Earth's little gems - Gasteria glomerata

My newly-acquired Gasteria glomerata on the left sharing a pot with Huernia longituba

I acquired my Gasteria in February this year (2015) by way of an on-line auction on FaceBook and after winterizing inside my house for two months, I was thrilled to discover a small! flower soon after I put it outside at the beginning of spring. I just can't wait to see it fully open!

Gasteria glomerata is a stemless, compact succulent plant with an unspotted but slightly roughened grey-green leaf surface. Leaves grow in a single line (distichous), but the plant clumps up freely to make a mat. Already I see a baby peeping through on the left! It is native to the Eastern Cape of South Africa.
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G. glomerata is a rare endemic confined to the lower Kouga River, now part of the Kouga Dam. Although it is rare, its status is not threatened at all due to its cliff face habitat and it is protected within a reserve. The seed is also dispersed world-wide and the plant is commonly grown in many collections. Its ease of propagation ensures that it is not necessary to collect plants from the wild.

The terrain of Gasteria glomerata is rugged, inhospitable and the plants occur on sheer, vertical, shady, south-facing rocky ledges (altitude 500-700 m), in minerally poor, slightly acid quartzitic sandstone soils. Gasteria glomerata is pollinated by sunbirds. Its fruiting capsule, opens from the top to release the flattish seeds. The fleshy leaves store water and are therefore drought tolerant, making this an ideal water-wise garden plant. Even though its habitat on the cliffs is very exposed, and is bone dry at times, the plants receive enough water from seepage for survival.
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It is popular due to its horticultural value, and can be grown in small containers or in succulent plant gardens and is easily propagated from leaf cuttings or seed. It is a slow growing, but long-lived species. Leaf cuttings should first be allowed to dry and heal by placing them on a cool windowsill for at least three weeks. The basal part should preferably be treated with a fungicide. Plant the leaves in an erect position or lying on their side in sandy soil. Rooting is rapid and young plants can be harvested the following season.

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Winter is dead

She turned to the sunlight and shook her yellow head... and whispered to her neighbour, "Winter is dead”.

- A A Milne

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What a garden requires

A garden requires patient labour and attention. Plants do not grow merely to satisfy ambitions or to fulfil good intentions. They thrive because someone expended effort on them.

~ Liberty Hyde Bailey

Setting out food for feathered friends near your garden encourages them to stick around and do some insect control.

There's something pleasing about a bunch of carrots with tops on. Maybe it's the thought of pulling them out of the ground!

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The first 3mm of rain

It's amazing what even the tiniest amount of rain does! The very next day after we had only about 3mm of rain, many of my succulents burst into bloom, as if saying "thank you!" The ground under the trees wasn't even wet, but I think these thankful little plants will bloom even just at the smell of rain!

For the first time ever since I acquired my one Aloe aristata (Guineafowl aloe or Lace aloe), which has just been clumping and producing more babies, has flowered. One single stem with lovely coral bells on the end.

Aloe aristata flower

My Bunny Ears cactus (Opuntia microdasys) has been dormant for ages and is also now rewarding me with lovely new green pads.

I've been waiting and waiting for this, and at last it looks like my Mammillaria cactus is going to produce some flowers! The flowers form circles around the crown and I'm hoping mine will too.

The Epiphyllum crenatum (Litroos in Afrikaans) has produced lovely flowers this season, even though it's still very small, Given to me by a dear friend, it first died off and I thought I'd lost it, but within a couple of weeks it sprouted and now, 18 months later, I have flowers! Amazing!

 Peanut cactus in flower

All the Peanut cacti started flowering at the same time. I have four small pots of this lovely little cactus, which looks great in a hanging basket as they tend to grow long tendrils that hang over the pot.

Rattail cactus in flower

Both my Rattail cacti (Aporocactus flagelliformis) have been flowering since the beginning of spring but now, after the first drops of rain, they finished off over-night. Lots of seeds to be gotten here - they are at the base of the flower where it joins the long 'rattail' - and when laid on top of some soil, they soon take root and form tendrils.

So here's to the next bout of rain, VERY late this year, and the lawn and garden desperately needs it.

Even when it's winter...

Even when it's winter and I'm not out in the garden much, I still think of my garden! Here are a few things I planned last winter : to sketch and plan new little corners for the garden, to move pot plants around, to rearrange all the succulents on the plant stands, to trim low-hanging branches of the trees to allow in more sunlight, start a compost heap again and maybe start a new rock garden. I just have to find a large, sunny spot.

Thunder rumbled its way into the distance, and then the rain came, dropping words to the ground all around me.

Step outside after the first storm after a dry spell and it invariably hits you: the sweet, fresh, powerfully evocative smell of fresh rain! If you’ve ever noticed this mysterious scent and wondered what’s responsible for it, you’re not alone. It's called “petrichor.” It’s the name of an oil that’s released from Earth into the air before rain begins to fall. This heady smell of oncoming wet weather is something most people are familiar with – in fact, some scientists now suggest that humans inherited an affection for the smell from ancestors who relied on rainy weather for their survival.


