Protea

After a quick visit into town to buy some extra material for my latest patchwork project I took the subway out to the West End and went for a walk in the Botanic Gardens. Plenty of daffodils and tulips still in bud but I really wanted to see what was in flower in the Kibble Palace. The Kibble Palace is a 19th century wrought iron framed glasshouse. It is used for the cultivation of temperate plants, the main plant group being tree ferns from Australia and New Zealand. This South African Protea was an unexpected find.