Red Prickly Pears

Prickly Pears are originally found in Central America and first came to South Africa as fodder for cattle. Being a cactus plant, they grow very easily and took root quickly before starting to spread throughout some part of the country at an alarming rate. The spreading of it was brought under control through the introduction … Continue reading Red Prickly Pears →

Candelabra Flower

The Candelabra Flower is found in grasslands and is quite wide spread in summer rainfall areas. Unfortunately people pick them in the wild as the flower is quite striking and it never gets a chance to sow its seeds. The flower grows up to 70 centimeters high from a bulb. It normally flowers in the … Continue reading Candelabra Flower →

Tree Fern

Today's post are all shots of new tree fern shoots. I love ferns and specially tree ferns. These I took in front of the hotel I stayed at in Johannesburg recently, but for me there is nothing like seeing a great tree fern growing inside an indigenous forest.

Succulents

Its been a while since I've done a Random theme post. For today's post I did an impromptu macro photo shoot in my garden. I love succulents and cacti as they are easy to maintain and make the most interesting flowers when they do bloom. In front of the house I have a small rock … Continue reading Succulents →

Carrion Flower

I have a specific liking for succulents and cacti and have various different types planted in pots and in the garden. One of the most interesting ones is the Carrion Flower. There are different types of carrion flowers and this one comes from the genus Stapelia. This specific species are small, spineless, cactus-like succulent plants. … Continue reading Carrion Flower →

Seedy berries

There is a bush just outside our office front door with these red seeds, berries, seeds, berries seedy berries on. I walk past it every day thinking that I should get a close-up of them, but I never have. Till this week.

Tsitsikamma

The area between Port Elizabeth and Cape Town is known as the Garden Route. It is one of the most popular tourist routes in South Africa. About 160km west of Port Elizabeth you enter the Tsitsikamma. The Tsitsikamma is the area wedged between the ocean and the Tsitsikamma Mountains and consist of indigenous forests, magnificent … Continue reading Tsitsikamma →

Flowering Kapok Tree

Although not taken recently, I want to show this tree. It is called a Kapok Tree and has a very spikey trunk. It looses it leaves when winter comes and then blooms before getting its leaves back. It has pink flowers and covers the whole tree, so whether you have one or many together, its … Continue reading Flowering Kapok Tree →

Karoo Cactus

On our recent visit to Cradock we walked up Oukop, the hill outside the town. From the top there is a lovely view over the town. There is a wide variety of succulents and cactuses that grow in the area and this one I found very interesting.

Coral Aloe on Oukop

Coral Aloe is one of the many aloe species found in South Africa. Unlike most other aloe species, the coral aloe does not have thorny or spiky leaves. These aloes are in full bloom at the moment and in some areas in the Karoo the fields of aloe looks awesome at the moment. This coral … Continue reading Coral Aloe on Oukop →