The Cape Honeysuckle was one of those Fynbos plants that really got its hooks stuck into me when it came to the propagation side of Fynbos and really was one of the first plants I had any success with in our nursery. They are pretty bulletproof so they managed to pull through my early and rather disastrous adventures in learning how to manage a nursery properly almost 6 years ago.
Apart from its relative hardiness, it is still a fascinating and a beautiful member of the Fynbos. They can grow in a wide range of soil types, and cope well with varying shade and wind conditions. If one puts the time in; they can be a well maintained and beautiful hedgerow; alternatively if they are left to their own devices they can sprout into some amazing shapes. Which is more of what we encounter on the farm here, the weird and wonderful different shapes they all take on. Colour is also an important part of this plant, as we on the farm have 4 different colours of Tecoma flowering. It is always interesting to see which plant is more attractive to bees and sunbirds. The sunbirds can spend all day in a big patch of Honeysuckle, and the bees go particularly mad for this as soon as the sun hits the plant and the pollen starts warming up.
The reason I chose this plant as this week’s Fynbos Friday was for no other reason than the amazing pictures I was able to take this morning of the mist leaving drops behind on the flowers.
Hope you enjoy Uncorked this weekend, if you are in the valley you might bump into us at Lynx for delicious tapas and Shiraz, or next door at Boekenhoutskloof. Come and say hi. And wherever you are enjoying this weekend please remember to travel safe.
http://www.plantzafrica.com/planttuv/tecomarcap.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tecoma_capensis
