Maretha at Fauna Park Tales

12 August – Summer Garden Glimpses – Wonderful Wednesday – #FaunaParkTales

Welcome to another WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY Summer Garden Glimpses’ post. This week, I would like to tell you about two plants which give me much joy: crocosmia – native to eastern Africa and gladiolus – ‘glads’ for short. To my great surprise and delight, these summer bulbs do extremely well here in the northwest of England, and they are quite hardy, surviving storms and snails. Crocosmia bulbs faithfully bear brightly-coloured flowers on wiry, arching stems which open one-by-one from the bottom up every summer. Their bright colour attracts bees, butterflies and even smaller birds like a magnet. Even when they are not in bloom, their spiked, green leaves provide interest, filling many an empty spot we often have in our garden.

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Crocosmia in the Lake District

I include a link, “learn how to plant and care for your crocosmia”. This is the time of year to do so for next season.

https://www.gardenia.net/guide/learn-how-to-plant-and-care-for-your-crocosmia

One of the crocosmia’s relations, the gladiolus, also has sword-like foliage. Both are perennials and will bloom year after year. Gladiolus is a classic perennial known for its tall flower spikes and large, colourful blooms. As cutting flowers and being quite tall, they look spectacular in summer bouquets. They typically reach heights of  2 to 5 feet; something I keep forgetting about, and often, they begin to lean over. This year was worse because of the heavy thunderstorms and strong gusts of wind. Here is a link, giving us tips on how to grow gladiolus successfully.

https://www.almanac.com/plant/gladiolus

“The Summer Flowers’ Fling”

Such colourful flowers in my secret garden

Under the old apple trees, there they bloom –  

Mere whispers, living for a short season, yet

My heart sings: can such life ever be a burden?

Ever returning for that moment of bliss, and always

Ready to make me forget our world and its gloom. – M. M. BOTHA

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Book Description: Who knows what you may find in the undergrowth where all sorts of little creatures live? This short story fantasy will take you to a magical world which is hidden in the undergrowth. There, Tree Quarter – the home of all the evergreens – is attacked by a strange and fierce army of tree bugs. Are friendships and family ties strong enough to help the little creatures who live there to survive, and are there any humans who might unwittingly help them to overcome a terrible enemy?
Young and old – especially those of us who love the environment and its many amazing creatures – will enjoy getting to know more about the fragile life in the undergrowth, and perhaps, be reminded of our responsibility to care for our immediate environment, which might be just beyond the garden bench.

 * All photographs are my own. So, you may use them for your own non-commercial use – just mention their source. Thank you!  

Published by Maretha at Fauna Park Tales

Maretha is a South African Italian, born in a small town called Montagu. She grew up in nearby Worcester in the Western Cape – a town reminiscent of living in Switzerland among the snow-capped mountains. Worcester had a small library. Young Maretha’s visits were limited to three times a week, because the librarian told her, “You spend too much time with your nose in a book and neglect your school work.” Nothing much has changed, because she's still a confirmed bookworm who constantly strives to raise more bookworms who enjoy reading, not just as a pleasant past-time, but as an excellent tool to be used when grown-up. Before immigrating to the UK to settle in Lancashire, Maretha worked as a librarian in a private school in Botswana, where one of her tasks was to encourage children to enjoy reading. That was a labour of love for this bookworm, providing valuable help in carving her own career as a children's author/illustrator. It brought her face to face with the literary industry’s toughest critics – children and preteens. She saw that many students also enjoyed reading about birds and animals, their care, habitats and general well-being, especially when a few added catchy rhymes here and there made reading sessions interesting and alive. In 2012 her job was localised and as things often happen, this unforeseen occurrence led to a new chapter in her life. To remain motivated, she wrote down everything she could remember about her family's pets – their little habits and characteristics. For example, the character of the working-dog hero in Fauna Park Tales is based on the different traits of every single dog her family ever owned. Researching habits, habitats and interesting titbits about martial eagles and eagle owls, as well as many smaller birds such as crimson-breasted shrikes and hoopoes,made it easier to illustrate them and tell a believable story. Her illustrations appear throughout Fauna Park Tales. Maretha Botha admits to being a chocoholic and unreformed coffee addict, a keen gardener and bird watcher, who likes to walk on the moors where the stiff breeze coming in from the sea, quickly clears her head, making way for more inspiration.

4 comments

  1. Beautiful poem, Maretha. I agree they make us forget the gloom of the world. Lovely flowers. I might have to try planting some of the blubs for that burst of color.

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