Warm Sunday Flower Walk

In the week I was working on Elgin Ridge Organic Wine farm. Outside the cellar is a succulent garden which is looking really good at the moment! This Malachite Sunbird was feasting from aloe to aloe.

Malachite Sunbird on Aloe at Elgin Ridge

This Aloe looks different from any I have ever seen:

Unknown Aloe at Elgin Ridge

A pink Sour Fig Carpobrotus is spreading all over the rock wall. Could it be C. acinaciformis?

Carpobrotus acinaciformis?

In 'our' area, the 'normal' Sour Fig Carpobrotus edulis is also in flower, but just here and there.

Carpobrotus edulis

Where we will later see the Nymphea nouchalis with its round leaves in the Experimental farm dam, for the moment the area is taken up by oval-leaved Waterblommetjies Aponogeton distachyos or Cape Pondweed, Vleikos or Water Hawthorn, the picked buds and flowers are popular locally in stews! 

Waterblommetjies Apongeton distachyos

Pippa had done some preparatory snooping yesterday and we followed her path to photograph her 'finds'. This pink/mauve Erica is taking over from the previous ones, now all spent and burned brown.

Mauve Erica taking over from earlier types

Here is just one flower stem, showing short bell-type flowers:

Flower detail of above Erica

We had to criss-cross an area to locate her 'find', in the meantime coming across many different Restios. Anina says she thinks this one is Restio capensis:

Restio capensis?

The tangled look of this one above made me think it's 'mate' was perhaps this one, not far away:

Restio capensis? 

Detail of the flower of the upper one, a female Restio capensis:

Female Restio capensis flower

This looked like a Mum & Dad Hypodiscus aristatus:

Hypodiscus aristatus female & male

With this flower on one, male Hypodiscus aristatus:

Hypodiscus aristatus male flower

More Hypodiscus aristatus male flowers

More Hypodiscus aristatus flowers above, and female below:

Hypodiscus aristatus female flower

And another with crooked stems which Anina says is Restio egregius:

Restio egregius

With these (male) flowers:

Restio egregius male flower

Whoever thought thatch reeds were just thatch reeds? At last we found what we were looking for:

Phaenocoma prolifera flower

A single Phaenocoma prolifera plant! While a few kilometres away near the reservoir I visited recently, there are carpets of them, this is only the second example we've found in 'our' patch, and it's not a young plant either! Nearby we found this young Leucadendron (we think!) with red old leaves and a reddish edge to the new leaves:

Unknown Leucadendron

Close by were some different pink Ericas:

Pink Erica

The flowers are much longer than the previous one and not belled-out at the tips of the petals. It was alive with bees and other insects.

Flower detail of above pink Erica

A female Stonechat (?) Prinia (?) with spent Elegia mucronata male flowers:

Bird on Elegia mucronata male flowers

This is what the Struthiola ciliata look like now!

Struthiola ciliata

Flower detail:

Struthiola ciliata flowers

We're noticing more and more of these Cyphia volubilis, Klim-op or Baroe climbing along all kinds of host plants.

Cyphia volubilis or Baroe

Cyphia volubilis or Baroe flower detail

The tufted leaves on this Erica and the spent flowers make us think it's an E. coccinea.

Erica coccinea with spent flowers?

Here is a spent flower:

Spent flower of Erica coccinea?

By this time we were in the road where we found the strange small plant growing out of corms. On the way, we found this one growing, also in the road, straight out of the ground, could it be the same?

Unknown plant in road

Unknown plant in road and corms.

While I was on my knees I noticed this tiny flower on some moss, or is it a Drosera?

Moss flower or Drosera?

We went off to look at the Ladybirds we'd found in hollows in rocks last week, having thought they were wasp eggs until studying the photos!

Pippa inspecting holes in rockface

They were still in the first hole we discovered:

Ladybirds in original hole

So we looked further. Yes, several other holes were occupied!

More ladybirds in another hole.

.... and a single one in another hole. Note the white head with the black pattern and five black spots:

White head of Ladybird can be seen

So which kind are they?

This young Sour Fig Carpobrotus has established itself in a saucer-sized dish of sand in a hollow of the rock close by. No doubt it will survive and thrive! 

Carpobrotus in tiny patch of sand

These twin Lobelia tomentosa flowers were growing at the end of one stalk!

Twin Lobelia tomentosa flowers! 

The Violas were being more photogenic today!

Viola flower detail

We don't know of any others, but this patch covers about two square metres!

Patch of Violas

Lobelia pinifolia?

Lobelia pinifolia?

Red Full Moon tonight!

Red Full Moon!

:-) A