Letter to the Constantiaberg Bulletin


Birds of the Okavango

The AGM of the Friends of Meadowridge Common will be held on Wednesday 26 February 2014
at the Meadowridge Library, at 7.30 p.m. 
The meeting will conclude with a talk by renowned photographer (and concert pianist) Sybil Morris on Birds of the Okavango. Sybil has an extensive knowledge of birds and has won awards for her photographs, which she will be using to illustrate her talk.
Refreshments and secure parking will be provided. Everyone is welcome and the talk is free of charge.
For directions on how to get here, click here. 
For further information, please phone Fiona Watson at 021 712 0696. 
 

Wildflowers you will see during September on the Common

The small but beautiful flowers of Romulea hirsuta.
The long trailing leaf of the Groottulp (Moraea flaccida).
Another spring bulb to look for is the tiny Blue Satinflower or Blousysie (Geisorhiza aspera).
A Dance Fly on Coastal Ragwort or Geelhongerblom (Senecio littoreus). The common name Hongerblom derives from the purported use of some senecios as a tea to boost the appetite. They are also sometimes known as groundsel.
The large fluffy seedheads of the Bobbejaanklimop daisy (Othonna filicaulis).
The Common Button Daisy or Ganskos (Cotula turbinata).
Cape Weed (Arctotheca calendula).
And there are a few plants that are unwelcome on the Common, but still look pretty. The South African Rain Daisy, Dimorphotheca pluvialis does not occur naturally on the Common, but someone once sprinkled some seed on the Common and it has now made itself at home, sometimes engulfing the local flora.
Viper's Bugloss or Paterson's Curse (Echium) is also a weed on the Common that hails from Europe and Asia.
Vicia villosa is a species of vetch native to Europe and Asia and is now a widespread weed on the Common.

Spring is in the air

and The Friends have two events lined up:

To whom does Rondebosch Common belong?

A talk by Joanne Eastman of the Friends of Rondebosch Common that explores the claims of various groups to Rondebosch Common from the early Khoi, through the military, the City Council to the local community, and looks at its impressive floral diversity. The talk is hosted by the Friends of Meadowridge Common. The event is free, and refreshments will be served afterwards. Secure parking is provided.
When: Wednesday 11 September at 19h30.
Where: Meadowridge Library, opposite the Meadowridge Shopping Centre, Howard Drive, Meadowridge. Click here for a map.
Contact: Fiona Watson at 021 712 0696.
 
and the much anticipated  

Spring Walk on Meadowridge Common

Every September the Friends of Meadowridge Common have a Spring Walk to update the community as to what progress has been made on the common, and to look for spring flowers. See their facebook page too.
When: Saturday 14 September at 12h30
Where: Meet on the gravel road to the Sports Club, off Faraday Way, Meadowridge.
Click here for a map.
Contact: Fiona Watson at 021 712 0696
For more information on the flowers that you may see on the walks, click here.
 

Meadowridge Common on iSpot

Today, iSpot has an interesting observation by Tony Rebelo entitled "Syntree".
A syntree: a collection of trees that together grow to the same form as a single tree would.
Click here to go to the iSpot observation and to read the follow-up comments.

A winter visit to the Common

The rehabilitated wetland area. Blombos (Metalasia densa) growing on the left.
Sacred Ibis and Cattle Egrets on the flooded soccer fields.
The Cluster Spiderhead (Serrurua glomerata) growing in the rehabilitated wetland area.

Other flowers you can expect to find on the Common in June are Ploegtydblommetjie (Empodium plicatum), Bietou (Chrysanthemoides monilifera), Ganskos (Cotula turbinata) and  Yellow Sorrel (Oxalis pes-caprae). 

Kirstenbosch: 100 years and still blooming

The AGM of the Friends of Meadowridge Common will be held on Wednesday 27 February
at the Meadowridge Library, at 7.30 p.m. 
The meeting will conclude with a presentation by Olwen Gibson, one of Kirstenbosch's Garden Guides, on the Kirstenbosch Centenary which takes place this year. Olwen will take us on a “virtual walk” through Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden to find out how an abandoned farm in 1913 became one of the top botanical gardens in the world one hundred years later.
Refreshments and secure parking will be provided. Everyone is welcome.
For directions on how to get here, click here. 

Kirstenbosch in 1913: a dilapidated farm. Photo: The Elliott Collection. 
 
The same view today. Photo: Alice Notten.
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