If you live in or have visited Victoria Falls recently you may have noticed the stunning row of blooming bauhinia orchid trees outside of Cresta Sprayview Hotel. I stopped the other day to gather a few cuttings of their prolific purple flowers and they seem far hardier on the tree than they are in hand – the delicate petals fall at the slightest touch – but they are impossibly beautiful. I don’t know whether sunbirds are especially drawn to bauhinias, but that little flash of iridescent purple on the bird matches these blooms almost perfectly. A match made in heaven!