Just off the Highway | Episode 16 | "The Anglo-Boer War origins of Cosmos flowers in South Africa".
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- Опубликовано: 11 сен 2024
- Autumn on the South African Highveld brings thousands of wild Cosmos flowers. In Series 2 of “Just Off the Highway”, Al Prodgers looks at the momentous origin of this humble little flower and finds that in storytelling terms it punches way above its weight.
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#cosmos #southafricanhistory #horses
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Just subscribed
@@sponzie1 Big thanks!
@@sponzie1 Thank you!
I used cosmos in my bouquet when I got married... many years ago. They hold a special place in my memories.
That's a beautiful thought. Thanks!
When you see these you know winter is at hand 😍
Yes, indeed.
Even this little flower knows there is no such thing as climate change.
I love Cosmos flowers. When we used to travel to Durban in the sixties, all along the road we could see patches and patches of Cosmos. It was so beautiful to experience such lovely flowers, growing wild. You just felt like stopping and giving them a hug and a kiss. They are so fragile.
They're beautiful. And special to find one of the rare deep red ones. Thanks for your comment.
Pragtig beskryf. Op hoëveld gebore en grootgeword saam met asemrowende kosmos wat elke jaar met Paastyd geassosieer word😇
Dankie vir u aanmoedeging.
Just love this piece of history...you're skipping amongst the flowers is 'cute'......may God bless and take care of our beautiful country
Thanks for your wonderfully uplifting comment.
Really insightful. I spent a large part of my youth in Secunda and watched these flowers appear and then disappear each year. I recently came across them in the UK and told my Secunda Cosmos story to a work colleague, little did I know that these flowers represented such a remarkable story. Thank you for sharing it.
Thanks for watching and for your comments!
Love this story found it very interesting. Will certainly share this video.... And watch others.
Thanks very much for your kind comment.
My brother inlaw had dairy cattle. When the cosmos flowered the cows ate the flowers and the milk production went up.
Now THAT'S a wonderful story! Thank you.
That is so interesting!
@@jillfarley520 Lllllllllllpllplplllplllllllpllzpllllllllllllplp😊pllllllllllpllll😊llllllllpllplplllllppllplpl😊llllllllplpl
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Llllplllppllp😊lpll
Very cool. Thank you for sharing.
Pleasure. Thanks for your comment.
The cosmos has a very special place in my heart for personal reasons and this story has given extra meaning and understanding of the cosmos. Thankyou so very much.
Wonderful! It's a pleasure to tell a story that adds something to your day. Thanks for your comment.
What a interesting channel brilliantly done so glad I found this
Thanks Anne Marie. Glad you’re enjoying. I post new episodes more or less weekly.
Cosmos have always been a favourite flower for me, growing up in Johannesburg... Such an interesting history, I was not aware of it! Now living in Cape Town, and being a small farmer, I like to grow Cosmos in the summer here. Last time I grew them at my market garden in Lentegeur, they attracted very pretty little grey/blue and yellow birds who came to eat their seeds, actually wild canaries!
Interesting. Didn't know that. My late father was involved with the Cape wild bird club. Had he known about Cosmos, I'm sure he'd have planted the whole backyard with the stuff.
What an interesting piece of story on our history! Thank you! I enjoyed watching this video. Great presenting, too.
Thanks for your encouraging words. Apologies for my delayed reply. Somehow missed this comment earlier..
Came across this accidently? Thank you for reminding us of the horses. Sharing with my sister in Australia who loved the cosmos in SA. 😊
Yes, the horses suffered terribly in war. Of course, many Australian troops served in the A-B war as well, so your sister might find people there who are interested in the story. Thanks for your comment!
Wow! Thank for that information. I also didn't know this story. Will certainly check out the other episodes. 👌
Thanks for your encouraging comment! Hope you enjoy the others too.
What a charming story and channel! Dankie broer
Thanks for your kind words. Plesier!
Sad how many lives, and horses were lost. No glory in war.
Thanks very much! Cosmos is so special to me as it’s my birthday on 27th March. My sons, now adults used to spoil me with big bunches on my birthday- as we lived in the country not far from Pretoria.I also associate the blooming cosmos with the grace of our creator as a reminder of Easter and what it represents. 🙏🌸
Creator and HIS Grace.. correction
Thanks and belated Happy Birthday. Did you know that Cosmos flowers are sometimes called "Genadeblomme" (mercy flowers) in Afrikaans? I believe that ties in beautifully with Grace and Easter.
Dankie, uiters interesant! Hierdie blommetjies maak on mooi land net mooier.
Baie dankie!. 'n Afrikaanse vriend noem hulle genade blomme. Hulle is pragtig.
Dankie vir die stukkie Afrikaans!
Wonderfully enlightening. Thank you.
Thanks for your kind comment!
