Picture of the Month
June 2003 Two strains of Disa tripetaloides, an early season bloomer. The one on the left is from the Western Cape (winter rainfall area) while the one on the right is from Natal (summer rainfall). The difference is quite striking, but it is hard to know which one to prefer!
July 2003 As of late June, there are still quite a few of the bigger flowers to open, but there is already lots of stuff to see. Here is a view showing mostly Disa uniflora flowers, with some other species and hybrids sprinkled in.
August 2003 A very cute, very pale, Disa tripetaloides.
September 2003 A bold Disa uniflora.
October 2003 Here is a pair of alba Disa uniflora flowers, with different pedigrees showing up in the different shapes of the flowers.
November 2003 The Disas are long since finished flowering, but here is a strange little Stenoglottis. It is a species of uncertain identity.
December 2003 I have lots of Stenoglottis plants flowering right now, including this Sngl longifolia. This has some of the biggest blooms I have seen on a longifolia, some of them as much as 20 mm lateral spread.
January 2004 Some Stenoglottis longifolia clones have no spots, just a uniform, delicate lilac coloring. Like these ones, blooming indoors in November.
February 2004 Sometimes you get surprising visitors in the hydroponic system. Maybe they help to keep the fungus gnats under control!
March 2004 Not a Disa, but a nice flowering of a Bonatea speciosa plant that I grew from seed.
April 2004 Here are two normal Disa tripetaloides plants flanking another of the same species, with flowers so much bigger. Mike Gallagher bred the monster, so I can't take much credit other than keeping it alive until it flowered.
May 2004 Disa Veitchii is a tall-stemmed hybrid (uniflora x racemosa) that blooms early in the season. Here is one in shocking pink!
June 2004 The first Disa uniflora this season is a nicely-proportioned orange one.
July 2004 Here is an elegant example of Disa Auratkew, showing nice size, form, color and spacing of flowers.
August 2004 Pink forms of Disa uniflora can be very attractive, but also very frustrating as they are hard to keep alive once they have flowered.
September 2004 To see Disas in the wild, sometimes you need to expend some energy. Here is the view from halfway up Skeleton Gorge, a route up Table Mountain from Kirstenbosch. The Kirstenbosch grounds can be seen in the lower part of the picture.
October 2004 A cliff face covered in Disa longicornu, but out of reach for close up photographs.
November 2004 The elusive Disa longicornu, one of the blue Disas.
December 2004 Disa heaven. That is Marlene Cywes lurking behind the Disas in the Sidmar nursery in Constantia, Cape Town.
January 2005 Roll out the red carpet. Nicolas Duckitt graciously showed us the fine collection of Disas at the Duckitt nursery in Darling, north of Cape Town.
February 2005 Some Disa owners get very possessive! Here is my mother and some lovely red Disas from the Duckitt nursery. As cut flowers, they lasted for several weeks in prime condition.
March 2005 Hermanus sunset. After your day of Disa viewing in the mountains behind Hermanus, take a break and watch the sunset!
April 2005 I just came back from a wonderful weekend on the island of San Juan, just east of Victoria on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. I saw hundreds of Calypso bulbosa orchids in full bloom, and here is a group of them. What a sight!
May 2005 A close-up of a very early-blooming red Disa uniflora, showing spectacular colouring.
June 2005a Here is a neat hybrid, Disa Riversdale crossed with an orange Disa uniflora.
June 2005b An attractive orange-coloured Disa uniflora.
July 2005 This is Disa Riette "Hot"!
August 2005 A picture of a new hybrid Stenoglottis, Sngl. Longwood x fimbriata. It has bigger flowers and is much more robust than other Stenoglottis plants I have grown, making me suspect it is a polyploid of sorts.
September 2005 A specimen plant of Stenoglottis Longwood.
October 2005 Here is another Stenoglottis, with apologies, but Disas don't bloom much at this time of year. It is Stenoglottis longifolia, a plant with 16 flower spikes and about 800 flowers in total. It made me dizzy trying to count them exactly.
November 2005 Here is a picture to make your mouth water! This was sent to me by a couple who have spent a lot of time on Table Mountain, where this photo of Disa graminifolia was taken on the contour path. Look at those seed pods ripening! (Photo credit: D. A. Byrne and C. M. Duncombe Rae)
December 2005 Disa tripetaloides, a specimen with intense colouring and some spotting on the lateral sepals which is quite unusual. Photographed in Fernkloof Nature Reserve, Hermanus, Cape Province, December 2005.
January 2006 During winter, 2005, monsoon-type rains led to many landslides in the Hermanus area, including these two in the Fernkloof reserve.
February 2006 Another nearby stream, another tripetaloides.