Lynne, her sister Marcelle and our friend Judi Thomas are all members of the Cape Horticultural Society
When we heard that South Africa's gold medal winner at this year's Royal Chelsea Flower show in London
was being recreated by Grootbos in Stanford, tickets were bought, accommodation found (thank you generous friends)
and off we went to the show, taking along our resident photographer John, Lynne's husband
Fifty scarecrows had been made by the residents of Stanford
Arriving at the exhibition hall
It is difficult to show through photographs how large the exhibit was and how impressive. It was breathtaking
One can imagine the impression the exotic plantings made in London
Nerinas Nerine filifolia nestled among the Heaths Erica Capensis
The stream is made of rooibos tea to get the correct colour it would be in the wild
Streptocarpus primulifolius or African Primrose in blues, pinks and white covered the fern plated wall
Lynne grew these for many years on a coffee table in her London Flat
and yet cannot get them to grow in Cape Town, their home
In the front Lachenalia interplanted with freesias, heaths and Pink Pelargoniums
At the Chelsea show, a fox would come in the night and drink from the rooibos 'river' and leave his footprints
Yes, feral foxes do live in central London
Carpets of Proteas that many have never seen before, grouped so you could see them better
and interplanted with Cone bushes, leucadendron
The entrance on the other side of the stream and waterfall had Arums and rare mini proteas, as well as clivias
The Proteaceae form a family of flowering plants predominantly distributed in the Southern Hemisphere
The family comprises 83 genera with about 1,660 known species
The display was just mind blowing; huge, almost giant King Proteas Cynaroides, down to mini plants
At each turn, something different to admire
White centres, dark centres and no visible centres in the Blushing Bride proteas
Just spectacular!
The display was aromatic too, so one had a feeling of walking in the bush
Some rare pink Cape Disas
The Blushing Bride protea nearly went extinct from over-picking, but has now recovered
mainly with help from good horticulturists
Blue Streptocarpus and pink Ericas
Pink Streptocarpus
Grootbos had stands selling many items covered in flowers - rare prints, books, even clothing, sold with a smile
Another glorious sight
We loved the way the proteas were interplanted with Berlezia which made them stand out more.
Pincushion Proteas Leucospermum and pale green leucodendrons
Nerina close-up
Pin cushions are from the Leucospermum family, this is a rare one
Protea cynaroides, also called the King protea, is a distinctive member of Proteaceae,
having the largest flower head in the genus
It is South Africa's National flower
So unusual and never seen before by many enthusiasts this strange but rather beautiful Protea
Another careful and considered interplanting of the white proteas with these hairy chrysanthemum-like leucodendrons
Gloriously coloured pink Queen proteas
Fire-tipped Leucospermum
Dotty and a riot of colour - Pink and red proteas interplanted with pale silver leaves
A range of essential oils and bath products was on a sales table
So many photographs were taken, cell phones were everywhere - and even a few real cameras
Some plantings were really dramatic
More Pincushions. There are so many Leucospermum varieties
So delighted to see this very rare protea, the Moss Rose
So soft, so fragile...
The man who conducts the orchestra and has the visions,
plant expert and exhibit designer Leon Kluge speaking to a visitor
Which print to buy?
Great short floral pyjamas
Peering closely... minute detail, infinite artistic skill in the watercolours
Standing in awe
Chinkerinchee Ornithogalum thyrsoides
Must get that shot...
Can you see that one...? What is it?
So many varieties, so hard to find the correct names
They deserve a close up. More beautiful Cape Primroses
Shall we buy that one?
Admiring looks
We are so fortunate to live in a truly spectacularly beautiful environment and must do everything possible to protect it
All the stories we have produced since 2012 can be opened from the archive list near the top of the column on the right of this page
