Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

How any woman could possibly vote for this smug smarmy piece of misogynistic crap is beyond understanding.

In my day, never was longer.

I know this must be bad for Joe Biden, I just don’t know how.

White supremacy is terrorism.

I didn’t have alien invasion on my 2023 BINGO card.

There are more Russians standing up to Putin than Republicans.

Days Since JD Vance Insulted Women Across America: Zero

You don’t get to peddle hatred on saturday and offer condolences on sunday.

The revolution will be supervised.

Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

I am pretty sure Katy Tur wasn’t always such a bootlicking sycophant.

DeSantis transforming Florida into 1930s Germany with gators and theme parks.

When you’re a Republican, they let you do it.

When do the post office & the dmv weigh in on the wuhan virus?

Live so that if you miss a day of work people aren’t hoping you’re dead.

Let’s finish the job.

Let there be snark.

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

The gop is a fucking disgrace.

A lot of Dems talk about what the media tells them to talk about. Not helpful.

No Justins, No Peace

You can’t love your country only when you win.

Impressively dumb. Congratulations.

with the Kraken taking a plea, the Cheese stands alone.

You are here: Home / Garden Chats / Sunday Morning Garden Chat: South African Flowers

Sunday Morning Garden Chat: South African Flowers

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Geissorhiza_corrugata
Another gift from Mike S:

Today’s pics are a few of the South African flower bulbs I’ve grown and been lucky enough to have bloom (mostly in our cool/cold greenhouse) over the last 20 years. These aren’t huge flowers; today’s are mostly about 2 or 3 inches across when fully open (5-8 cm) but are impressive in their fine patterns of pollinator guidelines.

Geissorhiza-aspera

I haven’t yet visited South Africa (or anywhere in Africa), but I still have it on my bucket list! As a birder and wildlife watcher it is one of the top destinations, but as a gardener and lover of rock garden and succulent plants it is the pinnacle of plant diversity.

Geissorhiza-radians-in-bu

This is especially true because of the Cape Region which is often classified as one of the 7 or 8 floral/phytogeographic regions of the world all by itself.*

Geissorhiza-splendidissima
The area around Capetown South Africa has a Mediterranean climate (winter rainfall and summer dryness/drought) and is thus like its namesake and similar areas including Southern California a home to many “bulbs” or geophytes, I.e. plants with underground storage organs to which they retreat for survival during drought and fire each dry season. There is also a huge diversity of succulent plants like “ice” plants and Lithops (a.k.a. living stones) and much more!

Tritonia-deusta

East of Capetown the climate transitions to a winter dry/Summer wet regime. This change also corresponds to human farming and language transitions in this diverse country.

Sparaxis-tricolor
Sparaxis-tricolor
All this means that there are many plants from South Africa I’d love to see and possibly grow for myself in our green house.

Sparaxis-grandiflora-ssp-elegans
My kickoff into growing South African flower bulbs (mainly from seed) started with a “catalogue” of sorts, actually the book “The Encyclopedia of Cape Bulbs” by Manning, Goldblatt and Snijman (Timber Press 2002, Portland, OR, USA). It was an amazing eye-opener for me.

Sparaxis-elegans
I went through its 486 pages of color photographs and descriptions and compiled a want list of the smaller (rock garden scale) species in short order after I got my copy of the book soon thereafter.

Romulea-amoena2
I love this book for its plants, but also as a memento of our dog Marta, because it has one little chewed corner where she nibbled on its rear cover. It’s the only book she ever touched and I think she knew the book was special!

Romulea-amoena2
After I had my wish list I had to get the plants next! The question was where were any of these available? They were, but mainly as seeds. Some came from the North American Rock Garden Society’s Seed Exchange, but many more were purchased from a seed collector/seller from South Africa called Silverhill Seeds of Capetown.

Geissorhiza-radians
I had met the owners of this business, Rod and Rachel Saunders, when they came to the USA on a speaking tour, and their knowledge and concern for the conservation of their country’s floral heritage was very impressive. I ordered a large number of varieties from them and within a few months got my tiny seed packets. Over the years, I’ve been richly rewarded with many spectacular plants.

Geissorhiza_aspera
Since then, it’s become harder to import seeds like this and I only ordered from Silverhill that one time. I’ve picked up a few other South African bulbs over the years as gifts from friends.

