Sunday flower walk, back on track!

Elgin Open Gardens kept us out of the mountains, with me manning the Water-mill at Compagnes Drift, which then broke and needed a lot of attention! Finally it was back in action with minutes to spare, in time to take part in the Field to Loaf demonstration yesterday! Actually we did go out last Sunday morning, it was predicted to be very hot, and saw some good specimens, firstly of the Drosera or Sundew, which Talitha had told us to watch for flowers on. They're tiny, only a couple of millimetres across: Further up we were looking for some Wachendorfia paniculatas, which were getting to the end of flowering: The best plant was this one, mostly gone to seed, and many of them! There were some striking Pelargoniums: We still need to pin that one down with a name! So today, everything was that much further advanced. Very noticeable is the fact that the Lanaria lanata are in flower. Or bud? We still have to wait for the tiny pink flowers amongst all the fluff. All on its own, this Gladiolus (carneus?) caught our eyes: These Helichrysums are at their very best; hectares of them! We haven't noticed this Leucadendron before: We presume this is female, on account of the fruits: It really was looking stunning! We've been watching a solitary plant for nearly a year, which we remember having a dark blue flower, growing much like a Micranthus or Combflower. I had trouble focusing, but the flower buds are in a helix. There are just two plants in this little spot. We think it's a Therianthus, which is related to the Micranthus and perhaps it's the spicatus. Last year thought it might be bracteolatus. We'll be back for more photos! We're watching the place on the bicycle track where we found Fire Lilies (?) last year. The leaves are there, perhaps more than last year. Every time we visit the place we try to widen the track on the other side and pack rocks on both sides of the plants. We were delighted to find 'our' Leucospermum oleifolium really looking stunning! It's also on a bicycle path, I wonder how many puffing riders notice it! The first Pseudoselago serrata or Purple powderpuff are in bud, soon they'll be seen all over! For a long time I've been watching a daisy type growing in cracks in rocks, wondering how they can possibly survive. Today we were rewarded by finding them in full flower! There's our Country Club, now much less of a worry to me, on the banks of Eikenhof Dam, our irrigation reservoir. It looks as though we've missed this Dilatris pilansii for this year! It was pink on 2nd December last year, I note. At that time we didn't know what it was called. Pink Helichrysum: One tends to overlook moss, but close-up...... :-))) Andy