Manie van der Schijff Botanical Garden, University of Pretoria

Last night was that first, magical, night cool enough in Pretoria to colour up the Aloe 'Peri Peri' flowers, and they are on fire in the overcast!

Alpinia galagal, Siam ginger, in full bloom in the Giving Garden.

The "hundred petal" double sacred lotus are in full bloom in the Rainwater Garden around the Mining Engineering Study Centre.

A project of which we are extremely proud, we were deeply involved in its development from the very beginning, and we continue to be part of its good works.

Variegation in waterlilies is very rare indeed. Leaf detail of Nymphaea x 'Arc en Ciel', a heirloom variety in the Monet collection housed in Prof Manie's pond. There were at least 50 blooms of various colours on the pond today. Come and visit, it's right next to the Old Botany building.

Something a little different: the white Jacaranda in Herbert Baker str. Groenkloof are utterly amazing. There are about a dozen big specimens of this rare, grafted mutation of the common purple species (which is utterly spectacular in and around Pretoria at the moment) planted along this street. As showy in their own right, with a white carpet of fallen blooms just below.

Perutile onion flower at Future Africa. This little perennial onion has been a great surprise. Grown widely in Zimbabwe, it took us years to flower them (they seldom do), allowing us to finally identify them as true onions, but an evergreen, heavily suckering type recorded from Medieval times. Perutile essentially means endlessly useful, or eveready for harvest.

Jacaranda photographed from the Plant Sciences buildings roof on Thursday afternoon. Peak display in Hatfield and surrounds will be next week I suspect.

Hidden away next to the helipad is a very rare, tropical African flowering tree. Our Fernandoa magnifica is in full, glorious bloom. This tree is in the same family as Jacaranda, and certainly seems to enjoy the Pretoria climate as it is only twelve years old.