Geissorhiza-corrugata
The uniqueness and diversity of the flora of the Cape Region is due to millions of years of relative geologic and climate stability and isolation. What changes have happened with change being gradual and allowing plants to adapt and evolve. Now the area gets very little freezing weather or nightime frost, but many plants from the area can take a few degrees of frost — that indicates that in the past there were colder intervals and many plants still have residual adaptation to temperatures a little below freezing. Our greenhouse has a small electric heater and we keep it so the temperature doesn’t fall below about 28o F (-2o C) at night.

Geisorhiza-bracteata
I’ve only had some of these for a brief period, but some have been thriving over the last 18 years and bring us joy in the early spring every year.

*When I studied biogeography areas of similar plant diversity and origin which were considered the major Plant/floral Kingdoms in addition to the Capensis Region of South Africa:
Neotropic: Most of central and South America
Neartic: Most of North America
Paleotropic: Most of Africa South of the Sahara Desert (excluding the area around Capetown, South Africa
Paleartic: The Europe, North Africa, and the northern, coldish parts of Asia
Paleotropic: the warm parts of southern and Southeast Asia including the Philipines, and much of Malayasia and Indonesia east to Wallace’s line.
Australian: Including New Guinea and the Indonesian islands west to Celebes.

***********

What’s going on in your garden (planning / indoor / tropical / retrospective), this week?

Reader Interactions

92Comments

  3. 3.

    satby

    @rikyrah: Good morning ?

    Mike S gave us the only flower sightings we’re going to have for a while. Still snowing here and 3-4 inches on the ground, but drifts from the wind so I’m not sure what the true total is. How about in Chicago?

  5. 5.

    MomSense

    I’m stuck in my room and feel a bit like a grounded teenager so I decided to do some garden reading and planning.  Our summer weather patterns have changed and I’d like to figure out how and what to plant that won’t be as resource intensive.  If these near drought summers continue I will need to make some big changes.

  9. 9.

    Dan B

    The Cape Finebos is amazing. A friend went to South Africa decades ago and the photos from their huge botanic garden were gorgeous. The name Finebos is descriptive of the fine texture of the low plants that cover the ground. I bet there are good photos on the web.

  11. 11.

    There go two miscreants

    Impressive color, especially the orange ones.

    Snow starting in the DC-Balto area, coming down pretty steadily now. Going to be a messy few days.

  16. 16.

    Immanentize

    When I lived in San Antonio, TX my neighbor was deep into South African plants.  He had the most beautiful array of Crinum.  He gave me some which thrived.  Then, when we moved to Mass, I divided them and gave some to my in laws (near Houston).  They are still going great now almost 20 years later.  Beautiful plants.

    ETA. By which I mean, thanks, Mike S.

  18. 18.

    Eric S.

    @satby:  I don’t know the official total but the snow on my deck (Wrigleyville) from the two storms is about 8 inches deep.

  19. 19.

    Phylllis

    Gorgeous. Sort of on topic–watched The Dig on Netflix Friday night. Can heartily recommend.

  22. 22.

    satby

    @Eric S.: Think Chicago and ‘burbs got it worse, we’re in a gap of no snow falling right now. But officially we seem to have 4″ already, with up to another 3 predicted before the system moves out.  On radar the lake effect is going west, not east too, so even more for you.

  24. 24.

    Immanentize

    @satby: here in Beantown, we are looking at maybe a foot between Monday and Wednesday.  Thanks for nothing mid-westerners.  Keep your own damn snow!

  25. 25.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    This week health post from Kos is about the scientifically proven value of kindness. I used to think kindness was a minor virtue, maybe related to politeness. But I’ve gradually come to realize how valuable it is, and how hard. In a family, it can be downright heroic.

    Also I apologize for repeating this from yesterday, but if you’re snowed in, you could take a look at a short story I had come out yesterday, free online. A pregnant woman is alone in her cabin when three strangers burst in seeking shelter.

  26. 26.

    Mike S (Now with a Democratic Congressperson!)

    Thanks Everyone,

    If anyone wants any (scientific) names for these they are available. I have lots more pics of other species too. I’ll share some pics of more familiar genera like Gladiolus, Oxalis and Clivia soon.

  28. 28.

    satby

    @rikyrah: ? I like snow, but I can just stay home till the streets get cleared if I want. Or when I used to commute on the Rock.

    Waded down my stairs and across the street to feed the ferals, and nothing had eaten last nights food. So even the birds (who seem to love cat kibble) are hunkered down.

  29. 29.

    Mike S (Now with a Democratic Congressperson!)

