The Eternal Gardener

February 29th, 2024


Behind Babylonstoren #4: Dr Ernst van Jaarsveld



“Everything starts with stone. Stone becomes soil. The better your soil, the better you ...

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A Life Less Ordinary

December 13th, 2019


Horticulturalist, pruning maestro and, in our view, a botanical alchemist, our beloved Anton Roux recently celebrated a milestone birthday. At 80 years young, his ...

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All about that base

December 22nd, 2016

The Puff Adder – a 70-metre wooden structure that slithers through oaks and blue gum trees next to the stream – now plays host to a selection of very rare caudex succulents. Master Botanist Ernst van Jaarsveld explains that caudiciform plants are characterised by a swollen stem base.

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ROCKIN’ THE CAPE

May 25th, 2016

We've always been strong on botany, weak on stones. Now we're adding the palaeontological landscape of four regions of the Cape. Our team is reworking blocks in the indigenous fragrance garden with soil, rocks, and numerous plant species. We're creating small-scale versions of the Hantam, Robertson Karoo, Simonsberg and Eastern Cape.

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Psyched for Cycads

February 8th, 2016

If you’ve been to the farm recently and meandered across the wooden bridge that leads to the koppie, you would have noticed that the riverbanks have been cleared to showcase our new cycad collection. We're proud to host almost all of the 41 South African indigenous cycad species.

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Rocking the Karoo

January 7th, 2016

Last week we collected beautiful ironstone (dolorite) rocks on a farm in the Karoo, between Sutherland and Fraserburg. Thanks Stewie Theron of Tafelberg! They will form building blocks for our Hantam Garden.

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