some flowers in hogsback

for those of you who haven’t visited hogsback… it is a small village in the eastern cape, in the mountains overlooking alice, where fort hare university is situated. there is a big movement to reclaim the area from the pines and wattles, revitalising the indigenous vegetation. i go relatively regularly to visit friends who live in the area. these are a small selection of photos of some of the flowers i saw.

keeping with the theme of hydrangeas… this was taken in someone’s garden.

i am not sure what this flower is but there was a pretty tree full of them.

hogsback has some beautiful indigenous and wild proteas. this was growing wild in the area being reclaimed for indigenous plants near ‘the edge’ (a very dramatic look out point overlooking both pine and indigenous forests. from there you can really see how the pines suck up all the water. nothing else grows anywhere near the pines. alternatively, the indigenous forest is lush and wild.

this is another protea seen at ‘the edge’. the timing was a little off and many of the proteas where on their way out. they still are deliciously beautiful though.

this is one of my favourite proteas. for some strange reason they are usually only used as fillers in bunches of more dramatic proteas. there was such beautiful bushes of these all over the garden where we were staying.

Rare Visitors

The summer has brought with it an incredible display of the Natal Watsonia (Watsonia densiflora) transforming a section of grassland on the Westville campus of the University of KwaZulu-Natal into a burst of brilliant colour.  Cultivation, urbanisation and invasive plants have destroyed almost all the grasslands in the Durban area, making this an incredibly rare sight and the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Environment Committee ensures every effort is made to rehabilitate and preserve this heritage as a research and education resource.

Watsonia densiflora

Hydrangea – not a bad exotic

I’m not a huge fan of exotic plants and, in fact, am vehemently pro-indigenous.  I do, however, have a soft spot for Hydrangeas, a familiar plant in most suburbs in South Africa.  These come courtesy (and out the garden) of my housemate’s mother and have been keeping me company while I’ve been working today.

Anyone else have an exotic plant (non-invasive) that they’d like to stick up for?

Hydrangea - not a bad exotic

Local freedoms

Written on behalf of SWC by Val Payn

SWC Chair

Box 44, Harding

Contact cell 083 4416961

swcoastval@gmail.com

XOLOBENI MINING IS A TEST CASE OF HOW MUCH COMMITMENT GOVERNMENT HAS TO LOCAL DEMOCRATIC PROCESSES.

Should local destinies be decided locally? That is the heart of the issue around the Wild Coast Xolobeni mining debate.

The Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) has announced that it will hold a legal hearing in Durban to hear oral submissions as to why amaPondo communities are opposed to titanium dune mining along the Wild Coast. DMR say the submissions will be taken into account in the Minister’s decision whether to give the go ahead for the mining application. This sets a precedent for DMR, who do not usually consider oral appeals.

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Dublin Community Garden Project

An interesting video sent from our friend and ex-Durbanite Seoidin O’Sullivan, now living in Dublin.

RAG Episode Four from DCTV on Vimeo.