    @Immanentize: I grow a couple of Crinums, but they definitely need a greenhouse in the north AFAIK. I do know someone in Mass. that grows many of them in his greenhouse though.

  33. 33.

    debbie

    Here there’s 3 to 5 inches. It’s supposed to rain for a while, which should get rid of some of the snow, and then turn back to snow overnight for another 4 inches. I hate that nature thinks it needs to make up for time because she really doesn’t need to.

  35. 35.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    Loved the gardens in the Cape region when we went – thanks for your photos and knowledge!

  36. 36.

    Mike S (Now with a Democratic Congressperson!)

    @Immanentize: Cold Frames are definitely useful for a gardener. However my greenhouse is only 8×12 feet and I have no desire for a bigger one. I keep this one pretty full, but a bigger one would only tempt me to keep junky plants. As it is now I have to be selective and that keeps down the number of weedy/non-showy or non-edible plants.

  37. 37.

    NotMax

    OT.

    Hoped I’d get off scot-free from yesterday, when was forced by circumstances to shift very heavy and bulky furniture, stretching to the limit in awkward positions to root around behind to effect repairs in order to fix an electrical problem and repeatedly getting down on and up from the knees but can now feel the beginning twinges of achy payment. Gonna be one hurtin’ cowpoke come post-slumber morning.

    C’est la vie. This too shall pass.

  40. 40.

    WaterGirl

    In case anyone is interested in an update on the AeroGarden I (finally) started last Sunday after being inspired by last week’s Garden Chat.

    I have lettuce in all 6 slots!  Here are 3 pics.  Five out of the 6 sprouted in just 3-4 days, the final one (not pictured) is 3 or 4 days behind.  Only sharing 3 pics, but I am excited.

    Sunday Morning Garden Chat: South African Flowers Sunday Morning Garden Chat: South African Flowers 1 Sunday Morning Garden Chat: South African Flowers 2

  44. 44.

    Kristine

    @satby: I just cleared a space on the deck and rear sidewalk–looks like 5 inches of heavy snow, more or less, here in far NE Illinois, with another 2-3 inches of lighter stuff expected as the day rolls on. Winds were honkin’, though, so heights vary.

    I took a long walk with Gaby through the state park yesterday, enjoying trails we hadn’t walked in months because I knew they were going to be snowshoes/skis only through this week. Oh well, perfect for x-country skiers.

    Suffering such flower envy right now–thanks for the gorgeous photos, Mike S.

  46. 46.

    Gvg

    I checked out that book recently to prepare for my seed order to NARGS. I don’t have my own copy yet. This year the offerings seemed less diverse. Hardly surprising in a year of no travel. I grow several crinums and am gradually collecting more. People pass them along around Florida. Sometimes you see them near abandoned old houses. If I were better at chatting up strangers I could get more. I also love rain lilies. Will grow every one I can acquire in time.

    ebay is also a good source but crinums tend to be pricy on there. It’s lots of fun to browse though. Probability not at this time of year. There is an eBay crinum collector Who is located fairly nearby, towards Jacksonville. I want to visit after COVID.

    Has anyone grown South African dieramas? They are called angels fishing rods and I really want to try but I need the kinds that like summer rain. I started some seeds last year but it will be quite awhile before I see flowers if they make it.

  47. 47.

    satby

    @Kristine: My AeroGarden arrived a few days ago but I haven’t unpacked it either I want to put it in the kitchen, but first I have to move the 6 foot banana plant somewhere else ?

  48. 48.

    Kristine

    @satby: My dining area, which is the only spot in the house with decent sun exposure, is already full. I have a grow light from back in the seed starter days–I may set that up for the microgreens assuming I can find a table.

  49. 49.

    satby

    @Kristine: Oh, I feel ya! My dining area is full of the stuff I pulled out of my market booth so they could rent it while I was gone, and now January is over and it’s time to repack it all and go back. And in the dining room is where I’ll put that goofy banana tree. I hope, assuming I can move the thing.

  51. 51.

    MomSense

    @WaterGirl:

    I think it’s just a cold, but I’m being careful. It hit fast on Friday.  My mom got her first shot last week and I want to keep her safe until the second one kicks in.

  53. 53.

    L&DinSLT

    Late to the snow roundup but here at 6300′ elevation on our wind protected 2nd floor deck from the 1/22-1/26 blizzard we got 44″.  We won’t be seeing the ground for a month at best.

  54. 54.

