On the alpine wall with no appreciable rain forecast is a bright yellow composite. Baking in the heat and loving the root run through the free draining alpine wall Gazania krebsiana is flowering prolifically. Appreciating the increased sunshine hours we are enjoying in Edinburgh this year; June’s total was 205 hours, compared to the monthly average of 168 hours. Hugging the gravel, this is a low growing plant with long linear glossy green leaves and a silvery underside. The robust root system ensures a supply of water from deep beneath the grassy, scrub populated hillsides of South Africa, the Cape and Lesotho to where it is native. It shrivels up during times of drought, making rapid growth once the rains come. Flowering quickly follows to take advantage of the propitious weather.

Gazania krebsiana