AGAPANTHUS II

Among the many beautiful indigenous blooms this spring is the showy Agapanthus, which many of you will be familiar with either from your own, or at least in public, gardens all over the world.  In their natural habitat they are widely distributed along the eastern parts of South Africa, although there is a patch of them indigenous to the south-western Cape. As you can tell from the photograph below, they are easily distinguished by their size – their blooms sticking up well above the surrounding plants.

These geophytes have thick tuberous rhizomes, which helps them to store water and energy. This means that these plants are fairly tolerant of drought conditions. Even when they are not blooming, the shiny, fleshy strap-like leaves look attractive.

They have a long flowering season – I saw the first ones blooming in the veld during November and there are still a lot about. The pale to dark blue flowers are borne in a dense cluster on a long slender stalk. I find the different hues of blue very attractive.

They attract a variety of insects as well as sunbirds.