Watsonia borbonica Sunday Flower Walk

I said the Prickly Pear Opuntia would be impressive! There's a bee on one of the flowers.

Prickly Pear Opuntia

I have been seeing Combflowers Micranthus on the farms for a few weeks already, so it was no surprise to see them starting to flower today in this area. In a week or two there will be hundreds of them!

Combflower Micranthus

Pippa noticed this splash of pink from far away!

Watsonia borbonica?

It's in the unburnt part and the leaves are well established. We think it's Watsonia borbonica.

Flower detail

There was another one, in the burnt area, which can be seen in the background, growing over nicely!

Another example

Here's a Purple Powder Puff Pseudoselago serrata, one of the best developed we've seen so far, also in the burnt area:

Purple Powder Puff Pseudoselago serrata

The flower up close, as usual with bright blue bugs crawling over it.

Flowers and bugs

Agapanthus walshii! In this small area I counted 35 flowers or buds!

Agapanthus walshii

In another stand of them we were disappointed to find many of the closed buds have been bored into already. It will be interesting to see if any viable flowers come out.

Agapanthus walshii bud, bored

I think I was lucky last Sunday to spot the Corymbium glabrum var. glabrum open. It's almost over already!

Corymbium glabrum var. glabrum

While we were in that area we checked up on the Heeria argentea which was severely burned. It's coming back nicely!

Heeria argentea

Could this be an Erica coming back at last?

Erica? 

Also growing back nicely from the burnt remains, Water White Alder Brachylaena neriifolia:

Brachylaena neriifolia

In a week, we seem to have missed the flowering of the big Pelargoniums!

Pelargonium spent flowers

Part of 'paying our dues' to be in this beautiful area involves pulling out aliens, in this case Port Jackson Acacia saligna and Black Wattle. This was just one bunch of several.

Port Jackson and Black Wattle, pulled out

The remains of three Wachendorfia paniculata flowers!

Wachendorfia paniculata spent flowers

Back at home, during the week past, the Sprekelia opened, just for a day or two!

Sprekelia, at home

.... and these wine-coloured Arums!

.... and Arums

:-) A

Spring Flowers and a Film Shoot :-( Sunday Flower Walk

It's officially Spring by the date, and Nature thinks so too! There is a carpet next door in the orchard of what we think is Arctotheca  acaulis:

A carpet of Arctotheca acaulis

In the road, Romulea rosea:

Romulea rosea

Oxalis among little Daisies

Oxalis and Daisies

Romulea hirsuta var. cuprea:

Romulea hirsuta var cuprea

Sour Fig Carpobrotus edulis :

Sour Fig Carpobrotus edulis

Drosera, also in the road!

Drosera

Here is a large Restio re-growing after the fire with its feathery culms and some of the thick stems starting to come out of the ground.

Restio re-growing

We were keen to check up on the flower with the striped bud we had found. What a surprise!

Spiloxene capensis?

The stripes are still on the back of the petals:

Reverse of the petals

And once we had seen this one open, there were more! These two were growing up inside a bunch of Agapanthus walshii!

More, growing amongst Agapanthus walshii

Up close, each petal has a heart-shaped dot in the middle. Are they Spiloxene capensis?:

There petals have heart-shaped dots at the base

This Wachendorfia with the sickle-shaped leaves had the most impressive candelabra of flowers!

Magnificent Wachendorfia

The Lanaria lanata are pushing up flowers all over!

Buds on Lanaria lanata, all over the place!

Can this be a Metalasia? We will be back to check!

Metalasia?

Bud detail:

This is what the bud looks like

There was a strong Northerly wind, making it very difficult to photograph little flowers!

What is this? 

Can it be a Geissorhiza? A Romulea flava?

This is how the plant grows

'Our' Satyr Orchid is now in full flower:

Satyr Orchid

Flower detail:

Orchid flower up close

We checked on the Othonna heterophylla but it had been eaten again. We remembered finding another nearby, that was much more photogenic!

Othonna heterophylla

One flower had even gone to seed:

Spent flower of Othonna heterophylla

More of these which have us stumped!

What are these? 

A splash of pale pink caught my eye, next to a big rock.

Gladiolus hirsutus?

A Gladiolus hirsutus? This is how it's growing, flattened by the wind!

This is how it's growing, blown flat by the wind!

Flower detail from the side:

Flowers and buds, from the side

At the top we were astonished to find a huge area of recently burned veld completely denuded by a film-shoot!

Burned veld completely denuded by a film crew!

It's incredible that this can happen without an Environmental Assessment! Somewhere there was our single Erica longifolia we have been watching for years.... gone! I went across to where the only Phaenocoma prolifera in the whole area we monitor was..... gone too, and the area raked clear! Does money buy anything?

Everything raked away!

They even left 'props' behind:

Props left behind

Pippa reckoned we needed to check a rocky south-easterly facing slope, her hunch paid off!

Moraea ochroleuca?

Moraea ochroleuca? There were many of them, and more to come! They grow at least half a metre tall.

Flowers from the side

Re-growing from cracks in rocks, now in flower Teedia (or Oftia?)

Oftia or Teedia

Heeria argentea, re-growing nicely from the base!

Heeria argentea, re-growing

Then a white Spiloxene (if that's what it is!)

White Spiloxene?

.... with the same striped petals underneath.

The same striped reverse of the petals

The whole plant

I've said before the Pelargoniums benefited from the fire. This one's on steroids!

Pelargonium on steroids!

:-) A