Beautiful!! A gentle reminder of our history. Thank you!!
Thank you very much for your kind comment.
Lovely! Cosmos is my favourite flower.
Thanks! This is a bumper year thanks to the good rains.
Thank you for this!💕
Pleasure, Ferdi. Glad you enjoyed it.
Love cosmos.
Many childhood memories of traveling in the North with these beauties on the side of the roads….
Very special.
groot geword met plaate en plaate Kosmos in oos vrystaat. Beautiful memories.
Hierdie tyd van die jaar is hulle werklik pragtig.
Seeds of war, but also the Khaki bos and Boete bos are from the seeds of war.
Yes, thanks for adding that. I need to find out more about them too.
Boeta bos gets its Afrikaans name from the seeds in the wool that damaged the combing machines in the wool factory
Didn't know that.. were they also from the bales of hay aboard trains for the horses ? Thanks
@@lydiawhitting5406 yes....very much so Lydia
That is why cosmos khaki bos or blackjack as know in Britain are found along many routes the British fodder trains travelled
Hats what I heard. 🐝
I planted Cosmos for the first time this year
What an amazing flower. Grew to the size of two meters
They certainly are hardy. Should self-seed and give you flowers every year. Regards.
@@JustOfftheHighway My first time . Local people said that it reminded them of Johannesburg
Wow it's been a long time since I've seen or heard from our own south African history it's nice to c how the people battle during the colonization was rualed at that time in da early 18 hundreds thanks from Ivan Rooplal in Kzn phoenix. South Africa Durban 😂😂👍👍👊💯🙏
Glad you enjoyed it!
Loved the video and adore the flower
Thanks for your kind comment. Yes, the Cosmos blooms are very special.
Thank you enjoyed the content and presentation.
Pleasure! I hope you will browse some of the other episodes of "just Off the Highway".
Thanks for that interesting info, wondered about the origin of cosmos, so thank you.
Pleasure! Thanks for your kind comment. Feel free to browse my other videos with offbeat stories about South Africa.
Love your car!!!!!
Thanks. More reliable than many 49 year old humans. 😜
Excellent! School day for me.I learnt something new.thanks Al
Thanks Ronnie! Appreciate the feedback.
Thank you. I love cosmos.
Pleasure. I do too. And the roadsides are full of it this time of year.
only just watched this, interesting!! Thanks
Thanks very much for watching and for your friendly comment.
Nooit geweet,,, dit was baie interesant :-) :-) :-) :-)
Dis ‘n plesier! Dankie vir die terugvoer.
Sorry- I think my finger touched "don't like" but I was trying to touch " like" in fact I loved it- a great history lesson and also a lesson in life- thank you very much-
Hi Trevor, thanks so much for you comment. I've done the same when in a hurry. Of course, you can always change your vote anytime, just by clicking "Like". I hope you'll browse some of the other bite-sized bits of heritage on my channel.
Lovely! So interesting and well presented. 👏
Thank you!
Hi, thank you for your kind words. There are 29 episodes so far, so feel free to browse more South African stories and please subscribe.
I love this channel! So nice to see homegrown vids!! Well done
Thanks so much for the encouragement, Leon!
Thanks so much for this story at Easter time! I didn't know and it's wonderful to hear this.
Thanks for your comment. Yes, it does resonate at Easter. Glad you enjoyed it.
They give a wonderful show. Such beauty. Thanks for sharing
Pleasure. Thanks for your comment.
One of the nicest honey comes from cosmos. Mead made from cosmos honey is even better. 😊
That sounds delicious!
Thank you, I absolutely love Cosmos 😊
It's my pleasure. I made the episode because Cosmos is such a special part of Autumn.
Such an amazing story. Thank you I never knew this
Thanks for your kind comment, Joan. Feel free to browse some of the other episodes. SA has so many offbeat stories that I’m discovering all the time.
Thank you. Today I learnt something new.
Rushen, Trishen and Suminthra Oojugir
Kwa Zulu Natal
South Africa
Absolute pleasure! Thanks for your comment. I'm learning cool new stuff all the time and KZN is especially rich in stories.
Thanks. Same way "Khaki bos" was introduced to South Africa.
Yes indeed. I've recently discovered there's actually a market for Khakibos essential oil too.
So moving. Thank you.
You're welcome. Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Thank you
Be blessed
Amen
🤗😍😊😑
My pleasure. And the same to you.
I'm glad you said " MEN.. hungry for war" ...always 😄
'As hard to swallow as British colonial policy' is a great line. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle described the Afrikaans nation, as the most formidable people to ever cross the paths of imperial Britain! If it wasn't for the lessons we gave them during the Boer War WW1 would've been won by Germany. South Africa is greater than we think. 🇿🇦👍
Yes, indeed. That famous paragraph by Conan Doyle about the Boers. When I read it, I always hear it in the rumbling voice of one of my Afrikaans friends whose surname is also Kruger.
