Nkosi Nursery

The first tree name Alex March learned when studying horticulture was Erythrina lysistemon. The second was Citharexylum quadrangulare (a.k.a Fiddlewood). Fortunately, the indigenous coral tree had more appeal, and in a short time Alex became, by his own admission, an ‘indigenous nut’. Part of the course requirements was to learn the names of 2000 plants….

Gladiolus

This year’s weather conditions seem to have suited the Gladiolus family particularly well as many species are flowering profusely. In Europe ‘Glads’ (originally South African) have been cultivated for over 250 years, they are popular garden plants and commonly used by florists around the world.  The genus name Gladiolus  comes from the Latin gladius, meaning…

Spring Grassland Flowers

While Namaqualand gets all the publicity, the spring flowers of the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands grasslands are an absolute delight for those who don’t follow the crowds. Only one in six plant species in grassland is actually a grass, with most of the perennial plants living for many years – re-sprouting annually, rather than seeding.  This means…

Orange Poppy

Papaver aculeatum Common name: Orange poppy, Afrikaans name: Doring papawer, Sotho name: sehhlohlo Disturbed areas of veld, alongside roads or edges of ploughed fields are home to the delightful orange South African poppy. This summer there is a profusion of them as you drive around the Midlands – obviously they like the wet weather. The…