At Chilo Gorge every day brings new beauty, such as this gorgeous Crossandra framed by what I call ‘blue waxbill grass’–

Crossandra and blue waxbill grass
I have called it that because I did not know the latin name, but do know that the Blue waxbills love the seeds!
(I now know the latin name, courtesy of Bart Wursten– Panicum maximus!)

Blue waxbill grass….!
Crossandra is one of my all time favourite lowveld flowers; hardy, stunning and not palatable to naughty elephants….here it is growing in the Chilo rock garden, flowing around an old Changana “churhi”…a vessel used for pounding sorghum or maize with a “mutsi”…

Crossandra and Churhi
The Chilo chefs love crossandra flowers for food decor……

delicious Tilapia fish dinner
so I am conducting an experiment in the name of edible food decor-I am eating five crossandra flowers every day for a week to see whether I have any adverse reaction…thereafter we will feel safe about using it as a table decoration ….
Watch this space……….!
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About wineandwilddogs
Lin Barrie
The Save Valley Conservancy stretches along the upper reaches of the great Save River in the south east of Zimbabwe. The Gonarezhou National Park laps against the southern banks of the Save River and between these two nestles the Malilangwe Wildlife Reserve. These three celebrated wildlife areas form part of the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area, (GLTFCA)- a unique wilderness jewel which is home to the “Big Five” (endangered Black and White rhinos, elephants, buffalo, lion, leopard) and the ”Little Six” (Klipspringer, Suni, Duiker, Steenbok, Sharpe's Grysbok and Oribi). Endangered African wild dogs, Cheetah, Brown hyena, Bat-eared foxes and a host of special birds and plants contribute to the immense variety of this ecosystem. Communities around the GLTFCA contribute to innovative partnerships with National Parks and the private sector, forming a sound base on which to manage social, economic and environmental issues.
This is home to artist and writer Lin Barrie and her life partner, conservationist Clive Stockil.
Expressing her hopes, fears and love for this special ecosystem with oil paints on canvas, Lin Barrie believes that the essence of a landscape, person or animal, can only truly be captured by direct observation.
Lin Barrie states: “Through my art, and my writing, I feel an intimate connection with the natural world, and from my extensive field sketches of wild animals, people and landscapes, I create larger works on canvas.
Lin's work is in various public and private collections in South Africa, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Australia, England, Canada, Sweden and the United States of America. She is represented by galleries in South Africa, Zimbabwe, England, Kenya and Florida, USA.