I suppose that'll excuse me for out-of-focus pictures, the flowers just wouldn't stand still!
But first a drive on Saturday to Kleinmond. Just past Arabella on the left, I just couldn't drive past this Erica:
Possibly an Erica mammosa
I needn't have worried about the lack of Roella ciliata here above us, there are fields of them on the vlei-land next to the lagoon!
Here they are, growing amongst a Mesemb.
I thought this was a Pseudoselago serrata, but now I'm not sure at all! (See the example further down).
A pretty Pelargonium:
And, surprise, surprise, the Lobelias grow there as well!
There were also pink Helichrysums in the area, much deeper in colour than we're used to here, but I missed taking any photos of them.
Today I caught one of Pippa's Sunflowers with the sun behind!
On the dam on the Experimental farm next door, the Nymphea nouchali are really looking stunning! The water level is dropping rapidly though!
Those Lobelias again!
Among the young plants growing up in the cleared areas, there are many Daisies, not all in flower like this. Several smaller ones can be seen in the background:
This is a Pseudoselago serrata and it is very different from the much smaller pink flower near Kleinmond! The obligatory irridescent green beetle on duty as usual!
In bud form it looks like this:
But today was definitely Erica Day (apart from being Wetlands Day, which is a Dirty Word in UK at the moment, so they have made up for it by calling it British Yorkshire Pudding Day! No kidding!). We think this is Erica plukenetii in its white/green form but we're not sure. The leaves on this seem too tight. Any comments?
Detail of the flowers and leaves:
We went back to where we'd seen the red Erica with the erect flowers last week, not having found anything quite like them in any book. We've been arguing all week as to whether the flowers will droop in time:
Not far away, we found this, much smaller example, which might put the matter to rest! But what is it?
Other Ericas, pulchella?
Something very different with a flower-within-a-flower
And another with short, pale bells:
We actually found a fruit on this one above:
We're waiting patiently for this Protea cynaroides to open!
The Agapanthus walshii are going to seed nicely:
Some are not so far advanced:
We visited 'our' Leucospermum oleifolium again, this is last year's flower:
But it was interesting to see ants and some kind of aphid in the axils of the leaves of the new growth:
Having been disappointed in the last weeks at the Cyrtanthus ventricosa on the cycle path, which seems to be having an off-year, today we were delighted to find one on its own, well away from any likely disturbance!
Note the single, green leaf!
There was lots more, particularly amongst the Ericas, but enough for now!
:-) Andy
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As usual beautiful photos, the star of the day to me is the blaze of colour from the Cyrtanthus ventricosa, not far behind the Erica mammosa is so unusual to me in the UK where we do not expect that bright orange in an Erica. The delicate pretty pelargonium together with the lobelia, common garden flower to me, look so much more in their wild surroundings. My final comments? the Ericas, yes definitely their day, the Erica plukenetii known to me as Plukenet Heather is white, now that is not known to me, could it be a rare sub species? then the upright flowered Erica pulchella but the subspecies penicellata. All so fascinating, a pleasure to see
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