Garden to Garden Visit

Harold Porter NBG to Karoo Desert NBG Wet, cold Harold Porter 8.30am, Monday 3 August, seven intrepid members who realised that just round the mountains would be bright sunshine, and across the Breede Valley a Garden of many delights. The journey was a highlight on its own – Theewaterskloof Dam nearly brimming, a pair of fish eagles perched above a farm dam, snow on the mountains and flowers aplenty, especially on the way home. Already at the garden were four more Kogelberg Branchers and our old friend, Werner, the Curator, to show us round for…
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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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GROENFONTEIN EXPEDITION – TWO BOTANICAL RAMBLES

SPRING in the Klein Karoo, Kevin Koen, professional nature guide of Calitzdorp and Kogelberg branch members – a magic mix. Without Kevin, how would we know that right on the outskirts of the town is Jacobskop, a treasure house of succulents? There we saw how aptly Haworthia arachnoida had been named - see the picture of leaves that could be spider web. Nearby was H truncata known as perdetande from the rows of leaves on the ground (no stems), leaves which have translucent tips for photosynthis. This is a local special found only from Calitzdorp…
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SO MANY THANK YOU’S

- Merrilee Berrisford Saturday 29th July, an evening of exciting Antarctic exploration, a wonderfully happy and convivial Betty’s Bay occasion but also an evening which resulted in two ring-fenced additions to the Kogelberg Branch’s account, R7100 for environmental education and R4000 for the Hack. It all started with Judy New’s travels to Papua New Guinea years ago which prompted her to give a fundraising travel talk. ‘Slice of Ice’ is Judy’s fifth fundraiser for Kogelberg Branch. We can only say a huge thank you to her for entertaining us and also enabling us to support…
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JOIN US AT THE RETREAT AT GROENFONTEIN

- Merrilee Berrisford I was in  the Klein Karoo last week, and stayed at The Retreat at Groenfontein in the foothills of the Swartberg. Last spring I was there, mostly on hands and knees looking at flowers, I felt it would be a good place for a Kogelberg Branch stay. There are two possible plant people who could guide us. As John Rourke says, it is not a really botanically rich spot but it is Klein Karoo, different. There are special places on the way where we may meet to botanise. Rates are very reasonable with deductions…
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WALK REPORT

Beach GeoHike with Dr John Rogers - Merrilee Berrisford Icy wind blew along Silversands Beach, chilling to the bone assorted naturalists, amateur geologists and just beach people following John the geologist. Anyone know how to recognise a yardang? It’s a coppice dune eroded (deflated in geology speak), and there they were! Barbara Jenman and I thought we’d never noticed them before. Were they the work of the storm? And a coppice dune is a small dune on its own, with grass growing on the top. Then there was the elaborate wind-etching on the side of…
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HAARWEGSKLOOF

-Merrilee BerrisfordThe visit to Agulhas National Park came to an end, ten of the group of seventeen now met at Cameron McMaster’s house for a visit with him to the Napier Renosterveld Reserve. And then there were five, five keen types who had the time to go on to Haarwegskloof for two more nights. But first, Cameron had yet another delight - a visit to Fairfield to see that great treasure, Moraea elegans, in its two colour forms, yellow with either green or orange growing only on that slope and one across the road. Another…
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SUCCEEDGROUP AND KOGELBERG BRANCH

Merrilee Berrisford SucceedGroup senior consultant, Emmerentia Fick, held a meeting with three branch committee members at the new offices in Somerset West at the end of March. Emmerentia had sent us a comprehensive Action Plan detailing what SG would like to do for us (in addition to designing and sending out the newsletter and designing publicity material). The meeting was to take us through the plans showing how the branch can be brought into the digital age to more effectively promote our message: “Committed to the Conservation of a Unique Wildflower Heritage”. Barbara Attwell, newsletter…
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