Gazanias in January

One of my passions is gardening and the Gazanias reward me with an ongoing display of unusual daisy-like flowers twelve months of the year.

GazaniaGazania in January
Gazania in January

These photos were taken today after weeks of showers, gales and heavy rain. I was amazed any had actually survived such an onslaught, so with a break in the weather I was pleased I was able to take some photos to share.

Gazania are one of my favourite perennial flowers. They provide a wonderful array of year round colour from cream through to yellows, oranges pinks and dark reds. I have tried to paint these flowers but my artists skills can’t quite capture their beauty and “do them justice”

Gazania
in January

Some gardening websites say they only bloom from late spring to early summer – these pictures prove them wrong. They grow well in sandy soil, prefer full sun but will grow in partial shade and only require watering once a week in the summer.

GazinaGazania
Gazania Daisy - yellow

Gazania self-seed so the six plants I originally planted have now multiplied into to hundreds over several years. It is a good idea to dead head regularly as the flowers fade and turn to seed heads as the seeds disperse and grow anywhere and everywhere!

A little note: the original spelling as given by my local garden centre was incorrect. Thanks to hortophile in Canada I have now amended from Gazinas to Gazanias.

What are your favourite flowers?

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116 thoughts on “Gazanias in January”

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  1. Pingback: It’s Piglet’s Seven Year Blogiversary – Looking Back | Piglet in Portugal

  3. To have them bloom year round is wonderful, I’m curious as to how cold it gets where you are. Also I seem to read everywhere that they don’t do well in partial shade 😦 but I just bought some and they are in partial shade…you said they will grow, tell me please what do you see with less sun – less flowers, or none at all for long periods of time? Thank you – Michelle

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    1. Hi Michelle – and welcome!

      Regarding your question re partial shade it depends what you mean by partial. I’ve just looked at some of mine which have self-seeded under some trees. They are growing well, but not as many flowers as those in full sun. You can always grow them in a pot as well I am told. I am going to try this and see how it goes.
      with regards to winter temperatures we rarely if ever have ground frost. Night ime temperatures in the winter can go down to just above freezing and daytime temps up to 18C ish. this is in Mid winter.

      We are summer (July) down and some of my gazinas resemble “bird’s nests” and are a little straggly as they have dried out in the hot sun. I’ve just removed all the dead leaves and thinned out. I’ve been away so have not watered them enough. I usually try and water once a week.

      The ones which have self seeded produce such an array of colours. This is really a very rewarding plant once it has taken.

      Enjoy!
      PiP

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  4. Pingback: I’ve Been Tagged! – Blogger Tag and My Seven Links | Piglet in Portugal
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  6. Pingback: or not – My First Blogging Buddy’s First PostAWeek Interview « Things in life I find annoying
  8. Pingback: or not – RandomBlog2011 Challenge Day 3 – Tips « Things in life I find annoying

  10. AND in the Postaweek2011! ! ! Also top of the page?!

    (Do you know somebody on the judging committee? 😉 )

    Double congratulations Piglet. Very well done!

    – Papa Joe

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    1. Hi PJ and Postaweek2011! Wow that’s incredible! Who would of thought when I was wandering round my garden that the humble Gaz would have received so much recognition for its beauty? Thank you WordPress!

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  11. Hi Piglet!

    I guess from the number of comments here I’m not giving you any news. But congratulations on being featured on the Postaday2011 page. Right at the top no less in the place of honour!

    Guess you’re fingers will be busy answering all of your new fan mail now. 🙂

    Well earned Piglet. Congratulations.

    – Papa Joe

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  19. Hi,
    We too had planted some gazanias in the planter boxes running right around the verandah outside my bedroom a good ten years ago and now they are in total profusion and flower the year around as we have the most beautiful weather the year around. Bangalore is a garden city and anything and everything will grow here because of the weather.

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  22. Pingback: or not – Another Day of Rest « Things in life I find annoying

  24. Hi..I am new in blogging and still learning how to do it….passed by your page and your postings inspired me to continue learning so I can do more (I really need help using some features)….so I will keep visiting…keep the good work.

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    1. Hi Ridamen,
      I nervously started my blog in May2010. I did not have a clue as to what I was going to write about…was it going to be a travel blog, topics I felt passionate about or was it going to be about anything that sprung to mind…?I think eventually I decided on a combination to add variety- as they say “variety is the spice of life”! the WordPress challenge has really helped me and I have met so many enthusiastic bloggers (see my blogroll). A group of us are also currently discussing blogging and the workings of wordpress at
      It’s fun nothing to techie and we are all sharing ideas!
      Kind regards
      PiP

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  25. *In answer to your question, hands down, nasturtium(red, yellow, orange) with the fabulous green foliage. These babies are eccentric, fabulous, and multitudinous….they let the world know they are in charge! Nasturtium flowers and leaves are edible and strengthen the immune system. After flowering, you can collect the buds, submerge in vinegar and salt in a jar and within two weeks, you have a delicious treat, similar to capern.

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    1. Hi whenquiet. I used to grow nasturtiums when the children were small! they were so simple to grow and almost failsafe! I think I am going to get some seeds and try and grow them again. Especially if you can eat them! 🙂

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  28. The flowers are b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l! I have already checked to see if I can grow these in South Texas. I will be giving them a go.

    I love your pics in your sidbar. I especially love the picture of the door. I love doors and take pictures of them whenever we travel. Thanks for sharing yours.

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    1. Hi Jeanne – hope you have some luck growing the gazanias. Please keep in touch and let us know how you get along :=)
      I love taking photos of doorways and what mysteries lay behind them. What happened to your blog as it says it’s been deleted 😦 I was hoping to see some of the photos you had taken!

