A walk through my June garden

After a beautiful mild Autumn, winter has struck with a vengeance, giving us -3℃ temps at night and 7℃ in the middle of the day with a couple of warmer days in between.

Thank heavens for Phormiums and Restios, the hardy back-bones of the garden!

My herb garden is feeling the effects of the cold nights. I think a total revamp here in Spring would be in order...

Lanky and shrivelled Aeoneums and Echeverias

The young Aloe ferox along one of the garden paths is also showing signs of suffering

Over-worked wheelbarrow!

Arum lilies, who do not mind the cold at all, but slightly trampled by my chooks. Why on earth would they want to walk ON TOP of the plants...?!

Whoot whoot! Two of my Aloe ferox seemed to have escaped the effects of the frost and are flowering, although the one at the bottom seems to have been burnt a bit already, just hope its flowers are OK.

The wildlife pond has sprung a leak and this is how much it has drained so far. Next step is to scoop out the last bit of water (being careful and keeping an eye open for any aquatic wildlife), but I'm waiting for a day a bit warmer than 16℃!

I am absolutely thrilled to bits! This is the first time my Aloe marlothii has flowered since I planted her in February 2012! These aloes do best in a more temperate climate and I was worried that it would not make it through our severe winters, but so far she's holding her own!

Close-up of Aloe marlothii flower

Hopefully my Aloe marlothii will manage to complete her blooming, I'm dying to see the open flowers.

My little private forest at the pond, now the trees are leafless and letting through much needed sunlight

I'm surprised that the Sword Ferns are still green and maybe it's a sign that this winter is not as severe as I perceive it to be. Just a month or two more, roll on Spring!

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Just before winter (April 2015)

Winter hasn't sunk in yet and I'm still hanging out in April! It has been sooooo absolutely cold that I haven't yet managed to catch the devastation that's happening in my garden. I'll get around to that this week, but in the meantime, let's still bask in the sunshine and greenery of Autumn!

Autumn (and the month of April) is when many of my Aloes start flowering. The Aloe ferox (the larger Aloes) will start a bit later, roundabouts May/June, but the aloe zebrina (with the long stalks), are already in full flower, above and below.
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Walking through the garden just after sunrise is still a pleasure with the sun shining brightly through all the plants. But soon most of those Nasturtiums will be gone and the Sword Ferns will be withered and dead. But the hardy back-bones of the garden like the Phormiums, Restios, Aloes, Arums, big trees and succulents normally escape unscathed, leaving something to tend to.

I'm looking forward to when the Aloe ferox start flowering; if they're not caught by a bad frost in the early-flowering stage, they will provide splashes of orange to brighten up all the greenery.

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