Invasive species - Pom-pom weed (Campuloclinium macrocephalum)

Following the tractor around on our smallholding in Tarlton, Gauteng (south Africa), I also get a chance to ‘rescue’ small wildlife and flowers, giving the driver strict instructions to ‘go around’ it. This Pompom weed was blowing around briskly in the breeze and I had to hold it still to get a shot. These wildflowers have been blooming on our smallholding the whole summer, making bright pink splashes against the blue-green grass all along our fence.

The Pompom weed (Campuloclinium macrocephalum) is an ornamental South American herb belonging to the daisy family, Asteraceae. It is rapidly becoming the most serious threat to the conservation of grasslands in South Africa. Infestations become conspicuous when the plants are in flower between December and March, transforming the veld from green to pink. The plant initially establishes itself in disturbed sites such as roadsides, but then invades natural grasslands, open savanna and wetlands. This weed displaces native species, reducing both the biological diversity and carrying capacity of vleis and veld.

The plant initially establishes itself in disturbed sites such as roadsides, but then invades natural grasslands, open savanna and wetlands. This weed displaces native species, reducing both the biological diversity and carrying capacity of wetlands and veld. During winter the plant is not visible above-ground.  

However, now there is good news! Bio-control scientists have released a tiny insect to wage war on the dreaded invasive Argentinian pompom weed and save our Highveld grasslands. Recently, bio-control scientists celebrated the release of a tiny insect known as the pompom thrips (Liothrips tractabilis) by releasing them  into fields of pink-flowering pompom weed at Rietvlei Nature Reserve, south east of Pretoria.    

Very difficult to remove (I tried pulling out a few of them and actually got nowhere - this weed breaks off just above the ground, leaving the large, tough roots underground.) Recruited from Argentina, where pompom weed is indigenous, the newly-released pompom Liothrips causes significant damage to the stems and leaf tissue at the growing tips. This causes deformities in plant growth, reducing the height, biomass and flower production of this unwanted weed. Scientists also warn that it will take several seasons for entomologists to build up large enough populations of Liothrips to halt the spread of pompom weed.

You can read more about this bio-control here. 

Planting love

Thought for the day ...

David Hobson said, "I grow plants for many reasons : to please my soul; to challenge the elements or to challenge my patience; for novelty or for nostalgia, but mostly for the joy in seeing them grow," and I whole-heartedly agree!

Starburst!

Flowers of Syzygium australe

Looking much like a fireworks display, Syzygium australe has many common names that include brush cherry (because of the bright red berries it produces), scrub cherry, creek lilly-pilly, creek satin-ash, and water-gum, and is a rainforest tree native to eastern Australia. It can attain a height of up to 35m with a trunk diameter of 60cm. In cultivation, this species is usually a small to medium-sized tree with a maximum height of only 18m. The flowers attract many birds and insects, especially bees and, believe it or not, there was a bee on this flower which took off just as I pressed the shutter!

The blossom is spent...

A Masked Weaver (Ploceus velatus) in an Acacia karoo

Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature ― the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter. 

And there’s something so absolutely pleasing about a bunch of carrots with tops on! Maybe it’s the thought of pulling them out of the ground. As I stood there looking down at the carrots, thunder rumbled its way into the distance, and then the rain came, dropping words to the ground all around me. 

The blossom is spent and the trees are now all clothed in fresh green. Nature is throbbing with the sound of summer, a loud bird chorus. I feel the warmth of the sun on my shoulders and I feel at peace. If I had a song that I could sing for you, I’d sing a song to make you feel this way.

Where the wild grass grows

This was a corner in my Gauteng garden at my wildlife pond where I allowed the indigenous wild grasses and weeds to grow wild. It was a real haven for small wildlife, birds and insects. All the trees there were indigenous as well – White Stinkwood (Celtis africana) and some Sweet Thorn (Acacia karroo), a favourite for nesting birds because of all the thorns.

Dedicated to all wild-grasses lovers!

They’re building ’em up
skeletons of brand new palaces,
glass is shining everywhere
so neat are the lines
converging and rising from the sea
that feeds my eyes with watery
veins. Though
the place I like most,
is where the wild grass grows,
where angry bikers hit mud hills
and thick-skinned fishermen cradle
pet-boats between one pint
and the other.
—Eszty Arod

There you will find me...

... on my knees, in the garden, sprinkling handfuls of Marigold seeds in the moist soil.

It's summer and what could be more blissful than lovingly tending to your flock of flowers? Just like our children, they thrive on tender care and love.

Many of us have Marigold flowers (Tagetes) growing in our gardens, but did you know that marigold flowers have great healing abilities? It’s true, these beautiful golden flowers will heal your body in many different ways. Marigold flower tea has great antioxidants that help to prevent cardiovascular disease, strokes, and cancer.

To make tea or infuse the flowers, boil the water and then add 1 tablespoon of the flowers to the pot of tea and let it steep. Do not add the dried flowers to cold water and then let it boil. The tea purifies the blood, so drink this tea regularly.

Marigolds are also great insect repellents, mosquitoes hate them! By growing these flowers in your yard, you can be assured that mosquitoes will leave you alone and you’ll be helping out your local bees, too.

Plectranthus verticillatus

Plectranthus makes an ideal hanging basket subject

(Taken in my Tarlton, Gauteng, South Africa garden)

Common names: gossip spurflower, money plant, swedish ivy, skindersalie (Afr). Also called the money plant, legend has it that, if your Plectranthus should die, your money would dry up!

Plectranthus verticillatis - Image from Sanbi

Plectranthus verticillatus is a perennial semi-succulent ground cover native to woodland and forest margins in southeast Africa. It has long been a popular garden subject in many parts of the world, both for its attractive foliage as well as for its delicate white to pale mauve flowers.

The popular "Swedish Ivy" pot and basket hanging plectranthus is not P. verticillatus, as it is sometimes referred to overseas, but P. oertendahlii from the forested coastal river gorges of KwaZulu-Natal. The latter is characterized by variegated leaves with silvery markings.

Propagating a piece of Plectranthus given to me by a friend

This easy grower is not threatened in its natural habitat and is abundant in its native habitat in frost-free areas along forest margins, in woodland, kloof forest and scrub forest from Knysna through KwaZulu-Natal to Limpopo. It however does not tolerate frost, which is how I lost my plant in the hanging basket above. As the frost killed it, technically I do not regard is that my money will dry up! (Smile!)

Plectranthus verticillatus
.

My Plectranthus sharing a hanging basket with some Ivy (Hadera helix)

Mai (my pet Mynah) on my Plectranthus (money plant)

::

We are on the eve of a New Year - may your garden be filled with beauty and lovely surprises in 2019!