Reviving Paradise: Beautiful bauhinia brightens the heart
Yellow represents the sun, warmth, good wishes, positivity and new beginnings - pretty much everything we wish for those we love.
Bauhinia tomentosa, February’s indigenous gem of the month, is in glorious flower at the moment. Also known as the yellow bell orchid tree, this sprawling bush grows almost anywhere on the coast, from bushveld to forest to wetlands, and provides a lot of shelter for birds and monkeys, and habitat for many insects, including the orange barred playboy (yes, really) butterfly.
The foliage is lovely, the leaves resembling butterfly wings in shape, and the bell-like flowers provide a gorgeous spectacle.
It might seem surprising to focus on yellow flowers in February, known as the “month of love” and usually associated with red (and sometimes pink) roses and the like.
Yellow, although not traditionally associated with the passion of romantic love, is often regarding as symbolising other, actually more universal and often more enduring, loving qualities – friendship, joy, optimism, gratitude and good cheer.
Yellow represents the sun, warmth, good wishes, positivity and new beginnings – pretty much everything we wish for those we love.
Whatever is happening in the crazy human world, bauhinia faithfully blesses us with yellow beacons of hope throughout summer. Bauhinia tomentosa is available at various reputable nurseries on the South Coast.
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