Frogs and roses

A walk in the rosarium is always an uplifting experience. It is also always a hive of activity with bees collecting pollen. On Saturday morning, my walk delivered more than the usual bees and insects. I discovered an Arum Lily frog on one of the yellow rose buds.

I had to smile. It had decided to choose the brightest yellow rose to look for pollenating insects on which to feast.  These frogs can change their colour to camouflage themselves. It may work on an Arum Lily, but I think the intense yellow of the rose was a bit too ambitious for this little frog.

I have regularly encountered Arum Lily frogs in the garden. I am always happy to see them. I always feel good if I find an endemic bird, lizard, insect or frog in the garden. Mentally, I tick them off on my list of interesting inhabitants of our Towerwater cosmos.

When I read that frogs are important bio-indicators, I was even more pleased to find them. I am happy to have them, but I am also concerned that it might be an indication that their natural habitat is being impacted on or threatened by the ongoing drought.

In the absence of our Arum Lilies, which are only just starting to appear in their corner of the garden, this little guy must have decided that the roses will do just fine in the meantime. He must be a very experienced climber to have negotiated the thorny stems of the roses to get to the rose bud.

I suppose, I might have done the same if I was an Arum Lily frog in a haven of roses and not an Arum Lily in sight. I left him on his rose petal and continued my walk through the rosarium. It was filled with beautiful blooms of different hues and exotic fragrances.