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What now?

It's the beginning of summer and everything in the garden is running smoothly - we've had a couple of weeks of a heatwave, but Chrissie and I managed to stay on top of most of the chores - the lawn has had it's first mowing, edges are neat, leaves have been dug in to serve as compost, excess growth has been trimmed, trees have been neatened up and the pond is clean.

Mulched and composted, the Hydrangeas are just starting to recover from the winter

So what is there to do now while the rake and spade are enjoying a well-deserved rest?

Redheaded Finch (Amadina erythrocephala) - watercolour in Moleskine - Maree

It's obvious - watch the birds! They're enjoying everything the garden has to offer - seeds and fruit, bird baths and shelter for nesting. My binoculars, camera and sketch-books have been working overtime - the Redheaded Finches (pictured above) flocked to the Butterfly bush at the pond and for weeks on end there has been constant chattering and fighting over the best vantage and nesting points. Some Bronze Mannikins (Spermestes cucullata) joined them, but the two groups occupied two different bushes, putting up a big show of territorial behaviour should anybody stray from one to the other.

"Red Bishop" - sketch in an old soft-cover book - Maree

The Red Bishops are a beautiful sight, their red flashing from tree to tree and their presence at the bird table is always a joy - they're very tolerant of everybody else, yet don't hesitate to defend their territory if necessary.

I was cleaning up earlier on and came upon some old books, so I carried them to the patio with a cup of tea and was busy going through them to decided which ones to throw out, when the Bishop in all his glory caught my eye. The male's buzzing song alerting the female to the nest he's building for her is always the first to alert me of their return. I was so excited to see them that I grabbed one of the books, opened it and started sketching him sitting on the fence post. I then rushed to get some paints and got his colours while he was flitting around, showing off to the female. So now none of the books are being thrown out - I've found a new use for them!

The Fiscal Shrike is rearing four babies this season and here one of them contentedly takes a nap after feeding.

One of the Fiscal Shrike parents keeping a watchful eye as I move around the garden

 My Cape Robin-chat (Robbie) watching me as I'm watching him!

Once your garden is up-to-date and you are scrounging around for chores to do, take a moment and enjoy the fruits of your labour! Take a seat on a garden bench and let your eyes roam over all your hard work, noticing the beautiful flowers, the insects pollinating and ensuring future generations of blooms and the birds enjoying your gifts to them. That is what makes it all worth-while!



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Spring is a miraculous experience

My Clivias were already flowering in late-winter and putting up a spectacular show

The whole world comes alive after the winter in which it seemed that everything was dead. The world comes filled with colour and the scent of delicious greenery. The world that seemed so dull and cold has come alive once again. Little did we know that beneath the cold hard ground the plants and trees were preparing for rebirth. Spring gives us hope for rejuvenation in our own lives as well. Spring is a time to renew the excitement and zest for life that lives inside.
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The Geraniums responded to the warmer weather by all flowering at the same time

It Must Be Spring
Hush, Can you hear it?

The rustling in the grass,

Bringing you the welcome news

Winter's day is past.

Soft, Can you feel it?

The warm caressing breeze,

Telling you the sticky buds

Are bursting on the trees.

Look, Can you see them?
T
he primrose in the lane,

Now you must believe it
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Spring is here again!

Normally, by early September, we've had our early spring rains, but now, by early October, nothing yet, so Chrissie has to resort to watering the garden from the pond, which delivers strong water through the .75Kw pump. The normal garden hose relies on water tank pressure and is very weak.

My Aloes (A. ferox) flowered throughout winter until late spring, supplying much-needed sustenance to the nectar-feeding birds. Here Chrissie is neatening up the crusher stone edging which the chickens have spread far and wide!

5am on a spring morning is the best time to water the garden before the temperatures begin to rise. This gives the plants a good supply of water to face the heat of the day. Early morning also tends to be a time of lower winds and thus reduced evaporation. If watering cannot be done in the early morning, very late afternoon is also satisfactory. It is important to water early enough so that the leaves have time to dry before nightfall to avoid development of fungal diseases. If possible, choose watering methods that will not wet the leaves (such as soaker hoses) and thus allow for late evening watering.

In spring and summer I also let the girls out much earlier than usual and here they're enjoying some early-morning insect hunting.

My Arum lilies and the Phormiums did well over the winter. Phormiums are not tender greenhouse plants and they are especially good plants for cold and windswept gardens. They can easily tolerate minus 5°C and even minus 10°C, which has never really happened here. Phormiums require full sun in a moist but well drained soil. They will however grow well in poorer soils providing they are given regular granular feeds of a nitrogen based fertiliser. Phormiums are greedy plants which grow quickly if they are well fed. It is because Phormiums provide such a quick and colourful foliage display that so many councils use them on city roundabouts and roadside plantings.

Phormiums are pretty much pest free and most animals seem to ignore them. They are easy plants to grow and make lovely fillers in the garden. The range of coloured leaves between different varieties is enormous. Anyone who has experienced a failure after last winter should try again but remember to mulch heavily before the onset of a hard frost.

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