We are from South Africa, we don't miss your show every week. Listen to you for years now. We enjoy you so much. Lots off love from Hettie and Marthie (sisters)
Hi Hettie and Marthie, thank you very much! I'm glad you enjoy the channel. Please feel free to suggest a topic if you like. I can't promise anything, but it inspires us to hear what interests people.
😇🌀⭐🌸🌼wow dear heart ,u come across as a beautiful human being on this earth,pouring natures beauty in such a harmonous way ,I really admire you .🤗💝thank u for that info ,I used to pluck them for the chalets on holidays in kzn,they are a delight ,I jus can't get over ur calm voice 😊,regards and love from Durbs,Stay blessed
Wow, thank you for that wonderful comment full of (undeserved) compliments! Wishing you a lovely day.
🌈🌻Hmmmmm....nice history. Thanks.
Grows along Highways, Roads, 'Dirt' roads, Railways etc. Seems to me they also thrive on Carbon Monoxide...just saying...just thinking 😇
🤣🤣🤣
Thank you for that information . Now I know. God bless
Pleasure! I'm glad you enjoyed the episode.
Never knew that ... fascinating... my memories of growing up in SA coloured by cosmos
Glad you enjoyed it, Gavin. Sounds like you’re no longer living in SA?
@@barroompoet In the UK for last 30 yrs. Still get back regularly. Will check out your other vids and will subscribe 😊
@@gavinengelbrecht5534 Thanks, enjoy spring.
Well my Mom loved them. So after she died I planted some in my garden so I could always see them in their beauty,remember Mom and smile. Its rather funny my gardener has been waiting war on them ever since.11 years later they are still winning,much to my delight. I have never seen cosmos grow so tall one and a half m. To two m. 😂
Thanks for that lovely personal story. Cosmos has good years and bad. This last season they showed only a fraction of when I made this video.
Please tell us more about how the boer women and children were kept safe in the contration camps during the war.
I plan to visit the Vrouemonument in Bloemfontein. Will certainly include stories of the camps.
Thank you for calling it Anglo- Boer war and not Boer war .
You being sarcastic? Concentration camps were never planned to keep women and children safe.
@@kalahari9558 Both my Grandmothers with their children were in british concentration camps. My one great Grandmother had her small baby die in her arms on the way to the concentration camp. british commandos mainly consisting of british officers with black soldiers would arrive on the farm. First the women and young girls were raped, the homestead burned down or blown up and all the livestock killed. Then the women and children were driven off on foot like animals to the nearest train station hence the Afrikaans song ( Siembamba). At the train station they were loaded onto open cattle wagons, standing up straight the whole journey. Many succumb before arriving at the fenced in and heavily guarded camps. My one grandmother use to tell me as a child how she as a young girl had to go through their tents meagre rations fishing out the pieces of broken glass, tiny steel hooks wrapped in ricepaper and something they use to call wit vitterjoel ( unknown white crystals). Needles to say many mothers and children did not survive and those that did were traumatized for life. In 1914 my one Grandmother was in a German concentration camp in East Africa. You will not believe this but she said they were treated by the Germans with the greatest respect. Yes I heard all these things fisrt hand from my Grandparents when they were still alive.
Kept safe? I think your history lessons went somewhat away. Our women folk were starved and died of horrible deseaces in the British concentration camps. 🐝
Wow,thank you, I never knew
Pleasure, I'm glad I could add value.
They always look so much better than South African national flower, the Plastic Bags!!!
Agreed!
A good place is along the old road between Johannesburg and Vereeniging.
Thanks for that heads up.
Michael, yes, used to travel that road years ago. A good cosmos show there.
Dbn gogo
Another very interesting story Al - well done…
PS: You may want to consider mentioning the common Khakibos as well… Same origins…
Yes, khakibos and blackjacks. Thanks for the reminder.
Thanks.. I did not know that re horses.. must admit we don't see as much cosmos as we used. I also love cosmos
It's been an excellent year for Cosmos in our area, but it does go up and down.
Thanks for that.l wondered where Cosmos came from.Saw it beside the road between Jo'burg & Vereneging in 1988 or 9
Glad you liked the episode. Yes, I saw lots on the way to KZN recently, but it seems to be doing especially well on the Highveld.
Very interesting 👌
Thank you!
Maybe the mole crickets came with the feed as they are indigenous to South America too!
Up until 10 seconds ago I never even knew what a mole cricket was! Seen them around, but totally clueless about them. Thanks for your comment. This kind of connection is exactly what I'm hoping to spark.
Thats another little nugget of the mystery.
It must also be mentiond that with the Cosmos came the Karkiweed and Blackjacks
Yes indeed.
