Australian and African blooms give a wonderful show

There are still some remnants left from this, mainly in some of the plant species we both share.

Over time these plants have each evolved to suit the particular growing environment where they are found but, nevertheless, some of them are, indeed, “cousins”.

If you buy a bouquet of Australian native flowers at the florist, there will certainly be some proteas, leucadendrons and leucospermums in there too, which match very well with the natives.

These aren’t indigenous to Australia at all, but actually come from South Africa. They all belong to the greater proteaceae family, as do our grevilleas, so that may account for the confusion.

Africa also has a number of different species in the acacia family –  our wattles are related.

The very prickly acacia leaves in that country are the favourite food of giraffes and elephants, which seem to be able to eat around the spiky thorns.

On a recent trip to Africa I felt like a kid in a lolly shop. It was absolutely wonderful to see so many of their plants growing in the wild.

A visit to Kirstenbosch Gardens near Cape Town topped off the experience, as did a tour along the “garden route” through the mountains to Port Elizabeth where I saw many succulents such as jade plants (portulacaria afra and crassula ovata) as well as every type of aloe you can possibly imagine.

Our wonderful bottle tree, adansonia gregorii – from Western Australia –  is related to the African boababs.

And, talking about cousins, this one was named by Baron Von Mueller (of Melbourne Botanical Gardens fame) in honour of my great-grandmother’s cousin, Sir Augustus Gregory, who was the leader of the Great Expedition that travelled across the north of Australia in 1855.

Many new plants were discovered and named on this famous journey.

African plants (including many well-known bulbs such as belladonna lilies, nerines, chasmanthe, watsonia and lachenalias) grow very well in many parts of Australia. 

I am quite fond of them because they are tough and hardy and may be essential in a world where global warming is in force.

The flowers of these plants are also spectacular and give a wonderful show in the garden.