This is a magical place in Cape Town, and a must see when visiting Cape Town. They were formally established in 1652, and they contain:

* The oldest cultivated pear tree in South Africa (circa 1652) * A rose garden designed and built in 1929 * An aviary – a great favourite with children * Local arts and crafts along the avenue * Grassy lawns and benches * A herb and succulent garden

More details are here

A lovely Avenue to walk down during the day; a peaceful calm amidst the chaos of the city.

Spring Flowers, originally uploaded by Craig is shooting.

I think that the spring flowers are a few weeks early, but they truly look wonderful. What looked like overgrown weeds suddenly turns into white carpets of spring flowers.

These flowers will be found throughout Cape Town and the West Coast for the next few weeks, after which they will disappear almost overnight.

It amazes me that you can see such wonderful flowers about 4 metres from a busy road.

The side-effect is that most of Cape Town will have hay-fever for the next few weeks, oh well!

Arum Lily, originally uploaded by Craig is shooting.

The Arum Lily is one of those flowers that appears almost overnight all over Cape Town in winter. Ground that was just tall grass and fynbos suddenly comes alive with fields and fields of these large and sturdy flowers.

They are big and beautiful, and they last for ever.

If you don’t feel like picking them yourselves, you can buy them from hawkers on almost any street corner. However, please note that it is illegal to pick arum lilies 50m from a road and you need permission from the land owner. Most arums for sale in our city are picked and sold illegally.

These shots were take on the side of Baden Powell drive. Just drive down the road and you will see them everywhere.

Day 172: Rosemary buds, originally uploaded by Craig is shooting.

Rosemary buds in my garden in the early evening taken just after some heavy rain.

Day 161: Pink Flower, originally uploaded by Craig is shooting.

At the moment, Cape Town, is either pouring with rain, or gloriously sunny. This weekend, the sun has been very kind to us, and I have even managed to spend the entire weekend in short sleeves.

This little flower in my garden seems to be particularly enjoying the sunny weather. It is supposed to rain tomorrow, so I shall enjoy the rest of the day.