Boom-time blooming

This is not a garden! This is what spots in Little Karoo veld may look like in October. The photo was taken at the foot of a rocky hill near Barrydale. Aloe striata, Albuca, Tylecodon and much more are celebrating spring among thorn trees, Vachellia karroo. Farming conducted right around this hill has kept fire away.

The growth is lush, the species mix full of surprises. There are, after all, about 3200 indigenous plant species growing in the Little Karoo. As many as 400 of those occur only here, endemic to the region (Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2010).