Snowy Sunday Flower Walk

The storm was on Friday and there's 41mm in the meter. That was the rain, but what about the snow? Just look at it on the High Topps!

Snow!

The calm before the storm, at our Country Club, taken on Thursday:

Calm before the storm at Elgin Grabouw Country Club

Also on Thursday, on the way to Karweyderskraal, Protea compacta, Bot River Protea:

Protea compacta Bot River Protea

The Mimetes cucullatus is also in flower!

Mimetes cucullatus

And this tiny little Leucospermum truncatulum or Patrysbos (Partridge Bush). Still in bud form, it will become a pincushion later:

Leucospermum truncatulum

Outside a farm gate, this Aloe had been planted, with tubular flowers and toothed leaves, and with no stripes or blotches on them, so we're not sure which one it is yet. With over 500 to choose from, not an easy task, especially as this is not growing here naturally!

Unknown Aloe

On our farm we have one bush of Wild Rosemary, Kapokbos or Eriocephalus africanus which is in flower at the moment. It's also showing some of its characteristic woolly fruit:

Eriocephalus africanus Wild Rosemary or Kapokbos

On our walk today we checked progress on the yellow-green Erica coccinea which we found first, it's still looking good!

Erica coccinea

A few weeks ago we found a tall Erica near it, with spent flowers on it. We weren't sure what colour they had been. Now we know: pink and white. We'll be following this one!

Erica spp

Also under the microscope is this..... Last year it had the most beautiful pink Gladiolus flowers. Here comes a second leaf!

Gladiolus leaves

There's still quite a lot of this taller pink Erica; not sure of the name yet. It 'took over' from the pink ones growing closer to the ground, which are now covered with rusty-coloured spent flowers.

Erica spp

The Protea cynaroides or King Proteas are past their best now:

Protea cynaroides King Protea

There are still Liparia splendens or Mountain Dahlia flowers out; this one looks as though it was thrashed around in the wind last week!

Liparia splendens Mountain Dahlia

This plant has us guessing at the moment. One plant has flowers / fruit like this......

Unknown plant

..... and the other like this, growing in close proximity:

Similar unknown plant with different flowers

In fact, seemingly trying to reach one another. M&F? This wasn't the only 'pair' we found.

Both plants growing together

Here is a Gnidia, quite a large bush at more than a metre tall.

Gnidia anomala

Initially we thought it might be G. oppositifolia, but the bare stems and short leafy sections behind the flowers make it look more like G. anomala.

Gnidia anomala flower

These Saltera sarcocolla just beg you to come over and photograph them!

Saltera sarcocolla flower

Here is a single low-growing pink Erica which has come up in a bed of Carpobrotus edulis or Sour Fig:

Erica spp

Detail of the mass of flowers:

Flower detail of above Erica

We checked on a tall Erica which we weren't able to identify last year. It is now in growing mode:

Erica spp

Leaf detail, short, and slightly tufty, and significantly, not a flower or bud in sight at this time of year. That should all help!

Leaf detail of above Erica

At the extreme limit of the zoom of my little camera, I caught this Stone Chat. Just missed a horse and rider in the background, but that would have toooo lucky!

Stone Chat

On the way back, the Worm posed on a tuft. Always one for her creature-comforts! She was concentrating on the horse!

The Worm, concentrating!

:-) A