New member and questions about Eastern Cape
Crawford Neil (Tue, 10 Apr 2007 02:18:26 PDT)

Marilyn wrote:

It looks like you're smitten with South Africa just as my family is. We

go to Cape Town every year and several years

ago we bought a house there since we seemed to be "commuting" to Cape

Town. So, I'm warning you... travel to South

Africa and South AFrican plants can become addicting! I've made my

garden in South Africa an indigenous garden...it's >now about 90%
indigenous South African plants....and I grow lots of South African
plants in my gardens at home in

Pennsylvania and indoors, too. Very addicting!

Yes, South Africa is a wonderful place, we never planned to go back so
soon, but now we've already
booked the flight. I'm thinking of trying some South African bulbs, but
not sure which will stand
our winters. I think it's not just the cold thats the problem, it's the
wetness and damp. I saw that they
have that Zantedeschia aetiopica in our botanical garden in Gothenburg,
so that might be a candidate.

The Tsitsikama Forest is also wonderful. Then on to Addo National

Elephant Park--this is a must! You won't only be

seeing geophytes. You'll also see succulents and amazing trees and

fantastic landscapes, dramatic rock formations,

waterfalls, animals and all kinds of plants. The most important thing

is to get out and "be" in the landscape

whenever you can. HIKE.

We spent too much time in the car last time, this time we will certainly
be hiking. We've found
good places to hike at Barrydale, Hogsback, Tsitsikama and of course
DeHoop, we visited DeHoop last
time and I can't recommend it enough, there is a short trail at Potsberg
that we thought we
might try. I was just reading about Marloth nature reserve, does anyone
know if it's worth a visit?

Where can I find out more about Cameron's "advanced" trip? I'd be

interested in that.

Heres Camerons trip:
http://www.africanbulbs.com/page31.html

and here is Tonys
http://plantdelights.com/Tony/south_africa_p2.php/

I'm not just a "bulb" person as I'm sure most of us are not. Any

unusual plant tempts me and every plant, dull or

fantastic, gives me something to think about.

Have to agree, hard to think of a plant I don't like.

South African plants are my passion. I'm a neophyte to this site too,

so I hope this response is not too wordy,

personal, or non-geophyte oriented for this discussion. Marilyn

Thanks very much for your reply, I too hope we're being geophytic
enough!
Finally another question, where is the best place to see Strelitzia
regina growing naturally?
Best regards Neil
PS. Corydalis intermedia and Anemone nemerosa are just beginning to
flower in our garden here
on Swedens west coast.