Not the least delightful part, in my opinion, of the growing knowledge of gardening, is the appreciative visiting of the gardens of others. – Mrs CW Earle
It has been a heady, inspiring season of show gardens. The organisers of those in the Elgin area charged individual entrance fees, instead of one general, sometimes expensive, ticket. This seems a reasonable idea, for however much one longs to see all the gardens on display (and in the case of Elgin there were 23), five or six I feel is the most you can fully appreciate in one day.
In Elgin, there were abundant roses smothering shrubs and trees, such as the pink, sweetly-scented Albertina which, alas, flowers only in spring; unusual sky-blue woodlanders like Corydalis “China Blue” and fragrant flowers like our indigenous Hermannia pinnata “Honey Bells” and the golden floribunda rose, “South Africa”.
And, as a glorious introduction to all this beauty, profusely flowering hedges of the white rambler, Alberic Barbier, lined the N2.
On the homeward run, nature’s garden also provided some magic. On the mountainside above Kleinmond, for instance, an area earlier ravaged by fire, the rare Pillansia templemannii, which from afar could have been mistaken for an orange watsonia, made a vivid show.
Now we should be thinking of plants that will flourish in hot, dry summer. Gaillardias have brilliant yellow and orange colours, like our indigenous gazanias, but with the added advantage of not needing sunshine to open. I love the compact hybrid, “Arizona Sun”, which avoids the rather unruly growth habit of a gaillardia and is most floriferous, giving a bright show all summer long.
Then there is “Snow in Summer” (Cerastium tomentosum) from Sicily and the mountains of Italy.
This tough little plant, which has silvery foliage and masses of white, starry flowers, needs good drainage and full sun. Six packs of these can be bought to give a quick coverage in a rockery.
The dianthus, or pink, likes similar conditions and has the added advantage of delicious, clove-like scent. It comes in colours ranging from white to deep red. One little beauty, which will need some searching, is called “Arctic Fire”. It is pale pink with a dark centre,
While I rely heavily on the agapanthus, in shades ranging from white and a variety of blues to a few purples, for continuous flowering over the festive season, there is nothing to beat the bougainvillea for a brilliant display. These plants, to flower well, need to be kept fairly dry. Feed them with a high potash fertiliser, such as Phostrogen, and do not prune heavily, for they produce flowers off the old wood.
The showy Communal Garden on the outskirts of Simon’s Town that I mentioned last month is, I discovered, the brainchild of Maxie Burger.
Her own garden on the hillside above is a splendid example of how to grow eye-catching plants in the teeth of strong winds.
- Cape Argus