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Home Gardens in June--So many flowers
Kniphofia sp and Shirley Poppies Kniphofia sp and K northiae (wide leaves) etcCrinum bulbispermumNierembergia repensHedychium hybrid orange flsMusa basjooGardenia Kleims HardyNew bed in front...
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Costus spectabilis, a Spectacular Plant Indeed
Me with the costus rhizome as a fashion statementWhen it comes to buying plants I admit it, I am usually quite thrifty (or cheap). I grow a lot from seeds, and I'd rather buy a small inexpensive plant...
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A Very Special South African Dianthus
Finally I have a nice flowering plant grown from seed I collected many years ago in South Africa of this unusual yellow flowered dianthus. I collected seed of it when I was traveling with Ernst Van...
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Drimia spaerocephala, One For the Plant Geeks
This bulb finally bloomed from seed for the first time this summer, and its an odd one. It comes from wet areas and ranges to very high altitudes in Kwa Zulu/Natal into the Free State, so it probably...
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Odd Milkweeds for the Odd Gardener
Asclepias viridisAsclepias sullivantiiAsclepias syriaca colonyNever one to follow others when it comes to gardening, I just grow whatever I like. While I do have a soft spot for a number of "common"...
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Another gardening year gone, a new one to come
I think facebook and all of its plant interest groups has taken my attention away from my blog, so its about time I write something. Its been a good gardening year after the most horrendously cold...
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Crinums, tough bulbs for tough places
Crinum bulbispermum "Jumbo""Jumbo"C. mooreiC. mooreiFound crinum from South CarolinaThe other found crinum from South Carolina, growing in the same location as the pink one aboveCrinum is a fairly...
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Crotalaria, not your usual annuals
Crotalaria is a large genus with both annual and perennial species. Most are concentrated in Africa though they are found elsewhere too. This year I started several from seed but two got large enough...
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A must for the garden, Orthosiphon labiatus
Salvia is a justifiably popular genus with many species that boast fragrant foliage and wonderful flowers. There are other genera in the same family that are equally wonderful but hardly known outside...
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Eucomis, the African Pineapple Lilies
Eucomis zambesicaEucomis montanusE. montanusEucomis vandermerweiE. vandermerweiEucomis autumnalisE. autumnalisEucomis are becoming more popular of late, and there are now a number of hybrids that can...
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Lobelia siphilitica, a tale of dwarves and albas
Lobelia siphilitica "Mistassinica"Lobelia siphilitica "Mistassinica"Typical L. siphiliticaLobelia siphilitica "alba" Lobelias have lots of good qualities to recommend them for garden use. They grow...
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Summer Growing Lapeirousias
Lapeirousia saundersonii Lapeirousia saundersonii closeupLapeirousia schimperi Long tubed flowers of L. schimperi Lapeirousia is a primarily South African genus with the vast majority of species being...
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Blogging before the Blizzard--Testing South African Plants for Cold Hardiness
Oxalis melanosticta w/ O. pocockiae nearbyOxalis stenorrhyncaBrunsvigia radulosaAsparagus sp from Plant DelightsSparaxis elegansDiospyros lyciodesThese photos were taken earlier in late December when...
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Sutera species and a Yellow Felicia
Sutera brevifloraSutera brevifloraSutera cf halimifoliaSutera cf halimifolia Sutera sp Silverhill Sutera sp Silverhill Felicia mossambadensis Felicia mossambadensis Felicia mossambadensis Sutera...
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Godzilla Sunflower--Helianthus grosseserratus, maybe
This rather imposing beast of a plant is something I grew from a seed that I got off my friend Andrew Block's helianthus that he had collected somewhere in NY I think. At the time we thought it was H...
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Iris Species in my School Garden
A spuria irisIris ensataIris pseudocorusIris virginica?Iris hookeri?Iris sp TibetIris sp TibetIris versicolor?Iris versicolor?Iris dwarf bearded hybrid from seedIris fulvaI grew a lot of iris seeds out...
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An Indoor South African Garden
Pelargonium incrassatum, pink formOxalis cf obtusaOxalis obtusaOxalis purpureaOxalis purpureaOxalis spHesperantha hantamensisHesperantha hantamensisLapeirousia oreogenaBabiana sp.Massonia cf...
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Osteospermums in the Garden, and Don't Always Believe What They Tell You
Osteospermum AvalancheOsteospermum hybridOsteospermum hybridOsteospermum hybridOsteospermum hybridIn the front, along a the walkway I put in a slightly raised area with lots of road sand and planted it...
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Osteospermum "Avalanche" Offspring
In my last post I wrote about getting seeds off of Osteospermum "Avalanche". Evidently it crossed with one of the purple tender ones as I got this blue eyed offspring. Only one other seed grew and...
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Acer pentaphyllum, a Rare and Unusual Maple
Generally I am not a great fan of maples, perhaps because when we were at the old house that my folks owned I had to fight with the roots of Norway maples in some of my gardens. They were quick to...
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