    WaterGirl

    @Kristine: I can personally attest to the fact that more has happened in the one week since I unpacked the box and set this up… than had happened in the entire 4 preceding weeks when the unopened box sat on the chair.

  57. 57.

    Mike S (Now with a Democratic Congressperson!)

    @Gvg:  I’ve tried growing the lovely Dieramas, but they don’t like our hot summers. I’ve seen them growing in gardens in Eugene Oregon though

    ETA: still waiting for the snow to start here in SE Pennsylvania.

  58. 58.

    TomatoQueen

    Delicate snow showers here in Alexandria, but still an accumulation, enough to arouse the neighbor’s mutt’s curiosity. Airburst of proper snow due real soon now. My young man has an enormous boil on his face, and my first shot is scheduled for Tuesday morning, just in time for the second storm to roll up from North Carolina, where they keep these things for just in case. Ugh. The clivia guy on eBay died suddenly, and his son is struggling, so as soon as whatever I’m going to start clivias again.

  59. 59.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @satby: Hah! My AeroGarden arrived a few days ago. It’s still in its box of course. I need to clear space on the shelf I had in mind for it. Maybe today….

  61. 61.

    Mike S (Now with a Democratic Congressperson!)

    @TomatoQueen:  Snow just starting to fall here in SE PA. I grow Clivias from seed (because I’m a seedaholic, but I only have the rugular Orange with a yellow throat and two smaller pale yellow flowered ones that don’t look like they’re going to bloom this year. :-(

    @Gvg:  Also look into the Pacific Bulb Society. They have a good bulb and seed exchange.

  62. 62.

    WaterGirl

    @O. Felix Culpa: @satby:

    I’ll tell you guys what I told TaMara.  Imagine how bright the LED lights will be, and then multiply by 3.  They are BRIGHT, and they are on for 14 hours a day.

    So think carefully about placement and the start time.  I did 6am but that means the lights are on, really BRIGHT, through the evening, which is jarring.  I think I am going to switch to 2 am.

    For what it’s worth.

  63. 63.

    sab

    Be careful with those South African plants. They are gorgeous but some of them are really really invasive. Twenty years ago capeweed was overrunning parks in California. It was nearly impossoble to eradicate.

  64. 64.

    Mike S (Now with a Democratic Congressperson!)

    @sab:  This is very true. Especially the Mooreas from the Iris family in the  Mediterranean climate parts of California and maybe even Oregon. And who knows, possibly the hottest parts of Texas and Arizona. But here in Pennsylvania, none can survive outside.

    Plants from Northeast Asia are another story they are the worst invasives here. :-(

  65. 65.

    Kelly

    Mrs.Kelly and I planted trees Saturday. Our friend Ross has lived on the Little North Santiam River since the early 1970’s and he’s been my friend that long. A few other friends and his son showed up. His place is way up the river, in a neighborhood that borders the Willamette National Forest. His lot and the surrounding area was in the deep shade of 100’+ Cedars, Douglas fir and Western Hemlock. Red alder along the river. Big Leaf Maples scattered here and there. Vine Maple throughout the understory. The ridges rise 3,000 feet to each side of the river.

    A tiny plywood cabin when he bought the place.. He’s a teacher. Married and raised a family there. Over many years he handcrafted a beautiful home. Has grandchildren now. Counting his parents and grandparents, five generations swam in the river in front of their home. Beachie Fire burned it all. Burnt hard. River to ridge top both sides far as I could see. 

    The wreckage of their home is gone. The burnt trees are down. Brush and logs are stacked. A muddy flat with a beautiful river view. We planted Cedars and Douglas firs along their property lines, Sequoias on each riverfront corner. I scrambled down the steep bank to the river and planted a dozen Douglas firs. I planted most of them by stumps. The stumps will hold the slope and as they rot will nurture the young trees. 

    We grilled some hot dogs and told stories. It was a good day out.

  66. 66.

    scav

    A hardier South African plant — grows outside at least here in the coastal upper NW — is the Hesperantha [Schizostylis] coccinea or Cape Lily. The ones here started to bloom in August and had a few blooms even at Christmas this year at least. Glimpses here. Ours were a pass-along — we only discovered the name this year.

  68. 68.

    WaterGirl

    @scav: ooh, those are pretty!

    I have grown African lilies here in central Illinois.  They are good for the first season, but no luck after that.  Of course, that was the year of the VOLE, and they ate the roots of about 1/3 of my plants that year, so maybe the voles were the reason it didn’t come back.

