There’s a spring in everyone’s step, the bees start buzzing, temperatures start rising and the rains are almost done. It’s that time of year again here in the Western Cape when the days eyes (Daisy’s) are abundant and there are so many more flowers.
Murphy (famous for his ‘law’) may be happy because this time last year the world was closed and the flowers bloomed amazingly. Unfortunately for most visitors longing to see our famous Blooming Desert, they could not get here to see the carpets of colour that were around. This year, though, there’s been quite a bit of rain throughout the area and it’s been another good year for the flowers.
Clanwilliam is a central town where all the flower routes are reachable, and can be done in a day. Even in and around the town itself there are some amazing spots to see not just the daisies but lots of little flowers that get overlooked because they are not in abundance or are quite small. It is worth doing some of the trails in the area to get to see these small beauties as they are the hidden treasures.
At Simbavati Cederberg Ridge, even just on our property itself there are some walking/ hiking trails that can reveal some of these hidden gems, due to the different terrains and altitudes. This time of year one need not worry about high temperatures and can be out longer during the day to be able to admire these flowers.
Below I’ve put together a list of flowers that I enjoy seeing when out and about during the Spring flower time.
- Bulbine praemorsa: Flowers from June – September, it’s average height is 40 – 60 cm
- Lachenalia mutabillis: Flowers between July – September, only gets to about 10 – 45 cm
- Pauridia capensis: Also known as the Peacock flower, flowers between July – October and gets to 10 – 30cm in height.
- Moraea miniata: It flowers between August – September and grows to 15 – 60 cm
- Ferraria variabilis: Not a big flower because it only gets up to 20 cm and flowers between August – November.
- Disperis capensis: A very pretty and proud looking flower which grows to 50 cm and flowers between July – September
- Oxalis purpurea: This one stays close to the ground and flowers from May – September. A common name is the Ground Dutchess Sorrel.
- Leucospermum vestitum: One of the Pincushion family, the flower heads get to 50 – 70 mm in diameter and flowers between July – January.
- Melianthus major: Quite a large prehistoric looking plant growing up to roughly 2 meters and flowers August – September.
- Euryops speciosissimus: This is a special one because it’s found in a small stretch of the Western Cape and its common name is the Clanwilliam Daisy. It can get up to 2 meters in height and flowers between August – November.
I’ve been out and about and due to the rains we’ve had the flowers are coming out fast and furious. Hoping that this year we will get to share the flowers of the region with more people than last year and if you are in the area I hope you will keep an eye out for these ten.
Happy flower hunting!