Cosmos - watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm - 11" x 7.5"
"Bright flowers, whose home is everywhere
Bold in maternal nature's care
And all the long year through the heir
Of joy and sorrow,
Methinks that there abides in thee
Some concord with humanity,
Given to no other flower I see
The forest through."
- William Wordsworth
The show of Cosmos in Tarlton (Gauteng, South Africa) this year was fabulous! They stretched next to the road-sides for kilometers and extended into ploughed fields, swaying pink, lilac, white and cerise in the wind. Nature puts up this grand show every year from November, well into March, and tourists travel from the Cape Province to Mpumalanga to witness this spectacular event.
Cosmos are originally native to scrub and meadow areas in Mexico (where the bulk of the species occur), the southern United States (Arizona, Florida), Central America, South America south to Paraguay and South Africa.
Oh I remember Cosmos - you are so right, they make a wonderful display which we definitely don't see down here. And what a great sketch to bring back memories Maree!
ReplyDeleteWhat a pity you don't have them Liz! Thanks a lot and glad it brought back memories!
ReplyDeleteThat is what we miss most in the Cape! Cosmos. I take the flower photographs for a popular Omnibus of stories and they always give me the flowers names a few months ahead of deadline. I panicked a bit when 'cosmos' came up. But there in Riebeek Kasteel in a courtyard two cosmos flowers in a pot smiled at me! Phew! And you are surrounded by them!
ReplyDeletePhew, that was a close call Marie! Lucky that you found those at Riebeek Kasteel - you need to visit between November and March to take some pictures - you won't believe the masses of flowers stretching next to the roads and into the fields!
ReplyDelete