These are the flowers we had in the garden in mid-summer 2020, taken between 21 and 23 January 2020. They're not all overly pretty, but the purpose
of the photos is to record what was in the garden at the time.
Last month I was still concerned about some
trees, notably the Schinus molle
(pepper tree) and the Curry tree.
We're not out of the woods yet, but things are looking better. Here's the pepper tree last
month and now:
The upper branch is not dead, but not much seems to have happened, but the lower one is
progressing nicely.
The indoor Hibiscus
rosa-sinensis is still not looking overly happy, and I think some of the branches have
really died off. But the interesting part is the leaves. The part that hasn't died
has blotchy leaves that suggest that it wasn't getting enough fertilizer:
I've been following the Strelitzia
nicolai on a daily basis, but it has still not flowered completely, though some of the
first flowers are gradually fading. Here's the current situation:
Last month I noted how the succulent garden in the north-east of the north garden has
progressed, but it's doing much better still. Once again last month and now:
Nothing unusual in that, but it's nice to see that they're flowering well. In Kleins Road
they grew profusely, but this is the only one that has survived since we moved here
nearly 5 years ago.
Then there are the Mirabilis
jalapa that grow in front of the house:
They're really remarkable. I have done absolutely nothing to cultivate them; in fact, I
didn't really want them there any more. But they self-seed profusely and grow with neither
water nor fertilizer.
An interesting detail is the name that I've heard them called, “four o'clock flower”.
Allegedly they only flower round 16:00. But I haven't seen that: these photos were taken at
9:06, and by afternoon they had shut again. Does it maybe depend on the time zone? At
least it seems correct that they don't flower all day long.