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  32. What beautiful flowers and what a wonderful “postcard” to those of us in parts of the world in the midst of an ice and snow covered winter. While I do enjoy the first snowfall and the seasonal spin it puts on our holidays once those holidays are over I long for days spent in the garden and the happy surprise of new blooms .

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  33. These things grow like weeds in Australia. They are some times used as groundcover near the beach to help hole the sand in place.

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      1. They are very beautiful weeds. I have photographed them several times as well – from the beach to outback Australia – I love them.

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  34. Wow, so cool! In the middle of winter in the U.S., on the East Coast where we’ve gotten so much snow this year, and yesterday turned bitter cold, nothing better than thinking of flowers in bloom. They remind me a little of Gerbera daisies, but the colors are more subtle and variegated. Thanks so much for the photos and reminding me that spring will come! While I can’t grow your daisies year-round, I am reminded of the flowers here that will soon show their pretty heads.

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  37. As flores encantam as mulheres deste planeta. Mês passado nasceu em meu quintal um pé de girassol e quando floriu, meus olhos se iluminaram, que riqueza, que maravilha, Deus me enviou flores!!!! O dep. de comunicação da IASD Alvorada de Maringa sentir-se-á honrado em aceitar o convite do Marcelo para participar deste blog. Gostaríamos de saber como proceder, portanto aguardamos contato!!

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    1. The flowers charm the women of this planet. Past month was born in my quintal a foot of sunflower and when flowered, my eyes were lightened, that wealth, that astonishes, God sent me flowers! !!! The dep. of communication of the IASD Dawn of Maringa will feel worthy in accept the invitation of the Marcelo for participate of this blog. We would like to know as proceed, therefore we await contact!!

      🙂 ?

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  39. When I see Gazanias or Gerberas they make me happy, because they remind me of my Gran. They were her favourite flowers and I always take some for her when I visit her grave. I hope that where ever she is, that she has a huge garden full of these beutifull flowers around her. Keep up the good work on postaday2011 challenge

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  42. My favourites are tulips and the lotus (what I’m named after). I love the contrasting colours in the first image. I have these in my new garden too but they were inherited from the old owners.

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  43. Hmm, I’ve plenty of wild things growing on my roof after all those heavy rainfalls (I’m located in Central Portugal). Kinda shocking to discover some familiar landscapes on WP’s front page.

    Nice piccies you’ve got here – congrats on that.

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  44. These are beautiful photos. There’s nothing that will cheer you up better on a miserable day, than a shot of colour.
    Congrats on being Freshly Pressed!

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  48. I knew the name Gazanias because I studied horticulture, but for my friends and family I have often referred to these flowers as “Freeway Daisies” because they are a common planting along the roadside in this area (the San Francisco Bay Area). Everyone knows what I’m talking about when I call them that.

    I also sometimes refer to Starlings as “Parking Lot Birds” for similar reasons.

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  50. Beautiful! We bought gazanias one time from K-mart, and at the time we didn’t know their names, so when they were blooming, we’d say, “Look! The K-Mart flowers are blooming!” Congrats on being featured on Post a Day! How cool!

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    1. Hi Carlaat

      For years I thought they were called something else as I was given a slighly different spelling from the local garden centre. One of my blogging buddies “hortophile” pointed out the correct name, thank goodness! As for being one of the lucky featured bloggers, I nearly fell off my chair. Literally!

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  52. Greetings from India. Indians love colours and flowers and you have captured colourful flowers.

    These flowers remind me of ‘Dalhia’ we get in India. Is it the same as ‘Dalhia’?

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  63. Ooo…they re-seed. I’ll have to see if these will survive in my part of the world. My mom needs some great flowers for the flowerbed in front of her house!

    Great pics. I especially love the colors in the top photo.

    Crystal

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  64. I think I’d say my favorite flowers were lilies. Pretty boring, I know.
    You know, I’d never heard of Gazanias before this post! Thanks for the insight! As they say, you learn something new each day. Today I learnt about a kind of flower I’d never known existed!
    Congratulations on being Freshly Pressed!

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    1. I never noticed how lovely these flowers were until I took close-up shots! You are right about the spelling, I can see it spelt both ways! I asked at our local garden centre – I won’t be asking them again! Oh well, at least I ranked #1 for dodgy spelling 🙂 🙂 I will add a note to the text.

      Do you have problems with little snails eating the petals? 😦

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  73. Those pictures are really good! I’m not good with a camera, i always get the shakey pictures! You got loads of good ones on here!

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  74. I have never seen these flowers! I love flowers/gardening and plan to find out if they are available here. They are so different! I love all the colors, but I think the pink/yellow in the middle picture are my favorite.

    Thank you for commenting on my blog. I’ve subscribed to yours and look forward to recipes and your beautiful photos!

    My normal favorite flowers are tulips(purple) and lillies (Asiatic).

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  76. RNP – I never noticed just how beautiful and varied they really were until I started to photograph them. That’s the great thing about photography it really opens your eyes. Do you have these in Canada?

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  79. You must have a gift of a green thumb. 🙂
    I’ve never heard of Gazinas before. They’re beautiful.
    I’m going to do a search and see if they’ll grow in my part of the world.
    Thanks for sharing these pretty flower pictures and cheerful post.
    Learning about new things is the part of blogging that I enjoy.
    Wishing you a lovely week!

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  80. I don’t think we have them here natively—not if the soil must be sandy. We’ve lots of mudflats and a very short growing season. But with 19-hour days in late June, everything grows quickly!

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  82. What beautiful Gazinas! Love the golden hue of the Gazina daisy-yellow best, but that might just stem from the all-white snow and hoar frost in Alaska right now. You have hundreds now? Ah, be still, my heart!

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