Just found this. Very well presented. Thanks
Thanks very much for your kind comment.
My mother always said it was unlucky to pick the cosmos flowers and put them in a vase in your house!😀🤷
Interesting. I haven't heard that belief before. Probably has a good reason.
@@JustOfftheHighway maybe just hayfever? Or some silly superstition about not picking wildflowers because they should be left in the wild. Same as the may flower. It's supposed to be unlucky to pick it and bring it indoors. How these ideas start I don't know. 🤣
An interesting story, learnt something new again 😄
Thanks very much. Glad you found it useful.
Ek het dit basue geniet DANKIE MENEER
Dis 'n groot plesier! Ek is bly dat u dit geniet het. Dankie.
Thanks Al. Well researched and presented and fascinating. I’ve subscribed. I posted this on our hiking WhatsApp group and lots of Cosmos stories have emerged.
Awesome, thank you!
Been thinking about your comment. The fact that people are chatting about something as "everyday" as Cosmos is such a wonderful result for my episode. I've been hoping to get SAfricans to rediscover some little bits of our story that often get overlooked. Thanks.
No wonder it blooms during Easter. I think it is also a reminder that Jesus is alive!!
Creation sings.
Yes when Cosmos flower ie either winter starting or either bringing summer.PRAISE GOD. T Sandra
Heavenly beauty.
The Cosmos Bloom is Synonymous with Red Poppies of Flanders during the First World War...When will we ever learn to graveyards we go and grow, where soldiers go, to graveyards go to everyone. We will we ever learn .😢😮😢 Sadness everywhere but Mother doesn't know of sadness, as everywhere in Nature she only grows on her own Happiness, sadness is man's choice as Nature fortunately has no choice but to be happy...😊...
Comforting words. Thank you.
Wow .. that's amazing ♡
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for your kind comment.
No, by the grace of God.. His natural garden for us to enjoy by animal and human❤❤❤❤❤
Not sure what you're disagreeing with.
Thanks, I love love kosmos, I've just sien seeds now. Have you heard the saying: Liefde kos*mos niks.
Error 'sown' sorry
@@mercianel3989 Lovely saying. Thanks!
I grew up in Mamelodi these flowers grew just about everywhere,sadly now tin shacks have taken over😢
I understand people need a place to live. Sadly, without proper planning, nature is destroyed.
Khakibos and Blackjacks also a legacy of British horses fodder.
Indeed. Thanks for sharing.
@@JustOfftheHighway
Thank you. I enjoyed the Cosmos story. So interesting.
@@TessaAgostinho-wr2hd Thanks for watching!
These plants grow in veld here in Ekurhuleni
Yes, certainly.
Very interesting Ive always wondered how they got here ,do black jacks have a similar story?
Yes, as far as I know. Blackjacks and khakibos.
Bbreak a cosmos stem and smell youl never forget it!
Will do.
Fascinating. You see? You learn something every day.
I believe the Bluegums came from Australian horse fodder during World War 2 ?
I think they might have been introduced for logging as they are fast growing, but I'm no expert.
Hi, ja so ver ek weet het die Boere die kosmos "Nooitjie in die Veld" genoem. Heel toepaslike naam. Dankie vir die geskiedenis les, waardeer dit
Dankie, Juanita, ek is bly u geniet die kanaal. Ja, dit is 'n beeldskone naam. Van my Afrikaanse vriende noem hulle ook"Genadeblomme".
Wish it was about the cosmos.
Ever hear of Moon 🌒 flowers 321?
Nope, I've just Googled them. Looks fascinating. Thanks!
Beautiful...Bloom at night with a nasty pong.
I think they are poisonous...!?
Yes,they are!!
Just googled it.
So be careful......
Q: Do the white flowers outnumber the pink by 3 to 1? Wouldn't this be an opportunity to teach the kids about recessive genes?
That sounds fascinating! I'd love to know more. It could be a follow up episode. If this is your "field" or you can point me in the right direction, please send me a mail. (Address below the video.)
@@JustOfftheHighway Not my field.
@@roncarlin3209 Thanks anyway for the idea. I'm going to follow it up. 🙏
Very sad
Yes indeed. But perhaps nature is sending us a beautiful reminder that hard times do pass. Thanks for your comment.
How about Kakiebos. Same story🤔
What about the under-appreciated khakibos?
Another interesting one. I've read that it can even be used as a flea repellent for dogs!
Ive eaten it finely chopped in a salad. Not bad.
@@mikespencer4922 Thanks, I didn't know khakibos was edible.
@@mikespencer4922 tried blackjack gin?
@@CONNELL19511216 🤣🤣🤣👍👍 nope. Not yet...
I thought the horse feed came from India?
Same as khakibos???
Same general circumstances. Different plant.
Also blackjacks & khakibos, but they're more obnoxious.
Indeed.