Gladiolii | The Fynbos Blog

Gone with the Wind

Posted on November 18, 2014 by fynbosblog Leave a comment

So there I was only a couple of weeks ago feeling triumphant and even rather pleased with myself. Then it struck me. Not a brilliant idea; a tummy bug. At first I hoped it was a 24 hour tummy bug but then I realised it didn’t have a time frame. It took me a few days to realise I was actually really quite ill and by then I was already bored of it so I went to see the fabulous Dr Shelley and explained that I had to be on a plane to Plettenburg Bay in the morning. “Have to?” says the Doc. “Well, want to” says I. She sharpens up her needles and gives me 5 injections, or was it 6? I lost count. “Now you’ll be able to travel if you want to,” says she “but if you do this will just go on for longer.” She’s better at prediction than the weatherman; it took me another full week to be over it completely and back on the mountain again.

Everyone always says that the great thing about tummy bugs is that you lose weight, and while it’s true while you’ve got the bug, I always worry about compensating afterwards. So I got back out on the mountain as soon as I could and after two or three runs I’m feeling pretty good out there. I know I’ve missed some flowers though, which is always a bit sad – will have to wait until next year. Fynbos bulbs can come and go in a day, but the shrubs are amazing – they will flower for months. One example is the Lobostemon Fruticosus which is such a friend, I posted a photo of it in August and it is still flowering now. On a bright hot day the flowers dim but a little grey and a dash of rain and they glow on the mountain.

Lobostemon fructicosus

It’s wonderful to recognise some special flowers that I identified last year and this is one of the them. I notice them more this year, scattered all over the place and in partiular in one small shady area where a whole clump of them grow, but where the light didn’t lend itself to a good shot of the clump and we may try for a better photo of this charming Tritonia undulata the next time we are out.

Tritonia undulata

A rather dark photo on a bright day – it’s almost impossible to get a good shot of a blue or white flower in bright sunlight. I was glad I caught this Walhenbergia capensis on a run just before the flu hit, they are all gone now.

Wahlenbergia capensis

And isn’t this one absolutely gorgeous? Another one that I captured on the run just before I had to stop and I’ve completely forgotten where I saw it and of course it has disappeared now. I think it’s Geissorhiza exscapa.

Geissorhiza exscapa

I promised a better photo of the fabulously named lily, Wachendorfia paniculata. This one grows along the drive and I was feeling so well on Sunday that at the end of our run the dogs and I trotted all the way down to find and photograph it while the light was dappled and it was still looking good. Look how it glows against the yellow-grey sandy wall.

Wachendorfia paniculata

The flowers are amazing and really, that’s the point of the blog yet there are so many other special things, it’s just that flowers look great in pictures. The grasses are absolutely gorgeous and I often try to capture their whimsical or even dramatic charm. The iPhone doesn’t usually get it, but this one was a good attempt and I think these are Willdenovia incurvata.

Wllldenovia incurvata

Willdenovia incurvata

As we bounced up the mountain the morning before I fell ill the wind was howling and I had decided not even to try and take a photo. Then we came across this gorgeous Gladiolus angustus. Luckily I decided that despite the wind I’d take a photo. When I finally passed the same way 12 days later there was not the tiniest sign of it.

Gladiolus angustus

And finally – there is always a sunset. I don’t capture them every day. This one was special.

Sunset in the Western Cape

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Magnificent Proteas, more water and some new finds

Posted on June 30, 2013 by fynbosblog One comment

There is a lot to share so today’s blog is all flowers and less about the run.

Up until now I’ve been going by the flowering dates shown in my reference book but I’m now not so sure. I know from the records I’ve kept over the years that the different weather can mean flowering even in the garden here can vary by a month or six weeks from year to year, so why not the fynbos.

Stachys aethiopica, for instance, is supposed to flower in August and September, in the early spring. But we saw one in May and there are small groups of them in different areas at the moment. They are unmistakeable with their flower reminiscent of a pelargonium and distinctive mint-like leaves. Indeed they are a member of lamiaceae, the mint family

Stachys aethiopica

The red gladiolus has cropped up in a few places. There was one by the road when I left in early May that was easily photographed. The latest two are high on the bank above the drive, but worth sharing even if the photo isn’t great. The nearest possibility is gladiolus priorii, though in that case the flowers should be dull red and these are a vibrant scarlet. It should also have a distinctive and easily visible yellow throat and I can see no evidence of that in our flower. I will look again as the size, shape and flowering season fit. I need to look a little closer if one appears in a more accessible area. If not, we’ll have to wait until next year to be sure.

Gladiolus – unamed

The dogs and I had a wonderful run today and we visited the weir to see how much water is flowing. This is always a lovely place; the whitish trunks of the Ilex Mitis or Cape Holly, are magnificent and the permanent water flow makes it a favourite of the dogs.

An ancient Ilex Mitis with its feet in a permanent stream

Jemima Chew enjoying the water in the weir

While I’ve been away the magnificent protea trees have come into flower. They are tall and have spikey white flowers and silver leaves. I believe they are Protea nitida.

Protea – probably nitida

Near them stands this delicate pink protea. It is probably a nerifolia, though the flowers are barely bearded and a paler pink than most of the nerifolio on this farm.

Protea nerifolia – a very pale pink specimen

Flowers found in the forest that abutts the farm are included in our blogs as they are on our regular running route. We’ve seen Ursinia paelacea before and there is lots of it along the forest roads.

Urisinia palaecea

Not everything is easily identified. This little clump of yellow daisy-like flowers is lovely and quite distinctive but I can find no record of them. Suggestions welcome.

A mystery flower – yellow daisy-like flowers are the hardest to identify

As we ran into the forest the path is lined with Leucadendron salignum. There are hundreds of these all over the farm. At this time of year they glow in the dark, another plant that seems to absorb the sunlight and render it back to us on the darker days. Today was bright and they gleam in the early winter sun.