Floral treasures in the mountain

On my afternoon walk I took a few pictures of the precious gems starting to flower at the moment.  There is so many different kinds of fynbos where I live, and I'm still discovering more every day.  I'm not a botanist and will only give a little info and comment on each. I mostly look out of a selling point of view as I'm in the veld harvesting business.  So any orders welcome, I have a picking permit in place.  

Protea repens (Sugarbush): This protea is mostly used commercially in the dried flower industry, although I think it has potential in the fresh market as well, just a pity it only lasts for mostly a week in a vase. Colours vary from solid white as in the 1st picture to variegated pink.  This is quite a common flower in many mountains in the Cape, but still a beauty.

The Erica family:  There is so many different Erica species that I am not going into identifying this one, I might just be wrong about it.  They all are beautiful and looks lovely in almost any arrangement, or just by itself in a vase. So fine and petite with my bodyguard in the background.

Brunia laevis (Vaaltol): Commercially very popular and mostly exported.  This only grows in the mountains of the extreme southwestern Cape, so we are very privileged to have it here in our mountains near Stanford.  We will only start harvesting in September when the grey heads are a bit bigger.

Life in the Overberg

It's views like this that makes my life great.  After about 60mm of rain the whole landscape changed almost overnight. The colours changed from brown to almost a superficial green. I love the feel of winter in the Overberg and can look for days at this never ending pretty view.  It's as if the earth can breathe again and rest after a long hot summer. Enjoy the pretty picture.

Fynbos farming

I'm a fynbos farmer in the making and still learn as I go.  It is still a very young business and I can't wait until everything is in full production as it will still take a while.  I've had a rough start with a very wet 2013/2014, but from now on everything can just go better.  I can just thank the Lord every day for the privilege I have to  have a job like this, with Protea fields in my back yard. This is just a few pictures of my nursery and Protea fields.

 Madiba (King Protea/ P.cynaroides) 

  Jelena (pincushion/Leucospermum)

Sylvia (Protea)

Autumn in the garden

Autumn is my favorite time of the year. The weather is just great with open skies during most days, cool and fresh in the mornings and the perfect time to plant new plants for the upcoming spring. As some might know, I live on the most beautiful place, explicit views but challenging when it comes to gardening because of strong wind and weather. I therefore tend to stick to mostly indigenous plants, although I think every garden must have some roses to pick and enjoy in your home. 

My garden still needs a lot of work and for the past 2 years I've learned a lot out of trial and error.  It is by far not a perfect garden and still very young. I see myself as a bit untidy when it comes to gardening, because when I see something interesting in a nursery, I buy it and would plant it anywhere where I can find space, not necessarily always next to the right plants, but that is how I like it.  Here are some pics of what I am enjoying currently in my garden. I will stick to common names of the plants in the pictures and hope I get them all correct.

 Top left: Confetti bush, light pink, very hardy  and indigenous to South Africa
Top right: Lavender (no need for introduction)
Front: Plectranthus neochilus, this is a winner and grows everywhere, it almost takes over. When flowering it makes a lavender type purple flower. Just by breaking off a piece and putting it in the ground it will grow if watered.

 Aloes: This is a field of it's own and I won't go into detail about the correct identification  of the above, but all I can say is that I love aloes, any kind, the more different types the better and they work great in areas with a lot of wind and little water.

 Spekboom: This interesting plant with it's enormous carbon-storing capabilities also looks great in an arid type of garden. It propagates very easily by making small cuttings in containers with compost or soil, keep it moist and you will have plenty Spekboom in a short while.

 Leucadendron Safari Sunset: Beautiful with it's unique maroon colour.  This is still a very young plant, but I am already enjoying it in the Fynbos side of my garden.  Always be careful to weed around Fynbos as it might cause death. The root structure is very fine and when weeding close to the stem you might hurt the roots, so rather leave it or cut it off with pruning shears. No compost and most fertilizers cannot be used on fynbos, but that is a discussion for another day.

 Back: Westringia, a good grower with grayish small leaves and small white or purple flowers
Left: Lavender
Right: Gaura/ Butterfly bush, very hardy, grows in strong wind with little water

 This is the last of what is left of my vegetable garden from summer. Spinach, carrots and peppers, but this was an absolute feast with sweetcorn, green beans, tomatoes, butternuts, cabbage and sweet melons. I could have supplied the whole community out of this patch, so watch this space for my veggie garden after winter.

 Left: Rosemary for the kitchen
Center: A beautiful light pink rose which I don't know the name for.
Right:  Teabush, also very hardy once it gets going, but I must say a teabush might also surprise you with a sudden death, as I had a few and only have one left.

This is a Bulbinella. There are many different types, which vary from yellow to orange. This is also a very hardy plant which can grow with little attention and water and has various medicinal properties as I've read.