Last night a gentle rain fell all night. And in the morning everything was soft and wet and fresh. And Gladiolus tristis, whose name of course means the sad Gladiolus, was positively radiating contentment. And although it's normally only scented in the evening, on this overcast morning it is strongly perfumed.
Despite how delicate it looks, this Cape lowlands geophyte is tough, and from a handful of bulbs I bought way back from Adriaan Hanekom at the Caledon Fynbos Nursery, I now have several overflowing pots full, have given more away, and still have plants popping up in any soil that ever hosted them.
Adriaan is the mainstay of conservation work in that part of the Overberg, almost single handedly responsible for raising the local awareness of the critically endangered Renosterveld of the surrounding landscape - a shy and quiet spoken man with a strong Afrikaans accent, he has pushed and bullied the municipality and local farmers into looking after their amazing heritage and no-one could be immune to his passion for plants. If you're looking for interesting species to grow rather than frou-frou hybrids, take a drive to Caledon. Now. While the spring flowers are out.
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