The King Protea is South Africa’s national flower, the name of our national cricket team and printed on our 20c coin.

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I have such a huge family that I have to go and buy fruit in veggies in bulk at our provincial Fruit & Veg Market and the flower market happens to be right next to it. I love ending the days shopping surrounded by the beautiful flowers at the flower market. It is fascinating to see all the different species of cut flowers, getting new ideas for flower arrangements and actually to buy a bunch or two for the house. and a much lower price than the local stores.

I can never take enough photos of the proteas and orchids as both these flowers fascinate me. The one hardened and beautiful and the other exquisite and elegant. The King Protea has 81 variants and they flower for quite a few months during the year. These plants can grow up to 2m high.

This vibrant beauty with its striking dark pink bracts stood out to me. These plants can survive harsh conditions from very hot, dry summers to cold, wet winters. They have a very long vase life and can also be used in dried flower arrangements.

The Protea is named after the Greek god “Proteus”. Proteus could change into many forms and so you can find this plant in many forms, shapes and colours.

I adore flower arrangements with a mixture of proteas and roses. The first and last photo is an example of this combination.

All these photos were taken with a Samsung A4.

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