3RD FEBRUARY. 



EVER SINCE Christmas we have been struggling with heat 

 and drought. Every ounce of energy is commandeered by the 

 watering-can. In the early morning it goes gaily enough, the 

 air is still and cool, and the sun at 6 a.m. just catching the 

 top of Simonsberg. I start the irrigation water running on to 

 the tomatoes and mealies, and while directing that I run round 

 to special treasures with the can. There is a good group of 

 yellow gloriosas which must not get dry. They are quite lovely. 

 I begged the boy to get them really tall sticks with plenty 

 of branches for their twining tendrils, and he thought he had 

 done well when he brought 4-foot bushes ; but they are already 

 well above these, and I shall not know now how high they 

 could go with adequate supports. Every year I have to 

 fight the moles to keep the gloriosas, and last season I lost 

 all my red-and-yellow ones (G. superba). 



By 7 a.m. the sun is oh the garden. The boys arrive and there 

 is a rattling of cans : peace is over for the day. The boys leave 

 again at 6 p.m. and once again I am hard at it with the watering- 

 can. But at this end of the day it does not go so well, and I 

 only do what is really necessary. 



Seedlings have done well this summer. There are fine tins 

 of Bauhinia Galpinii and Aitonia capensis. Various erythrinas, 

 kniphofias, gloriosas, Haemanthm natalensis and Ornithogalum 

 Saundersiae show 100 per cent, germination. Now seeds received 

 from the American Amaryllis Society are coming through, 

 various Habranthm species and other treasures. The alstroe- 

 merias they so kindly sent I shall keep until later. When the 

 weather is cool and the rains begin, I sow them in seed beds 

 with my bulb seeds ; and they germinate well. I must confess 

 to a great weakness for alstroemerias not the horrid little 

 red-and-green one (Alstroemeria psittacina ?) which haunts 

 our gardens (I wonder who introduced it !), but the lovely 

 tall A. Hgtu, A. violacea, A. chiknsis and hybrids. These have 

 lovely soft colours, so fresh and dainty, a fine flower for cutting ; 

 and they do well here if we can find them a place in semi-shade 

 which is not too wet in winter. But this is a book on South 

 African plants ! 



