Purple flowers

We are heading away on our annual holiday and this year it takes us up to the majestic Drakensberg. I'll be back online early in the new year again so I would like to take this opportunity to wish everybody a Happy New Year. May 2011 bring lots of happiness and tons of awesome pictures.

Saltpan flowers

Its amazing how you often see a photo opportunity and when you go for it you find a whole host of others. I stopped on the Swartkops Road between Port Elizabeth and Uitenhage to get some photos of the old Swartkops Power Station and the flamingos on the salt pans and also ended up with … Continue reading Saltpan flowers →

Roses at the Union Buildings

Roses in the Union Building Gardens in Pretoria

Prickly flower

Quite a few of the succulents and cacti in my garden has been flowering lately being that time of the year. This one doesn't have what I would call regulation thorns, but rather long spiny ones. The little pink flower looked soft to the touch although I wasn't willing to venture a finger in between the spines to … Continue reading Prickly flower →

Watsonia

One of the 52 species of Watsonia (Bugle Lily) that we find in southern Africa. The Watsonia is a type of iris native to South Africa. The genus is named after Sir William Watson, an 18th century British botanist. They are perennial herbs growing from corms and producing erect spikes of showy flowers, and are adapted … Continue reading Watsonia →

Pin Cushion

Closeup of a Pin Cushion Protea

Bottlebrush

I've had these pictures of the Bottlebrush Tree's flower (Callistemon rigidus) for a while now wondering if I should post them or not. I know the light wasn't very good, but what the heck. Here they are.

Broad-leaf sugarbush

The Protea eximia or Broad-leaf sugerbush as its commonly known as, are quite widespread throughout the mountains of the Southern Cape, stretching from the mountains near Worcester through the Langeberg, Outeniqua and Tsitsikamma Mountains as far as Lady Slipper outside Port Elizabeth. The Protea eximia flowers mainly from August to October and gets grown on Protea farms as … Continue reading Broad-leaf sugarbush →

Van Stadens Wildflower Reserve

Van Stadens Wild Flower Reserve is situated just off the N2 about 35km west of Port Elizabeth. This 450 hectare reserve is probably the best place close to Port Elizabeth to go and marvel at the wonders of fynbos and to see flowering proteas. The reserve covers both a large plateau area covered mostly in Fynbos as … Continue reading Van Stadens Wildflower Reserve →

Pin Cushion Proteas

We headed out to the Van Stadens Wildflower Reserve west of Port Elizabeth the other day and found lots of Pin Cushion Proteas (Leucospermum cordifolium) in flower. Caroline has pointed me to the PlantZAfrica website which has great information on South African plants and flowers. Pin Cushion Proteas are part of the Cape Floral Kingdom, better known as … Continue reading Pin Cushion Proteas →