Showing posts with label Moraea. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Moraea. Show all posts

Sunday, 25 September 2016

Almost all Yellow Sunday Flower walk

It was so yellow that we longed to see another colour! But first, in our own garden, I couldn't go past this Clivia without snapping it! All over, they seem to be beautiful this year!


Then yesterday at Compagnes Drift Mill, where we celebrated Heritage Day, this Gazania stopped me in my tracks. In fact later in the day there was a second one growing through it, the bud must have been behind it!


As we were enjoying lunch outside, listening to the machinery inside creaking away, a Lesser Double-collared Sunbird was having lunch on an aloe too.


The Coral tree there is shy to set flowers, but they are impressive when they do!


This morning on the farm, Pippa spotted an Aristea africana open. I rushed out with the camera, knowing they're a mornings-only flower!


Another sign of spring, a Pin-tailed Whydah flirting with a couple of females in the garden.


Yes, the walk today was mostly yellow. I was wondering why some people travel long distances for Spring Flowers when they're right here!


Up close, vying for a space in the sun!


It seemed the only other colour was pink in several shades, Sheep Sorrel here:


.... and the Pelargoniums are still in flower:


We found another example of the peppery-scented-leaves one, right next to the path too:


Also pink were these little pea types:


Flower detail:


.... these Teedias:


and our faithful Saltera sarcocolla!


A lot of our walk was in the recently deforested (and by chance also burnt) area where we were often watched by these Stone Chats:


A plant we've found has really established itself since the fire of nearly two years ago is the Trachyandra. It's not impressive, with tiny pinkish flowers, bootlace like leaves, but the bees go mad about it!


On what we think is Pseudoselago spuria the flowers are filling out:


This plant has us stumped! Will it ever flower to help us identify it?


The pathway past the old Railway cottages always comes up trumps. Now the Beetle Lilies are up, but not fully open yet, Baeometra uniflora:


These now join the Sparaxis bulbiflora:


Geissorhiza aspera:


Was this the only blue flower all day? No! The Lobelias were also out!

 ... and these orange Moraeas all in 50 metres!


:-) Andy

Sunday, 18 September 2016

More into Spring Sunday Flower Walk

During the week, while looking for a single yellow Moraea I spotted on a farm last year, I found these other yellow flowers, Orchids? 


Could it be the Cowled Friar Pterygodium catholicum?


Today we tried out a new Trail's End cycle path which has been cut through a forest of aliens. Along the way we have found lilies coming up now that they have sunlight, it will be interesting to see what they are! http://trailsend.bike/ 


It's Wachendorfia time again!


Not sure if this is W. paniculata or not.


A large patch of Geissorhiza?


... and close by, Sparaxis:


Flower detail:


We set off on a different route, between blocks (they are called 'compartments') of recently felled pines, not expecting much, so I snapped this taller Stargrass(?)


Flower detail:


But we were attracted to a splash of pink a short way off the road. A Senecio elegans? :


That wasn't all that was pink there:


A pepper-scented-leaf Pelargonium.


More pink from this low-growing pea-type plant:


Flower detail:


There was also a large area of Trachyandra, absolutely alive with honeybees!


Just at a corner, we had spotted this clump of Agapanthus walshii when the felling was in process. Nice to see it's survived all the vehicle traffic!


But the main colour today was yellow! Huge areas of daisies, making it difficult to find anything else. This Euryops was completely covered in flowers and more buds waiting!


Here is a familiar grass, not sure how to pin it down!


Another shrub we haven't been able to identify yet, growing on the top of a rock, so it probably hasn't been burnt. It has a good crop of berries on it.


I looked down and thought I'd seen a white Pelargonium, but it was a Gladiolus debilis growing up among the leaves.


I remembered around the other side of a rocky outcrop was a Saltera sarcocolla, but didn't remember it was as big as this! This area escaped the fire.


Flower detail:


... and a bud:


We're coming into the Everlasting Helichrysum season, these buds are about to open:


The new year's flowers on what we think is Pseudoselago spuria are out. They get ever longer through the year.


The three long leaves of this Pea-type plant we thought before was Bolusafra bituminosa are not right


There was a suggestion it might be a Rhynchosa, but those leaves don't look right either! Here's the flower. Any ideas?


For some reason the Swallows chose the head of what we call Mammoth Rock to rest on and were making a lot of noise!


The more common Pelargonium in 'our' area are still looking their best. The leaf of this one is hard and dry and makes a paper-type noise when you feel it. Certainly it has no scent!


In a patch which was until recently was thickly infested with Port Jackson, we found this shrub for the first time, and it's in flower:


Could it be Cryptocarya augustifolia of the Stinkwood family? Here's the flower up close:


On the path, (how do they survive?) these Sundews Drosera are pushing up stems and buds already!


At the railway line on the way home we spotted this pink Moraea: