Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Acacia 'karroo' sketch - Maree

Half the interest of a garden is in the constant exercise of the imagination.
(Mrs. C. W. Earle)


EberhardFaber 2½ HB Pencil sketch with colour wash on Daler-Rowney Acid-free Heavy Weight 220gsm (135lbs) sketching paper - 6" x 8" - sketched in my garden, Tarlton, Gauteng, South Africa.

My Acacia 'karroo' trees are dressed in their full green summer finery and what fascinates me is that, as soon as the end of the day nears, the fine, feathery bi-pinnate leaves start closing, folding together until the tiny leaves are tightly scrunched together, opening again early morning, as if to welcome another summer's day with open arms - wonderful!

The thorns are still small so early in the season, but grow to real whoppers towards the end of summer and can inflict really painful stabs!

Also known as sweet thorn, Karroo thorn, mimosa thorn, cockspur thorn, Cape gum (English); soetdoring, doorn boom (Afrikaans).

6 comments:

  1. Maree, I so enjoy your sketches. They make me feel like I'm visiting So.Africa. You make a wonderful tour guide. Thanks!

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  2. Thanks so much Paula! Isn't it wonderful how we can travel from right here in front of our PC's? I've learnt so much about the rest of the world since joining the bogging community some years back, and made some wonderful friends as well! Smile!

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  3. My mimosa tree folds its leaves at night too ..... as do all the little clover in my yard. I wonder why some plants do and other don't.

    Your sketch makes me want to keep a decent distance from those thorns!

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  4. Yes, and so you should! I have had some nasty stabs trying to prune the branches! I think the Acacia might be family of the Mimosa, it is also sometimes called Mimosa in Afrikaans... I also have a few others that close at night, fascinating as to why some do and some don't!

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