Strelitzia reginae (Bird of Paradise)

(Pic taken with my iPhone 6s Plus in Sheffield, Ballito, KwaZulu Natal)

Strelitzia reginae, the crane flower or bird of paradise, is indigenous to South Africa. An evergreen perennial, it is widely cultivated for its dramatic flowers. In temperate areas it is a popular houseplant.

(Pic taken with my iPhone 6s Plus in Sheffield, Ballito, KwaZulu Natal)

 

After many, many attempts of growing this beautiful plant in my previous garden in Tarlton, Gauteng (South Africa) and having it frosted down to the ground every year until it succumbed to the cold winters, I am now totally surrounded by masses of these plants here in Ballito. I just can not get enough of looking at the intricacies of the flower, it truly could be a bird of paradise and take to the skies any minute!

Strelitzia reginae is one the most popular horticultural perennials around the world. It flowers for long periods with its vivid orange and bright purple/blue inflorescence and is an ideal pot plant and cut flower subject. The inflorescence stalk is 700 mm tall with 4-6 flowers that emerge in succession in a boat-shaped spathe ± 200 mm long, producing a mucilaginous substance when in bloom. The flowers have orange sepals and blue/purple petals (May to December). 

It occurs naturally only in South Africa along the eastern coast from Humansdorp to northern KwaZulu-Natal in coastal bush and thicket. It grows along river banks in full sun, however sometimes it occurs and flowers on margins of forest in shade.

Bees are common visitors when the spathe is in flower. Sunbirds may be the pollinator, but this has still to be proven. The role of sunbirds in Strelitzia pollination needs to be investigated, as they have been observed "robbing" the flowers by taking nectar but by-passing the pollination mechanism. Birds eat and disperse the seed. In nature, where its distribution overlaps with that of  S. juncea, in the Humansdorp District, they hybridise easily.
(This info from SANBI)

It is regarded as a perennial herb by the abakwaMthethwa clan in KwaZulu-Natal, who use the strained concoctions from the inflorescence to treat inflamed glands and venereal diseases. The seeds are also used in the Cape to sour milk.

Read more about Growing Strelitzia reginae here.

Special Features of Strelitzia reginae :

Attracts birds

Drought resistant

Feature plant

Good pot plant

Medical plant

Useful plant

Feeds honeybees

 

Today ...

It has been 6 weeks since we sold our smallholding in Gauteng and moved down to the North Coast of KwaZulu Natal (South Africa) (ONLY 6 weeks??!! feels like a life-time!) and it has taken me all this while to find my feet, gather my thoughts and feel as if I once again belong somewhere. The biggest thing about moving from a place where you have lived for 43 years is seemingly losing your 'identity' - an identity tied to the bird life you studied for so many years, an identity tied to the grass, trees and the very soil you were walking on, an identity tied to "your" plants and birds and insects and little animals nurtured in your garden for so long.

I open my eyes in the mornings and in stead of hearing the Cape Robin-chat singing on my patio, I hear the exotic sound of the Burchell's Coucal outside my window, the sound of the surf pounding on the beach in stead of traffic whizzing past my front gate, and when I rise and go for an early morning walk, I see tropical (and unknown!) vegetation in stead of veld grass and Bluegum trees. A big a change as you can ever imagine!

Yes, it has taken me 8 weeks to get into the swing of things in this new life we have chosen and although I was, and still am, mourning the loss of my pets (my chooks will forever be ingrained in my heart), I now look forward to discovering all that is new in this exotic coastal location; insects I have never seen in my life, the names of the trees and plants which thrive in these hot and humid conditions and finding out which succulents like to grow here!

Summer's end

Autumn struck with a vengeance this year. I say 'with a vengeance', because it's more like winter! We're having extremely cold days, like 20℃, where are the balmy 24℃ and 25℃ temperatures? This will probably be the last cutting of the lawn that Chrissie does this season, already the grass is turning yellow in patches. We were lucky to have good rains this past summer, so all the plants are strong and healthy and ready for the winter.

It was a good flowering season for the Red Hot Pokers (Kniphofia), attracting lots of bees, butterflies and sunbirds.

A Geranium sharing a pot with some Senecio Blue chalk succulents

The Hydrangea blooms were also exceptional this summer

After all that rain, the Sword Ferns spread like wild fire 

The last of the succulents left in my garden. All those in pots went to a good home (more about that later)

I always love it when these Leafy Foliose Lichens appear after good rains

The weather patterns are really peculiar lately and I just hope this coming winter won't be too severe, I feel heavy frost looming deep in my bones. But here's the thing - I might not experience winter in my garden this year as we are in the process of selling our smallholding. There is an offer in place and if that goes through, we will be moving down to Ballito on the North Coast (KwaZulu Natal). And of course I will keep you up-to-date on the progress of the (possible) big move.