Group bookings are available at special prices on all days of The Darling Wildflower Show.
Contact Ingrid Wilson for further information
Cell no. 083 655 4237 E-Mail iw@worldonline.co.za
Darling is known as the flower of the West Coast,
and the abundance of flora and natural flowers
is undoubtedly its biggest asset.
The Darling Wildflower Society has held a show virtually every year since that first show in 1917. The ideals expressed by the founders still hold true today. They wanted to display Darling's God-given wealth for the world to see. At the same time they promoted the conservation of flowers amongst the farmers of the district, who have since maintained the botanical diversity of the region over several generations.
The West Coast flower region, an integral part of the Cape Fynbos Kingdom, boasts more than 1200 species of flowering plants. About 80 of these are endemic to the West Coast and known nowhere else. The rich flora of the West Coast occurs on mainly three different soil types, culminating in three distinctive vegetation types, namely, Strandveld, Renosterveld and Sandveld.
Darling lies within the Cape West Coast Biosphere reserve in the centre of the threatened lowland sandplain and renosterveld fynbos.
Darling's veld is unique in that it consists of an intermingling of various veld types. It is not unusual to find a single patch which can be classified as Sandveld, Strandveld, Renosterveld and Rietveld. This mix-up has led to the veld in Darling producing flowers, especially Geophytes (bulbous plants), which are spectacular in their diversity, size and colour. This situation is found nowhere else in the world. The Cape Floral Kingdom, with more than 12 000 species, is also the richest in species diversity. It is astounding that Darling contains more than 10% of the species count of the Cape Floral Kingdom in less than 1% of the area. If there was ever a "Golden Mile" of the plant kingdom anywhere in the world, it must surely exist in Darling. If there was ever a "Most Threatened" area in the world, likewise. Rapidly expanding development along the West Coast will swallow large tracts of the internationally unique flora.
Some threatened plant species from the Darling-Hopefield area:
Romulea exima (Darling froetang); Gheissorhiza darlingensis (geel kelkiewyn); Gheissorhiza eurystigma (kelkiewyn); Ixia curta (bruinoog kalossie); Ixia framesii (rooi kalossie); Sparaxis parviflora (klein kappie); Spiloxene canaliculata (geel poublom); Gladiolus meliusculus (pienk kalkoentjie); Babiana rubrocyanea (kelkiewyn bobbejaantjie); Nemesia strumosa (bont leeubekkieweeskindertjies)
The Darling Wildflower Show takes place annually over the third weekend in September at the Darling Club. Since the early shows, the wildflower show has grown from a hall with floral arrangements to include natural displays. which reflect the geographical diversity of the veld surrounding Darling. All flowers and plants on show grow wild in the Darling district and are picked under strict supervision of the Darling Wildflower Society. The displays include the botanical and common names of all flowers exhibited as well as interesting information on conservation. The detail can vary substantially, being that the Darling Flora is all about the extravagant diversity and fragrance. While the big picture displays such as the fields of daisies, are magnificent, it is the small detail that will fascinate, as will the wondrous scent of the veld.
Please help us to preserve this beautiful area to pass on to our future generations!
Group bookings are available at special prices on all days of the Show.
Contact Ingrid Wilson for further information
Cell no. 083 655 4237 E-Mail iw@worldonline.co.za |
94th Darling Wildflower Show 16-18 Sept 2011
The Darling Wildflower Show takes place annually over the third weekend in September at the Darling Club.
Opens: Friday 16 September at 09:00
Dates: 16, 17 and 18 September 2011
Venue: The Sports Club in Darling
Entry: R25 per person R15 Pensioners (Friday only) R15 Children and Children under 12 free.
The entrance fee includes entry to the landscaped hall and as well as a free ride on a tractor drawn wagon to see the Oude Post wetland that can only be seen during the show.
A hall will be landscaped with Darling wildflowers, from the most fragile and rare to the ones easily found. Craft and fun stalls with goodies await you. There are also many and various food and refreshment stalls to cater for the inner man. This year your entrance ticket of only R25 includes a lazy tractor ride to a private vlei that is otherwise inaccessible to the public where you will be able to view some of the most spectacular flowers in situ.
For more information:
darlingwfs@westc.co.za
Abnormal weather in Darling
We have had a very slow start to the flower season as a result of the extreme cold we experienced during the months of June and July. The Rain stayed away completely in July and has only started now again in August. Should the rain continue we will still have a very good year.
As you can see in the photos on a private farm the flowers are starting to show. It seems that with this year’s peculiar weather it is going to be an exceptional year for the wonderfully scented Blue Pypie. The yellow and white daisies are also out in abundance.
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