It seems that every walk is dominated by a particular type of flower, this week, Brunias which are looking their best with fresh clusters of 'flowers'.
 
This one was interesting, a single branch had produced a deformed flower:
The King Proteas are still stunning, in their different shades and variations:
This gives an idea of how prolific the flowers are on one bush!
At the very top of the pine tree next to this was the Malachite Sunbird, peeping: 'It was all my work!'
The white Helichrysums have been showing fresh growth and the first flowers are coming out now on the sunny side of the hills:
The pink one we have been keeping an eye on has shown that what we saw was in fact a bud, not a seed pod:
Three little Maids from School:
And this is what the seed pods look like, tucked away inside the foliage:
In another area, this one again, noticed in two places last week, the bud form below the open flower:
We again saw the white-and-yellow flowers on almost leafless stems (although there are leaves flat against the stems), still evading identification:
This is what the whole plant looks like:
Here's another stranger, growing in the road, is the yellow part a flower?
Another which we can't pin down yet:
The overcast weather brought out the colour in the Lobelias which never seem to stop giving the veld a splash of violet:
We had two hitch-hikers on our walk; we've got used to Blondie by now, but undergoing de-ticking is Boy's daughter as a result of an amorous liaison with Oliver's Staffie:
The Bonus was a trip to work on a Caterpillar in Hemel & Aarde between Caledon and Hermanus. We don't see Saltera sarcocolla as bright or as fully open as these, which sprinkle the veld with colour:
In bud form:
The pink helichrysums seem more advanced than here:
Wachendorfias galore, which should look impressive in flower:
Not found in the books yet, unless it's one of the 145 Agathosmas ?:
and a planted Leucadendron Safari Sunset (?), which some insect seems to be enjoying!
Babylonstoren looks impressive from there, with a veil of cloud:
On the way back, on the Karweyderskraal road, as usual under the power lines, the Protea longifolia are just out:
Bud above and open,below:
And this one, a bubble-gum pink compacta (Bot River Protea):
:-) A
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Sunday, 7 July 2013
Sunday walk, Brunias... and a bonus!
Sunday, 16 June 2013
Another Sunday walk!
Yes, the King Proteas are still looking stunning!
Pinker above, and yellower below.
and in all stages.....
But there's more if you look harder, for example the Restios which one tends to walk past as 'just another reed'. The variety is amazing:
This flower above is from this tuft below:
but there are lots more types:
  
That's just a few examples!
We're starting to notice the plants of the next crop of Wachendorfias with their pleated, spear-like leaves:
There are still just two flowers on our favourite pink Helichrysum, but look closer:
Seed pod or bud?
The Brunias have a new crop of baubles:
As usual, the Lobelias seem quite happy growing in the middle of the road! Do they ever stop flowering?
The dam is nearly full again, it was dead still and the Club looked so inviting!
Tucked away where we know where to look, the fungi are thriving still:
This is a new plant for us, now in flower, right next to the road, and we've never noticed it before:
The flowers, leaves and buds:
On the way back, Oliver's growing frames looked interesting upside-down!
A few weeks ago in another area, we noticed this plant and wondered what it was:
As a result of Pippa's Botanical Illustration course this last week, we now know it's a Butter Spoon tree, Cunonia capensis, Red Alder or Rooiels. It's easy to see how it got that first name!
:-) A
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Sunday, 9 June 2013
Sunday Flower walk
.... which seemed to be taken over by Proteas!
There isn't much colour in the veld at the moment, but we know our stamping ground well and know where to look for the Proteas which are stunning at the moment!
We're not actually sure what this is yet, but we broke a tiny piece off and Pippa is attending a 3-day Botanical Illustration course this week at Fernkloof as part of Hermanus Fynarts Festival http://www.hermanusfynarts.co.za/ so she'll take it along and ask the fundis:
It certainly has a Protea look about it! Below is what the whole bush looks like:
But the Kings (P. cynaroides) were stunning!
Just measured the lead, that makes the diameter 270mm!
The top left one here is opening like an artichoke.
This above looks like a scene from Lord of the Rings!
They're even beautiful when they've gone to seed!
Otherwise, the wild lobelias just go on and on!
and there are still ericas around:
After a miserable day yesterday, what a difference!
But there's snow on the High Tops! We are privileged to live in such a beautiful place!
:-) A
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