Thousands of wildflowers bloom in South Africa
1. Close of flower as car drives by
2. Jeep drives past a field of flowers
3. People wandering in the field of flowers
4. Close of flowers
5. Eugenie Smith touching flowers
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Eugenie Smith, Visitor
If you would look at one of our famous painters then you would see a palette of colours, light yellows all the way through to dark dark oranges, pinks, blues and they are all mix. Blue being a fairly uncommon colour in most of our gardens, here it is intermingled with daisies, leucospermums.
7. Wide of flowers
8. 'Wild Flower Show' sign, pan to Church
9. Various of interior of church with flowers
10. SOUNDBITE (Afrikaans): Cecily Muller, Chairperson, Clanwilliam Wild Flower Society
'It is said that Clanwilliam has the greatest variety of wild flower species in one district in the whole world.'
11. Wild flowers on display at Clanwilliam Wild Flower Show
12. Field of wildflowers
13. Close of 'cat's tails'
14. SOUNDBITE (Afrikaans): Cecily Muller, Chairperson, Clanwilliam Wild Flower Society
'Another interesting flower at our show is the Cat's Tail. There is a variety, as you can see, the orange, white and yellow. These specific ones come from Niewoudville. There is also a smaller white and pink variety that is found in the Biedout Valley. As you can see the name Cat's Tail derives from the fact that they look like cat's tails.'
15. Various Ramskop Nature Reserve
16. Andries Hendriks and Joney Boer walk past
17. SOUNDBITE (Afrikaans): Andries Hendriks, Assistant Supervisor, Ramskop Nature Reserve
'The reason this flower is called a Pig's Flower is because it is shaped like a pig's ear. Also, you can also use its bulb as pig feed. You remove the bulb, cook it, and then feed it to pigs.'
18. Pig's Flower - cutaway
19. SOUNDBITE (Afrikaans): Joney Boer, Supervisor, Ramskop Nature Reserve
'The reason they call this a pincushion is that is shaped like the cushion into which old people stick their pins into - that's why it is so named.'
20. Various of visitors walking along a field of wild flowers.
21. Various of visitors taking photographs
22. Various of little girl lying in wild flowers.
LEAD-IN:
Living in cities the rhythms of nature are barely noticeable.
The passing of seasons are gauged by subtle changes in weather.
But in the South African countryside, the changing of seasons can mean an explosion of natural colour - especially in one of the world's richest floral worlds.
STORYLINE:
For a few weeks each Spring, the semi-arid region of south-western South Africa is transformed by a profusion of colour.
This is the wild flower season.
It takes place in the Cape Floral Kingdom - both the smallest and richest temperate floral kingdom in the world, according to the South African Natural Biodiversity Institute.
Visitor to the Clanwilliam district, Eugenie Smith, likens the spectacle to an artist's palette.
Following the particularly good rains of winter, the wildflowers are abundant this spring.
The Clanwilliam Wildflower Show celebrates the region's annual bounty each August, in an otherwise disused church.
The Clanwilliam district is believed to have the world's highest concentration of wild flowers, says Cecily Muller, chairperson of the Clanwilliam Wildflower Society
Around 450 of the district's over 1000 wildflower species are on display under one roof at the show.
The reason for the concentration of flowers in the Clanwilliam district is the area's varied topography - from mountain to desert, lakes to seaside.
The flowers each have not only a scientific name but a local one too - like the Cat's Tail which Muller explains.
She says there are different varities of Cat's Tail including orange, white, yellow, and pink that came are local to the area.
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