Flower lovers were inspired by self-proclaimed flowerholic, Marion Whitehead at the Don Powis Hall in Settlers Park Retirement Village on Thursday, June 24.
Whitehead started her talk with dispelling the myth about when Spring starts.
“The main myth we need to dispel is that spring starts on the first of September. The flowers have no calendar: they look at the weather, they look at the length of the day, they look at the temperature and decide are they going to open for business – because it is business for them. They’re in the business of getting pollinated and reproduced, so they set seed for the next year,” she said to the packed audience.
“The flower season is all about sex. The flowers are putting on this display because they want to attract the pollinators,” she explained. “When the rain is good, the flowers are good,” she added.
Speaking on the value of flowers for tourism, Whitehead said the spring wild flowers on the West Coast and Namaqualand bring thousands of tourists from all over the world, including local visitors to the region. “The tourists arrive by the busload in organised tours, and in private vehicles, and book out the accommodation and fill the local restaurants and eateries that pop up for the season. They are a big driver in the local economy and generate a seasonal income for many people,” she said. “What a lot of the farmers are doing because they’ve realised the value of tourism is take their livestock out of the field and put them elsewhere in flower season and the flowers flower. And after they finish flowering, then the farmers let the livestock back in and the action of the hoofs tramples the seeds into the fields and so they are ready for the next flower season when the rain and temperature comes on to bring the next group of flowers.”
Taking questions from the audience, Whitehead explained the reproductive mechanism of pollination.
“The flower’s pollination or reproduction strategy, like the Namaqualand daisies, often set two kind of seeds: one set of seed’s flowers grow very quickly.”
The next set delays itself a little bit and flowers with the next lot, she explained.
Whitehead was also asked about the theft of rare wild flowers.
“If you have a look at succulents, they are becoming big collector’s items with people from the Far East. People are putting them in their pockets – but in large quantities as well and it is becoming a problem.”
Whitehead cautioned about the theft of wild flowers. She described how the Green Scorpions are actively taking steps, using the save the succulents mission, to preserve indigenous plants such as succulents.
Asked about the flower growing process of succulents, Whitehead said this would be a topic for a whole biology lesson in itself.
“These clever plants have adapted to the harsh terrain of Namaqualand and the Karoo, where rainfall is very scarce,” Whitehead said. “They often grow in the shade of large stones or rocks to seek protection from the harsh sun and high ground temperatures, and live off the moisture from dew and mist, which trickles off the rocks and stones to the base where the succulent is waiting for this life giving moisture in this rain-scarce land.”
Throughout her presentation, Whitehead gave valuable tips for a flower viewing trip.
Take the road less travelled
Whitehead encouraged the audience to not take the main routes when travelling to see flowers, but use the back roads. “Take scenic back routes,” she encouraged.
Follow the season north to south
“If you go looking for spring flowers on the first of September, you’re likely to be disappointed,” Whitehead warned.
Flower season starts up north because its warmer.
As the season warms up, the flowers start coming out further south.
“Provided of course there’s rain,” she said, suggesting that a good time to catch spring flowers is towards the end of July and early in August.
Respect the farmers, respect the flowers
Here, she mentioned how a lot of kind farmers are willing to open their gates to allow flower watchers inside, and when shown such kindness she urged the audience to respect the property and not trample on flowers. “People are not pollinators and they’re not doing the flowers any service by flattening them,” she said.
Other tips included; Open yourself to the poetry around you, Be happy: constant change is your friend, Stop for koffie & koek, Tap into local knowledge, Take a wildflower guidebook, Be weather-wise, It really is all about sex, Flowers are everywhere! And Check flower show dates.
The author had only brought seven copies of her book, Visitors Guide: Flower Route, to the talk and they all sold out, but if flower fans want a copy, they can order directly off the MapStudio website on www.mapstudio.co.za.