    So beautiful, and different!  I may try again.

  70. 70.

    Mike S (Now with a Democratic Congressperson!)

    @sab: Yep, that one is bad. The worst of the worst for us now are Amur Honeysuckle, Asian Bittersweet and Japanese stiltgrass, but there are lots, and lots of others. The Philladelphia area, because of its long and enthusiatic horticultural history seems to be ground zero for a lot of these Asian invasives.

  75. 75.

    suezboo

    dear mike, thank you for featuring so beautifully my wildflowers and weeds. i live in a rural area of the western cape and i retired here from cape town just so i could be surrounded by beauty every day. because of the ongoing water shortage – climate change=drought – a lot of local gardeners are concentrating on succulents.

  77. 77.

    Mary G

    @sab: Mid/early April is when Lancaster has their poppy festival and the blooms are at peak. They won’t be great this year, because we’ve been very low on rain.

    Mike S, what a stupendous collection! I got into South African plants in the 80s when I was more able to garden. Mostly bulbs, which were available at a few nurseries and club shows. They did great outside in South Pasadena. I had nowhere near your variety, though.

  80. 80.

    StringOnAStick

    @Kelly: You’re a good friend, helping restore the trees and landscape; such a devastating loss for so many with the fires last summer.  Your photo a few days ago of the still smouldering stumps was an eye opener.

  81. 81.

    Mike S (Now with a Democratic Congressperson!)

    @StringOnAStick: I pollinate my own Clivia plants and then plant the seeds after the fruit turns red (about 6 months later). They are in the Amaryllis family and the seeds need to be fresh. to germinate. Dried seeds are dead seeds in this case.

  82. 82.

    sab

    @Mary G: Thanks. That’s okay because I am not going anywhere this year anyway.

    I remember many years ago driving throught the Tehachapi mountains in the Spring, in the only year in my adult life when I wasn ‘t preparing taxes in the Spring. I would love to schedule a vacation to drive aroumd California that time of year. Northern Ohio Spring is probably six weeks later at least.

  84. 84.

    StringOnAStick

    The BBC program Gardeners World had an episode or two where one of the presenters went to South Africa and met with some of their giants of the native plant world.  I think mostly they went to the Drakensburg mountains to see so many treasures growing in the wild; it was wonderful.  Many of the plants used for xeric landscaping in areas as low as zone 5 are from these mountains, like the hardy iceplants and red hot poker. Iran is another place with a climate similar to the dry western US, but obviously there’s not much plant sharing going on thanks to politics.  Russian sage is native to Afghanistan; not one I ever plant though since it can aggressively spread by suckers and I think it looks definitely not great in the winter plus there are better choices to get a similar look and bloom, like blue mist spirea.

  86. 86.

    J R in WV

    Our largest invasive problem right now is Russian Olive, a woody brush plant that grows thorns if you cut it back. It comes back worse if you just cut it with a chain saw, and RoundUp doesn’t really  harm it nearly enough. It was introduced as reclamation plantings on strip mines, then spread by birds eating the fruit and dropping the seeds everywhere.

    I’m using a more potent herbicide called Crossbow, treating the staubs and stumps after I cut it down with a chainsaw. Unfortunately even then it appears it’s going to take at least a second treatment to do this invasive plant in.

    Previously our worst invasive was Multi-flora Rose, introduced as a “living fence” by soil conservation and Ag agencies in the late ’40s and early ’50s. Really prickly hooked thorns with some serious irritants injected into victims. Swallowed up hillside pastures and crop fields, a little less aggressive oin the forest from the shade — full sun it was horrible, could be grubbed out by bulldozer and burned. Took real dedication to get rid of it, though.

  87. 87.

    StringOnAStick

    @J R in WV: Russian Olive is living barbed wire and so invasive. It’s a huge problem in the US West too, so even zone 5 winters don’t slow it down.  What limits it a little out here is the dryness, but it can do just fine on not much water.

    so many bad ideas from living fence and erosion control projects: Russian Olive, Kudzu, Salt Cedar, multiflora rose.

  89. 89.

    suezboo

    @sab: 
    yup. been here for years, just lurking. have commented maybe 3 times in 10 years. diffident about butting into american conversations.

  90. 90.

    Mike S (Now with a Democratic Congressperson!)

    @suezboo:  You’re most Welcome! I so much want to visit your “backyard” someday! I’d love to see pictures sometime.

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