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Darling's wild flower garden

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Disclaimer

The Darling Wild flower show is held in September each year when the wild flowers come into bloom. Some of the exhibits are set out in the halls of the showgrounds in the town but by and large the best flower viewing is in the fields in and around Darling. On the weekend of the show there are large crowds to see the flowers so on my visit I took the opportunity of beating the crowds and went to visit the area on a week day.

Along the N7 highway between Cape Town and Malmesbury there were not many flowers although the Port Jackson trees were out in full bloom. For those who don't know the Port Jackson bushes, they are a hayfever sufferer's worst nightmare as they spread their yellow pollen everywhere.

Some of the wild flowers growing in the veld

Leaving Malmesbury we made our way to Darling and just near the Darling Wine Co-op we came across our first fields of flowers. There were fields of white and orange flowers with a few purple ones thrown in as well. Driving further in the direction of Darling we came across a large field which was absolutely covered with Arum lilies. Although some of the lilies were past their prime they still put on a lovely show and were worth stopping to see.

At the intersection of the Darling/ Malmesbury/ Atlantis roads we came across the Duckitt Nurseries where during the flower show they arrange an orchid flower display . The orchids were not yet on display but the fields around the greenhouses were just filled to capacity with every shape and colour of wild flower you could imagine

You can see some of them higher up on this page.

If you want to see the 2008 wild flowers displays you had better get moving as the flowers start coming into bloom towards the end of August. We are having good winter rains again this year so the flowers should be excellent this flower season.

All the flowers pictured above grow wild in the veld around the Darling area, none of them have been cultivated or planted.

Gardens Galore Darling's wild flower garden

Gardens Galore

Darling's wild flower garden