Cape West Coast Fynbos by cfulton

Photography • Flowers/Plants • posted on Sep 26, 2009

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Description

Last weekend I went to see the flowers in Darling, Western Cape, South Africa. On the way we stopped in at Waylands Flower Reserve a few kilometres outside the town. The 80 ha flower reserve at Waylands is a typical representative of the Lowland Fynbos biome. Estimated to contain approximately 300 species of flowering plants, it has always been managed to maintain and promote the wild flowers. The veld was made into a flower reserve in about 1922 when Frederick Duckitt, one of the co-founders of the Darling Wild Flower show, allowed the public to stop to view the spring flower bloom. His son, Wilferd Duckitt, built the road that allows the public to drive through the reserve, in 1952. Apart from this change, the veld has been managed in the same basic manner for at least the last 140 years. The very simple management strategy consists of allowing cattle and sheep to graze in the veld throughout summer. The animals are then removed late in autumn and the flowers are allowed to grow undisturbed. Animals are then only allowed to graze the veld once the spring flowers have died off and have set seed at the beginning of summer. Fire also forms an integral part of the veld management strategy. The veld is burned once the bush gets overgrown and unproductive, but not in intervals of less than four years, and usually not longer than seven years. The timing of the intervals is dependent on the climatic conditions as well as the type of plants that grow in the veld. Certain plants need to be regularly burned to ensure survival, whilst others are not happy to be burned regularly. The burning strategy is therefore adjusted on an annual basis to accommodate the climatic conditions, the veld type and the specific plants. Burning is only done late in autumn, if possible just before rain, with a light breeze which will allow the fire to move fast enough so as not to destroy all the seed, but at the same time to be hot enough to burn all the dead and unproductive material. So, you are in for some phlower photos! Cheers, Clive

Comments (20)

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Sea_Dog Online Now!

2:42PM | Sat, 26 September 2009

Beautiful, almost like a painting. Well done

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Alz2008

3:04PM | Sat, 26 September 2009

Wonderful capture, "excellent" well done..

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psyoshida

3:21PM | Sat, 26 September 2009

Lovely picture and thanks for the explanation. Excellent capture.

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witch_1612

3:23PM | Sat, 26 September 2009

Wonderful Work!!!

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durleybeachbum

3:35PM | Sat, 26 September 2009

How very exciting!! So interesting about the grazing znd burning regime. I look forward to as many of these pics as you care to share.

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jeroni

3:46PM | Sat, 26 September 2009

Excellent work and perfect realisation

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bentchick

4:20PM | Sat, 26 September 2009

Wonderful color and DOF!!!!

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auntietk

4:47PM | Sat, 26 September 2009

I will sit still for every single shot you want to show us! This is going to be fun for me. :)

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jocko500

4:56PM | Sat, 26 September 2009

very lovely looking

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traceyjane

5:32PM | Sat, 26 September 2009

beautiful capture

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tizjezzme

8:29PM | Sat, 26 September 2009

Sweet shot, with all them lovely wildflowers...

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moochagoo

8:47PM | Sat, 26 September 2009

Lovely colors and flowers

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bmac62

10:58PM | Sat, 26 September 2009

Ah, spring is bursting out all over down your way. Have you ever photographed the whales that visit your shores? I saw a television piece of your whales today.

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Meisiekind

2:09AM | Sun, 27 September 2009

Oh Clive - what a fascinating narrative with detail I didn't even know. It is awesome to know how the fields are burned and preserved... The Namakwaland flowers are on my "have to do list"... I am looking forward to this series and this image is a fantastic start!!! Well done! :)

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