North-wester Sunday Flower Walk

For a change, the wind was in the opposite direction, I see there's a drop of rain forecast for tonight. Before leaving home, first a Crassula in the garden in full bloom: Crassula perfoliata And that Bromeliad hasn't finished! On the way out, Pippa's Sunflower must hold some kind of record! 260mm diameter? Helianthus annuus Nymphea nouchali Nymphea nouchali There were splashes of deep blue all over the veld from the Lobelias: Lobelia In fact there seem to be at least three different types, the one above with straight stems from a short serrated leaf at the base; the one below with a much smaller, paler flower, proportionally much wider, on a tangled stem: Lobelia And another with needle-like leaves all along the stem, the flower almost as big as the first. Names in the Comments box below please! Lobelia The veld is covered in pink and mauve from Ericas There are many kinds; here are three in one frame! Ericas Up close, pulchella? Erica pulcella Erica coccinea? Or are these flowers too erect? Erica coccinea Pulchella again? The Watsonia schlechteri haven't quite finished yet! Watsonia schlechteri Watsonia schlechteri The Protea cynaroides are just starting to open: Protea cynaroides This is the tallest Othonna quinquedentata (five-tooth baboon cabbage) we've ever seen! They are very difficult to photograph with their loooong stems and tiny yellow flowers: Othonna quinquedentata A green-leafed Euryops, but which one? They are coming up all over! Euryops The Agapanthus walshii are gradually going to seed, but many of the pods fall off, leaving bare stalks: Agapanthus walshii But around this one we found about six or eight seedlings and more where the Southeaster has blown them. One can be seen beyond and to the right in the picture above. Agapanthus walshii A Leucadendron: Leucadendron ... with lots of flowers: Leucadendron Finally, this flowering gum next door is a crowd-stopper! Eucalyptus ficifolia alias Corymbia ficifolia since 2009... As usual, there was lots more! Until next time..... :-) Andy

Windy Sunday flower walk

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 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! Roella ciliata in vlei land Here they are, growing amongst a Mesemb. Roella ciliata I thought this was a Pseudoselago serrata, but now I'm not sure at all! (See the example further down). A pretty Pelargonium: Pelargonium And, surprise, surprise, the Lobelias grow there as well! Lobelia 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! Nymphea nouchali Those Lobelias again! Lobelia 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: Euryops 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! Pseudoselago serrata In bud form it looks like this: Pseudoselago serrata buds 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 Erica coriifolia And another with short, pale bells: We actually found a fruit on this one above: Erica fruit We're waiting patiently for this Protea cynaroides to open! Protea cynaroides The Agapanthus walshii are going to seed nicely: Agapanthus walshii Some are not so far advanced: Agapanthus walshii We visited 'our' Leucospermum oleifolium again, this is last year's flower: Leucospermum oleifolium with last years' flower But it was interesting to see ants and some kind of aphid  in the axils of the leaves of the new growth: Leucospermum oleifolium with woolly aphid 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! Cyrtanthus ventricosa Note the single, green leaf! Cyrtanthus ventricosa There was lots more, particularly amongst the Ericas, but enough for now! :-) Andy