Little bits of Zim

My mom is proudly Zimbabwean and because of this, both my brother and I have an emotional bond to the beautiful country. The stories we have grown up with about the beautiful landscapes, wonderful people and the very interesting plants have fueled an interest for me, to try grow some of that beauty here, in South Africa.

My mom's birthday is in November and I want to give her back a little piece of home. I ordered some flame-lily seeds from Seeds for Africa, popped them in a tupperware and got them germinating.

Flame Lily seed, 28 days old.

My brother really enjoys the beauty of a bonsai, and while I was on my Zimbabwean plant mission, I decided to get a baobab tree going for him, which he can chose to bonsai when the seedling gets going.

I found the baobab seed fascinating, once the hard shell has been peeled off the seed, the germ inside resembles that of an embryo. This seed has since been planted into some potting soil and will hopefully soon sprout some leaves.

Baobab seed 2 days old

I will post some progress pictures as these 2 little seeds continue to grow into the fascinating plants that they are. Flame lily's grow their petals in the opposite direction to the stamens etc, and baobab's are known as the world's biggest succulents...