Klein-Aus Vista is Blooming with Fields of Blousporrie

My childhood family home at Klein-Aus Vista is abloom with the delicate lilac flowers that have enchanted me throughout my life - and still do.

After rare desert rainfall the southern African endemic carpets the sand, transforming gravel plains into a purple fairytale wonderland. They have provided me with inspiration over the years, filling my being with wonder and gratitude.

Their scientific name ‘Heliophila deserticola’ is apt and derives from the Greek and Latin words, which translate as ‘Sun-loving Desert Dweller’.

A sweeter plant is hard to find. This beauty, which favours the arid regions of the Northern Cape and Namib Desert, waits patiently for summer or winter rainshowers and then hurries to germinate before the other blooms as if it cannot contain its splendour any longer.

The land quickly shakes off its harsh exterior and gives itself up to the eager purple flowers with their happy yellow centres and blue-green leaves. Before it has time to reconsider, it has been transformed into a fairytale kingdom.

Life’s troubles fly away with the dancing flowers and the subtle scent that hovers in the air, especially at sunset, and takes flight on the breeze. And we find strength in their courage to confront the ancient desert with such softness and grace.

Walking through the fields with my mom in the late afternoon, I felt blessed beyond measure, loved and reassured by the powerful force of nature that holds seeds in limbo until it’s time for them to burst forth with magic and magnificence.