Helderberg Hospice hosted its Open Gardens Festival, showcasing some of the basin’s best water-wise and indigenous gardens, this past weekend (Friday 21 to Sunday 23 October). Of those listed for locals’ viewing delight was the mesmerising garden of 87-year-old Nonnie Oosthuizen, who enjoys time spent in the serene setting, which overlooks the picturesque False Bay with four-legged furry friend, Tara. The Helderbos resident and well-known champion Bull Terrier breeder ropes in the help of her gardener, Andries Booyes, and carer, Poppie Carolus, to nurture the natural oasis.Photos: Jamey Gordon


Colin and Alison Dancer welcomed a whopping 104 visitors to their gorgeous Bel’ Aire garden, which debuted as part of the annual festival, by Saturday afternoon.

Lyndsay and Colin McEwan boast a bonsai and flower garden that appeals to visitors’ senses. Their tranquil backyard is the site of just under 50 different bonsai trees, which surround a stylishly decked Koi pond. The garden is an ode to the couple’s son, Robert, who succumbed to Hodgkin’s Lymphoma at the age of 26 in 2017. He loved all things oriental, and to commemorate his posthumous first birthday his family bought a bonsai tree that had been planted in his birth year (1990) in his memory.

Lourens and Dylan Kruger who operate their brainchild, The Cape Honeybee Conservancy, at Morgenster Wine and Olive Estate promoted their latest initiative at hospice on Saturday. Following a valued donation of wood from a Somerset West hardware store, the pair came up with the Yellow Box initiative. Together they create these yellow catch-boxes, champion the removal of nuisance swarms and collect the proceeds in aid of hospice. Pictured with the local beekeepers, who implore others to follow suit, is Louise Smith, resources development coordinator at Helderberg Hospice.

Helderberg Hospice staff looked the part, donning flower crowns and blossoming with positivity and friendliness. Pictured is Celestine van der Merwe, Louise Smith and Karen Gordon.

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