Swiss National Day, August 1st

"Since 1891, the first of August has been celebrated as Swiss National Day. The date refers to a historic alliance concluded in 1291 by the three cantons of Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden. This alliance was to become the focal point around which the Switzerland of today was built over the next 500 years". It means that "Helvetia" is 719 years old now .

Back to botany, my actual garden will be in 2 weeks 10 years old. To be honest, I spent the first Fall for preparing the ground planting a couple of trees, organizing my greenhouse, the rainwater cistern and pipe system, and planning the garden.
A Mediterranean garden does not exist without dry stone walls. And I'm dry stone walls addicted! In the least days I finished a small (80 cm x 6 m) dry stone gravity wall using grey-blue metamorphic rock (probably gneiss) from a plot of ground near my house. Being my first (that long) dry wall I'm quite prude about my work.

Chocolate or chocolate? That is the question!

Berlandiera lyrata

Cosmos atrosanguineus

Both have a chocolate taste, the first one has more intensive smelling, the colours of the second one are more closed to chocolate.

July garden highlights II

Pelargonium lanceolatum

Leucospermum cordifolium

Sempervivum tectorum

Eucryphia xnymansensis

Deer

Well, to be honest, reading botanical books about mediterranean climate I always jumped the chapter about deer resistant plants. First because my major problem is to find plants that resist our moderate cold but also wet Winters and second because my garden ist not located at the border of any forest. So I never experienced some close contact with cervids in my area.

All this have changed since this morning. I had a small thalk with my neighbour. She told me a "night visitor" has cleaned up her apple tree leaving a gift.........

This year the harvest will be done in a minute!

There is no doubt, with this shape and size (2.5 cm) they match only with red deer (Cervus elaphus) pellets!

Recovery from winter damages

It's seems long time ago that temperatures dropped unter 0°C. I have some zone 8 borderline plants that suffered least winter not because of the minimum temperature (it dropped just to -6°C in one occasion for a couple of hours) but due to persisting minus temperatures (-2 to -3°C) for nights and nights and also some days.

This is my Banksia integrifolia resprouting from the rootstock this week.

This dwarf form of Banksia spinulosa also suffered the cold 2009-10 Winter.

Last Winter was to wet and snowy for med plants too. But if your speciments are succombed, just wait a little bit, it may be the case like with this Satureja thymbra, that the lost plant will be replaced by a young seedling.

July garden highlights

Drosophillum lusitanicum is an atypical carnivorous plant from Portugal, Spain and Morocco. Unlike other carnivorous plants Drosophillum grows on well drained sandy loam free soil. In the natural habitat, water is supplied in the Sommertime only by regular morning frog. Watering will be the challenge in cultivation.

Glumicalyx goseloides from South Africa.

Mutisia subulata from Chile (sharing the picture with Pelargonium sidoides) is very slow to establish, flowering only 3-4 years afer sowing.

At home in zone 8 Bomarea caldasii blooms very well also in containers.

It is still Juli, but in my garden Leucojum (Acis) autumnale seems do not respect the seasons and wishs to bloom now!

Borderline in my 8 Zone, I need to keep my Lagunaria patersonii in a relative large container, that will be placed in the garage for the wintertime. Lagunaria survived least winter -6°C without any leaf lesions.

This gardenia cultivar named "Mistery" survived in my garden -7°C with strong cold winds without any protection. Since 2 weeks hundreds of blooms are opening night after night giving a taste of heaven to my garden.

Cattleya rex

Finally! After years of intense care, my small Cattleya rex is big now! The only problem is, with 32-34 °C and dry wind, the blooming period will be short.