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…
read more
by KBergReserve

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…
read more
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…
read more
by KBergReserve

Kogelberg BotSoc AGM Annual Report

Botanical Society of South Africa : Kogelberg Branch AGM 21 July 2018 Annual Report - By Tim Attwell, Chairman  It is more than appropriate to begin this Annual Report by paying tribute to our former Chairman, Merrilee Berrisford. (Merrilee correctly insists that the word is indeed ‘Chairman’ and not the neologism ‘Chairperson’, since the ‘man’ in the word ‘Chairman’ refers to the Latin manus, a hand, and not to the male gender of Homo sapiens.) Merrilee has guided, inspired and managed the Kogelberg Branch of the Botanical Society with a vigour and enthusiasm that is impossible…
read more
by KBergReserve

Ten ways to support Harold Porter National Botanical Gardens

One of the core purposes of the Botanical Society of South Africa is to support the work of the National Botanical Gardens. A recent meeting between Harold Porter National Botanical Gardens Curator Berenice Carolus and Tim Attwell, Chairman of the Kogelberg Branch, came up with ten ways for the Kogelberg branch of the Botanical Society to partner with the Harold Porter National Botanical Gardens.   Promoting the Garden Botsoc Kogelberg can help HPNBG by promoting the Garden and encouraging visits among the local public and keeping Botsoc members informed of developments in HPNBG. A ‘critical…
read more
by KBergReserve

Talk Report – July 2018

1. Sky Islands: An illustrated talk - By David Gwynne-Evans (19 May 2018) When first hearing of the title of David’s talk one might imagine planets or constellations, but no, this talk was about Mountain Peaks that emerge through the clouds forming islands in the sky. A beautiful example is Tretchikoff’s  painting, “Valley of a Thousand Hills”, depicting mountain peaks peeking through the cloud mass. David, who admitted to a fear of heights, has climbed into the island archipelagos  of Kenya, Tanzania, the Drakensberg, the Canary and Cape Verde islands. He has plans to visit…
read more
by KBergReserve

Walk Report – July 2018

– By Tim Attwell (19 May 2018)  The aim of the exercise was to find less seen and seldom recognised members of the protea family close to home. Where better than Rod’s Trail? Maybe because it’s in Betty’s Bay’s back yard there is a tendency to overlook this extraordinary little trail through Kogelberg Sandstone Fynbos on the slopes of Voorberg when looking for the rare and remarkable. So it was that we set off from the Harold Porter National Botanical Gardens, up Kloof Road, behind the Disa Youth Camp and on to the mountainside. The objective…
read more
by KBergReserve

Garden Club Meeting Notice

Dear All Andrea and I met yesterday with Anli Theron and Sharon Couldridge – apologies from another five. This was very much a preliminary gathering. We’d like to gather more people together for a first outing or two and then hand over to new organisers. This will bring in more workers perhaps. 23rd July, a Monday we’ll meet at Harold Porter 9am, weather permitting visit Gwen’s garden, then Bass Rd with Jenny B doing a bit of fynbos pruning – choice of Anli and Andrea’s garden - then tea and talk in our garden. Perhaps will…
read more
by KBergReserve

Botsoc Kogelberg Next Talk

AGM Kogelberg Branch of the Botanical Society of South Africa Annual General Meeting Date: 21 July 2018 Time: 17:30 for 18:00 Venue: Harold Porter National Botanical Gardens Talk Topic: Thunberg and Sparrman – Apostles of Linnaeus in South Africa Presenter: John Rourke Date: 21 July 2018 Time: After AGM Venue: Harold Porter National Botanical Gardens The Apostles of Linnaeus were a group of students who carried out botanical and zoological expeditions throughout the world that were either devised or approved by botanist Carl Linnaeus. The expeditions took place during the latter half of the 18th…
read more