by KBergReserve

Gardeners Group Report

23 July 2018 There is so much to learn about fynbos and gardening in the Kogelberg – what to plant, when and where; what to remove, why and how. Newcomers to the area as well as some firmly embedded residents struggle with these and other questions, yet in our midst are those with know-how and success stories to share. This is how the idea came about to arrange regular meetings under the auspices of the Botsoc committee to bring together those in the know with those who would like to know. The intention is to…
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by KBergReserve

Talk Report – Aug 2018

Thunberg and Sparrman: Eighteenth Century Botanical Explorers to the Cape - By Andrea Benn (22 July 2018) On the evening of 22 July 2018, John Rourke took a group of interested members through a talk he had previously offered at the UCT Summer School on two 'apostles' of Carl Linnaeus, the famed Professor of Medicine and Botany at the University of Uppsala, Sweden, in the early 1800s. Linnaeus himself never travelled outside of Europe and thus relied on his 'apostles' to discover thousands of species of plant across the globe. Two of these explorers were Carl Peter…
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by KBergReserve

Walk Report – Aug 2018

- In search of Protea mundii (21 July 2018)  The objective was to scout the Plateau Path above Fairy Glen in the Kleinmond Mountain Nature Reserve. The fire of early 2017 and the rains of two winters since then must surely have yielded some profit. Principle quarry included seedlings of Protea mundii and re-growth of Pillansia templemanii, both of which had been burnt to a cinder fifteen months ago. Were they recovering? So it was that a doughty group of nine members and guests set off from the Fairy Glen picnic site in crisply cold,…
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by KBergReserve

Gardeners Group Planning Committee

After a highly successful first gathering of the Gardeners Group, a meeting was held on Monday 6 August to  form a steering committee; clarify the Terms of Reference of the group; and plan the way forward. The following were present:  Merrilee Berrisford, Gwen Coetzee, Andrea Benn, Rea Borcherds, Barbara Jenman,  Ingrid Buchan, Sharon Coleridge, Galia Manicom. Objectives of the Gardeners Group : The aim is to arrange informal and convivial gatherings, centred around garden visits and botanical activities, which will be opportunities to share knowledge,  learn something useful, be inspired and encouraged,  and obtain answers…
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by KBergReserve

Future Events

WALKS PLANNED FOR 2018: 18 AUGUST 2018 09h00 Harold Porter NBG from where we will walk to the start of the trail Can Spring be far away? Perhaps not. Let’s go and see what the spring flowers of the Cape Seashore Vegetation on the Denis Heesom Trail are doing. The trail is along the sea shore from Jock’s Bay to Stony Point so there aren’t any hills to climb. There are a couple of streams to cross and a long walk on a long beach. We will leave a vehicle at the end at Stony…
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by KBergReserve

Botsoc Kogelberg Next Talk

Diarise these dates! 18 August 2018 Topic: Mountain Deserts Presenter: Werner Voigt Time: 17:30 for 18:00 Venue: Harold Porter National Botanical Gardens Werner Voigt, Curator of the Karoo Desert National Botanical Garden, which cultivates and displays a wide variety of arid and semi-arid plants within 154 hectares at the foot of the Hex River Mountain range, 120 km north of Cape Town, will talk on Mountain Deserts. The most well known mountain desert in South Africa is found in the Richtersveld National Park. Despite being a desert, the Richtersveld has the most extraordinary biodiversity. Around…
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by KBergReserve

A Brief History of Harold Porter NBG

SANBI has published a brief, informative history of the Harold Porter NBG on their website which we thought was well worth reproducing in our newsletter. It makes for interesting reading and an enriched appreciation of this  world-renowned botancial garden right on our doorstep. With appreciation to SANBI, here it is, with minor edits. Enjoy! Land purchases in the 1930s During the 1930s land in the Hangklip area between the Palmiet River and the Rooiels River was acquired by three business partners, Harold Porter, Arthur Youldon and Jack Clarence. They called it the Hangklip Beach Estates and…
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Pringle Bay Hack Report No 137

Thank you to all the hackers who attended today’s hack, what a great turnout! The plot next to the entrance of Pringle Bay has been a headache for a long time. It has been a challenge to trace the owner/consortium responsible for the plot, but we’ve finally managed to do so and today, 29 July 2018, we made a start on the hacking on smallholding 559/61. This plot is seriously invested with Eucalyptus, Spider Gum, Rooikrantz, Port Jackson, Australian Myrtle and Pine trees. While today was only a start, and we will be busy there…
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by KBergReserve

Betty’s Bay Hack Report No 664

The battle for Betty's Bay: Report on Hack no 664 We were back fighting Acacia Elata and Eucalyptus on the slopes of Voorberg at this month's hack. Still boring, but everybody was really motivated and we actually cleared the area! It is wonderful to see the fynbos without the ugly intrusive aliens. Again a big thank you all! The tea was made by Merran Silberbauer, and the sandwiches by Di Knott. Thank you ladies! Penguin Place again donated the bread, so thank you to them! The troops were: John Benn, David Bossenger, Jan and Betsey…
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