Aloe arborescens (krantz aloe, candelabra aloe)
Whilst in the lowveld Linda and I went for a drive up to Kaapsehoop, something to do and of course I love to try and emulate “Awindowsinthewoods” (Click here to see some of her horse photos) by capturing photos of the wild horse of the area.
Leaving Linda at her favourite place (any coffee shop) I took off for a walk on the wild side… did I find a horse or two? No, but I did find huge areas of the Aloe in flower… this made the walk worth it… I never made it to the top as the lungs are not quite up to that as yet.
But with flowers like this who cares about a wild horse or the top of a mountain …. no matter what angle I took this plant from, their numerosity is impossible to capture. But I did try… enjoy “small house/BIG GARDEN” (click here to see her post on the same plant)…
I love this photo below…
The Photographic Journey of bulldog. 
Lovely series. Love the last two 🙂
Thanks Inga..
Wow! Bulldog! Your photography is amazing, it really is and I love the bees!
Thank you Sherri…
They certainly put to shame all the tiny houseplant varieties we see here! The flowers really are quite exquisite, aren’t they? I especially like the one with the hovering bumblebee. What an awesome picture!
Thanks Joanne… this year they are particularly beautiful and profuse… must have something to do with the high rainfall we’ve received…
I took pics of this very plant as well! They are so beautiful. Nicely photographed! (any coffee shop lol)
Thanks Laura… wife will go to any coffee shop, no persuasion needed…
lol me too 🙂
They are quite gorgeous, Bulldog.
Thank you Michelle…
We have this or a similar plant in the US. You have captured its beauty quite nicely Bulldog.
This aloe has been exported for garden use, as shown in a few blogs I follow of other Americans… seems very popular for it’s medicinal uses..
They actually look attractive in their native habitat. In England? Not so much. Or maybe it’s your photography skills!
Thank you Carol, I think.. they are attractive but my skills are anything but good when it comes to this type photography… I struggle with settings, composition and generally I’m really not a landscape photographer… so I think in the right hands this areas plants would be depicted really brilliantly… But thank you all the same… I like you…
Una serie di scatti fantastica, complimenti grande Rob!! 🙂
Ciao, Pat
Thanks Pat..
Pawsome 🙂
Thanks ..
These are tremendous shots Rob – I could never keep my hands that still to take a picture of a bee in flight! Amazing 😀
Thanks Dianne… set your shutter speed a little quicker and up your ISO I find it helps with the shakes…
Yay – thank you 😉
These are beautiful examples of the lovely Aloe flower, bulldog. Great capture of that bee doing its thing, and what a great view in your penultimate image. 🙂
Thanks AD… sometimes the bees just play along, other times they move too fast and I miss…
Ah, but this time they weren’t fast enough. 😀
HI Rob,
I love this post. I wonder if this is related to the plant we call the Firepoker here in the US. I have one growing in my yard, and am going to look closely to compare when it blooms. I have all your great close up shots to compare it to. (Love that you caught a visiting bee). This is a truly lovely study of unique flora.
We also have a “firepoker” plant that people grow here, but it is not an aloe althought the flowers are fairly similar… if my memory is right it has a name like “kniphofia” which is part of a family name in Latin that I would never be able to spell but sounds like xanthoria or something… there are many variations of it and the flowers in a way are similar… I always have known them as “red hot pokers” .. I do believe the plant is from Africa… thanks for the lovely comment…
Great photos. From a distance, they look like little rocket ships; up close, they looks like a collection of corn-dogs on a stick! I never knew aloe plants flowered. I’m always learning new things from you, Rob! 🙂
Thank you Lorna… I thought you knew it all, glad I could help with your education… these are flowering more than usual this year and for that reason I probably noticed them…
Oh Rob, I am the last person in the world who knows it all. I was married to guy who thought he knew it all. Notice the past tense in that sentence! 😉
Love the past tense in that sentence…
Yeah, me too! 🙂
Great colours on these flowers Rob – the natural world really is fascinating.
