Backyard Harvest. Agterplaas Oes

I think a report on my harvests is long overdue. Don't let the word "harvests" fool you into thinking massive, farm-scale hauls however. No, the produce harvested in a backyard garden is much more humble. It still leads to pride and joy - especially if the harvest is larger than expected. An occassion that, admittedly, didn't occur very often in my little South African patch this summer.

So here goes:

Clockwise fltr: Gem Squash/Skorsie, two Pepinos/twee Boomspanspekke, tomatoes/tamaties

One of the most successful plants in my backyard veg patch isn't a vegetable at all, but the pepino. It's like the gift that keeps on giving. I get at least one juicy pepino every week from a bush less than knee-height. Plant it if you live in a sub-tropical or moderately humid region people!

The gem squash wasn't through any effort of my own. No, a volunteer plant sprung up under my little kumquat tree. I think the manure-enriched compost might have something to do with it. The plant soon lost the fight against white powdery mildew, but not before providing us with two lovely squashes. Two might be a meager amount, but they were unexpected, so I'm appreciative.

The tomato haul has been bitterly disappointing. Blight of course. The only tomatoes that seem to flourish are the volunteer cherry tomatoes, and even they got blight in the long run.

Clockwise fltr: Brandywine Sudduths, Red Kaki, Dr Carolyn Yellow

The Red Kaki tomatoes (dark-green round tomato pictured centre-right) were a complete flop. The plants all got blight too early for the poor little tomatoes to flourish. At least I received the seeds for free haha. The blight is definitely to blame, but this cultivar seemed the most prone to it. I don't think they will get any of the valuable garden space in future.

I got some decent-sized Brandywine tomatoes. The plants also developed the dreaded blight, so most of the tomatoes had to be harvested greener than should be, but their taste was  great. No fake taste, like all those beautifully plastic-looking shop tomatoes. They are a bit mushy for my taste though. I think I will try another fleshy cultivar next year. Any suggestions?

The biggest surprise has been the Dr Carolyn Yellow tomatoes. I harvest at least a handful every day. They also lean to the mushy side when over-ripe, but they produce like little machines! They also look beautiful in salads. I don't know if this is pure coincidence, but they also seem more blight resistant than the other cultivars I tried this year. Think I will give them a go again next year.

How does your summer harvest look thus far? Winter harvest, if you're living on the other side of the equator?

The Joys of Summer Gardening. Vreugdes van 'n Somerstuin

I did complain extensively about all the woes and problems summer heat and humidity causes in a garden, but it's not all doom and gloom. Yes, white powdery mildew explodes on cucurbits and blight attacks almost everything, but the warm season brings on its own joys and beauty.

Nowhere is it more evident than with all the flowering plants. I would like to share with you a few photos of the blooms in my little Garden Route garden:

Carnations/Angelier (Dyanthus caryophyllus)

I must confess that the Carnations are the granny's babies. She nurtures them every day, and look how gorgeous they turned out to be! I simply love the intoxicating scent of them - daardie eksotiese mengsel van soet blommegeur en speserye. The botanical name for carnations 'Dianthus' means Heavenly Flower, and yet it is also a symbol of socialism on the one hand and bad luck on the other, in Francophone countries. What a contradiction!

Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum)

A Peace Lily's leaves are so glossy it always reminds me of a good imitation plant. It's simply so beautiful and shiny; with the weirdest little white flowers. Weird or not, these plants are a good solution to those troublesome shady corners. This is because peace lilies don't need much light or water.

Miniature  Pansies/Miniatuur Gesiggies (Viola x wittrockiana)

Pansies just have a way of cheering me immediately. I mean, who couldn't love them? Especially in their cute miniature form. The Afrikaans name for pansies make them sound even cuter; 'Gesiggies' (little faces). Adorable right? These are more commonly referred to as violas, but nevertheless the same species as those big annuals. 

Foxgloves/Vingerhoede (Digitalis)

After I saw a stunning garden layout in the Garden & Home magazine, I simply HAD to have some foxgloves in my garden! The photo above is of the first one that flowered. In this one instance I like the English and Afrikaans names equally. In Afrikaans they are called 'Vingerhoede'. A 'vingerhoed' is a metal cap used in the olden days to protect women's fingers from needle pricks. Since this flower resembles the shape of that little thingamajig I suppose the name was a logical fit.

Inca Lily/Inka Lelie (Alstroemeria)

When I started with my veg patch and fruit gardening I took it upon myself to destroy most of my mom's Inca Lily bed. It has one of the most invasive tuber root systems I have ever seen. It's nearly impossible to get rid of them! A single piece of tuber in the ground leads to a lily popping up later. As always, the hardiest plants come from South America. It's not all that bad when you're rewarded with flowers as gorgeous as this though, is it?

Impatiens

The wonderful thing about Impatiens is that they seem to multiply into different colours; some of which turn out to be variegated! We plant a pink impatiens, and its flowers turn out to be cerise pink, purple, orange and... Wonderful! The one thing to always remember however, is that these little plants are not water-wise in any way, shape or form.

Bird of Paradise/Strelitzia

In addition to numerous clivias, I also have a few other indigenous plants in my garden. The Bird of Paradise might have one of the strangest, but most beautiful flowers. It certainly does resemble the bird its English common name is linked to, doesn't it? In Afrikaans we sommer call it by its botanical name, Strelitzia. Orange is always such a striking colour in nature!

African or Cape Iris/Wilde Iris (Dietes iridioides)

Another beautiful indigenous flower in my garden is the Cape Iris. The bush forms clumps of hardy, dark-green leaves resembling stalks and produces flowers quite a lot. One flower only lasts one day though. The plant is still well worth it, because it is water-wise, grows easily, divides even more easily, and heck; who can say no to such a flower?!

Pelargonium/Malva

 

In Afrikaans we tend to call both geraniums and pelargoniums "malva's", but they are actually two distinct species. Pelargoniums are more hardy and indigenous to southern Africa. Some of them also have medicinal or culinary uses, like the lemon pelargonium. A must in any South African garden.

Christmas Cactus/Litroos (Schlumbergera)

And the pièce de résistance... the breathtaking flower of my grandmother's Christmas Cactus or Litroos ("lit" = joint + "roos" = rose). The flower only lasts one or two days, maar die hele jaar se gewag is die moeite werd wanneer hierdie asemrowende mengsel van pienke en rooie oopgaan. Awesome!

What is your favourite garden flower?