The wonders of winter
"The days are glorious and warm with hardly a cloud in the sky, and that's the problem."
IT’S winter here, so the weather pundits claim, but they could have fooled me, and you, too
The days are glorious and warm with hardly a cloud in the sky, and that’s the problem.
No clouds, no rain. We haven’t had a drop in months so my garden is a dust bowl and the water bill should make interesting reading.
Luckily we still have water to save our plants, whereas our neighbours north and south of Durban are feeling the brunt of a crippling drought.
We may not have water restrictions yet, but we will feel it in our pockets in the weeks and months to come as food prices rocket and the possibility of shortages in basic foods, such as maize meal, loom.
Even without some rain, winter in this part of the east coast is sublime, and in the gardens and along roads the oranges and yellows of this season tell us that it is June.
The first to show its fiery mane in my garden was the beautiful Leonotis leonurus. Webpages explain that the name Leonotis leonurus was used to describe the flower looking like a lion’s tail. I see their point but to me, a lion’s mane is more like it. Its common name is wild dagga but it is not related to cannabis and is not illegal. The show from these plants this year has been spectacular and lasts a good few weeks. Next up were the yellow krantz aloes. They are always earlier than their orange cousins and present a gentler foil for their spikey leaves.
My erythrina (Coral tree) has one lonely bloom but in gardens in the neighbourhood they are a mass of orange and red flowers. Simply stunning, in the true sense of the word. What I love about this tree is that it is so African, it is ours and recognised by most people, tree huggers or not.
The monkeys are enjoying the fruit after the flowering of the Hilleria lucida (tree fuschia) with its orange blooms growing straight from the trunks of the small trees. The berries are a favourite for the monkeys, as are the flowers for the few sunbirds which have stayed for the winter. Later in the season the clivias will delight us and hopefully mine will bloom this year.
The little manikins have remained and are always so grateful when the birdbath is filled. Best of all is a soft sprinkler in the heat of the day. Birds of every type frolic in this occasional treat, just as children do.
The regular winter visitors have started to arrive, first the brown-hooded kingfisher, announcing his arrival with a shrill cry. There was a pair last year but there is only one at present. Perhaps he or she was delayed. Also enjoying the winter leaves, and the feast underneath them, is a Natal Robin (yes, it has a new name, which I will learn in time).
I am blessed to have four of these delightful little birds which visit my garden and grow quite tame as their stay progresses. Another favourite, never seen but heard in the still of night, is the fiery-necked nightjar, which tells me, yes indeed, it is winter.
