushy and beautiful at the moment.

Lastly, a flower one cannot ignore at the moment is canary creeper. I have featured it before as it is so prominent – draped over bushes and climbing up trees. Once it has flowered, I shall have quite a task cutting it back.

 

CHAMELEON CABERNET SAUVIGNON MERLOT

The Jordan Winery in Stellenbosch produces a magnificent wine in their Chameleon range: a wonderful blend of cabernet sauvignon and merlot. What is there not to enjoy about the beautiful dark red colour and the rich, fruity flavour?

The Cape Dwarf Chameleon on the label is perched on the flower of a Cape Honeysuckle (Tecomaria capensis), such as this one growing in my garden.

The wine is intriguing – like the crossword that accompanied it!

LOOKING OUT OF MY STUDY WINDOW …

Looking out of my study window earlier this morning, I was delighted to see a Cardinal Woodpecker alight on a branch of the large Erythrina caffra growing in my neighbour’s garden.

I was equally pleased to note bunches of bright red seeds in the black seed pods hanging down between the green leaves. Before long the latter will turn yellow and brown, leaving the tree bare so that we can fully appreciate the scarlet blooms. These in turn provide sustenance to a host of birds and insects during the winter.

How could I not be attracted to the bright yellow Canary Creeper blossoms draped all over the bushes and trees in the garden?

The orange Cape Honeysuckle is in bloom too – gratifying to see a Cape Weaver having some breakfast nectar.

Not so pleasing to see are signs of the invasive Madeira Vine – I will need to attack that as soon as my gammy knee improves enough for me to tug at the vines and cut them back.

This is autumn in the Eastern Cape. Our garden is filled with the mellifluous calls of Red-winged Starlings feasting on the fruit of the Natal fig tree that dominates a part of the front garden.

The Crossberries are blooming.

And I can see one of the early aloe flowers opening up.

Life is good.

A VARIETY OF SUCCULENTS

Succulents are ideal plants to nurture in an area that experiences low rainfall. They also do well in miniature indoor gardens, like these ones:

They can be grown in pots:

Some succulents are happy to trail over rocks or hang over a terrace wall:

Then there are aloes – my favourite – growing out in the garden and ready to provide beautiful flowers during the colder winter months:

AMATUNGULU (CARISSA MACROCARPA)

My first acquaintance with Amatungulu trees (the Zulu name for what is commonly known as the Natal plum, big num-num or by the Afrikaans name, grootnoem-noem) when I was a young child visiting my grandparents on the South Coast of South Africa. It is a common and fairly conspicuous species in coastal bush and sand dunes – especially when the fruit is ripe.

Those fleshy red fruits of the Carissa macrocarpa are a delicious mixture of sweet and sour and are, apparently, packed with vitamin C, calcium, magnesium and phosphorous. I loved them after my first taste and have made a beeline for them ever since – much to the horror or some of my family members who lack confidence in the fruits of the wild.

I have since discovered that, apart from growing along the coast of KwaZulu-Natal, these trees also thrive along the coast of Pondoland to the south and into Mozambique in the north. A hedge of them grew in the carpark of the school I taught at for many years and I loved picking a fruit to eat every morning during the fruiting season.

The thorns on this plant are Y- shaped, the young branches are green and all parts of the plant exude a white, milky latex which is harmless.

The hairless leaves are leathery: glossy dark green above and paler below with the tips ending a thorn-like point. These trees are sometimes used for nesting sites.

The flowers are white, sometimes tinged with pink and are lightly scented. They are attractive to insects, butterflies and insect eating birds.