Thanks Brian… these are fairly common, but I’ve never seen them bloom like this before…
They are stunning! 🙂
That they are … thanks Louisa…
Só beautifully captured Rob xx
Jane so nice to see you here… thank you so much…
This is beautiful, I love aloe Vera. It is so healthy and great to see it in your wonderful pictures. They are fantastic.😄
wow!!! photo 084 is so visually striking!
What a find! This type of aloe has such an appealing flower structure…I love the branching as much as the bloom.
thanks for the pingback, too. 🙂
Thank you.. it is a lovely plant specially when in the wild like this… I must admit I’ve never seen the bloom so profusely before and was glad to come across them in this state… I took many photos specially those where this plant is growing in the smallest amount of soil on top of the rock formations… how the stay upright is fascinating… the roots have to have anchored on the rocks below the small amount of soil…
I love that photo you love too and the ones with the bee in them. What an interesting looking flower. Great shots bulldog!
Diana xo
Thanks Diana… the area and its rock formations make for some interesting photo opportunities… I love the area as such captures are sometimes made unintentionally (like this one) and only spotted when down loaded…
Beautiful!
Thanks..
How wonderful! Much better than wild horses or the top of a mountain. 😉 Beautiful captures!
Thanks Jewels…
I love the close-ups, Bulldog. They are perfect shots!!
Thanks Skye… how is the book coming along.??..
You’ve captured these beauties very well indeed Rob. We also have a few of them here and it’s great seeing the birds and insects enjoying them as well. Stunning shots! 😀
Thanks Sonel… I crept around trying to capture the humming birds etc, but with very little success… the light was not of the best so most of the birds were merely dark images… and they were skittish so never hung around for the photo opportunity…
Oh, don’t I know that too well! I have lots of dark birds. LOL! The ones here by us are also skittish – and when they’re not, they hide in the leaves. 😀
Oh yes, i love that one too, and the bee … Its always fantastic to see ‘natives’ growing in their natural habitat, looking stunning but so perfectly suited. Nice walk, Bulldog. Hope you’re doing well (better) these days?
Thank you.. I do love this plant as much as its healing power.. it is the same family as the aloe vera much studied for its curative powers…
Gorgeous pics! I grow this~
Thanks Cindy… I use this one like the aloe vera it being in the same family… difficult cuts etc I will break a tip off the leaf off and apply to wound… heals so quick once applied…
I’m jealous of your find! Great captures.
This specie grows prolifically in our country and is to be seen in so many different places… the ones on the coast are, for me, the best with a slightly darker flower…
Beautiful….you know how to make a gal smile 🙂
Thank you Ingrid..
Gorgeous photos! Thanks for sharing.
Thank you Elaine
You’re welcome! I’m not sure I have ever seen aloe blooming, certainly not in that quantity! Sounds like you are enjoying yourself in your new location!
Back in the city now, but this is one of my favourite areas to visit for photos.. the wild horse in summer are magnificent… and the elusive mountain antelope some thing I continue to try to capture on camera…
I look forward to seeing photos of that elusive mountain antelope one day. I have no doubt you will capture him one of these fine days. 🙂
Wow! You never disappoint! 🙂
Thank you…
WOW!! I especially love the close ups..with bee included!, but they’re all great…Thanks for the mention and the link!
Thanks Suzanne… I managed to find a small group of horses and captured a few photos but nothing so good that I will be rushing to post them…
I have some hope of new horse subjects…some property across the road was sold and the new owners have horses!
Don’t tease me now…
Amazing crop of Aloes. And yes, you certainly did capture how prolific the brightly coloured flowers were.
They make a nice splash of colour against the rocks.
Mother Nature did well in her landscaping in this area.
Thanks Vicki… to see how they are growing all over the place they seem perfectly placed… if a landscaper tried to emulate this they would never get it right…
Beautiful photos. I know I always say that, but I always mean it.
Thanks you Anneli…and I always appreciate it…