The Kogelberg Branch continues to grow from strength to strength and if one drives anywhere from the Palmiet River to Rooi Els, one will see the fruits of all our initiatives , be it hacking, plant rescues, working in the Harold Porter Gardens (HPG), operating the bookshop that keeps the wheels oiled and numerous other activities undertaken by all the wonderful volunteers that support the Kogelberg Branch of the Botanical Society of South Africa.
WEATHER
A very short report on the weather! The rain has dried up. Last time I recorded rain at our house was on 24 August 2025 and the last rainfall above 10mm was on 10 August so for more than a month, only 33mm of rain has been recorded. The grain farmers are very worried. The grain looked fantastic, but it needs just that extra 20mm to make sure that the grain is fully grown and that the ears of the wheat are as full as possible.
The fynbos now is very happy with this weather. The beautiful early spring days and the fact that their feet are not in water makes it even better for them and the fynbos in the veld now is truly amazing.
Years above average. 2025 Readings are up to 12 September 2025
(Editor’s note: After receiving Peter’s input, gale-force northwesterly winds eventually brought another much needed 20mm of rain overnight on 15 September. Hopefully that has made our grain farmers much happier!)
HAROLD PORTER BOOK AND CRAFT SHOP
On Saturday 4 October we will be launching our very own “Birds of the Kogelberg” book, photographed by Keith Hamilton. This will be an exciting day and one not to be missed.
On Saturday 25 October, we will be launching Alan Lee’s book “Birds on the Brink”. We have just stocked this amazing book in the shop
We urge everyone to take out SANBI Loyalty Membership and visit the Harold Porter Gardens on a regular basis. I truly believe the gardens are in the best condition that they have been in for a long time and that the Friends of the Harold Porter Gardens efforts in the gardens are truly producing results.
FRIENDS OF THE HAROLD PORTER GARDENS
Viv von der Heyden and Jenny Pattinson continue to do a great job and the numbers volunteering to work in the gardens are growing, albeit very slowly. We urge interested gardeners to join Viv and Jenny on either a Tuesday or a Thursday, alternating weekly from 08.30 to 11.30. It is amazing what a difference this volunteer group are making to the gardens, and it really does boost the morale of the SANBI Staff. Thanks to the Rowland and Leta Hill Trust the volunteers are now well equipped to tackle the maintenance in the gardens along with the well-motivated SANBI staff.
Using profits generated by the book shop, we have been able to help HPG by supplying them with IBA Rooting Hormone to carry on with the propagation of cuttings as well as supplying them with over 200 split poles and steel pegs so that they can repair the zigzag pathway. These are all positive contributions to improve HPG, funded by your support of the Bookshop and, of course, the Supporters of the Kogelberg Branch.
KOGELBERG GARDEN CIRCLE
This month the Garden Circle visited the Stanford Wildflower Show where the Chelsea Flower Exhibition was reinstated.
HACKS
Betty’s Bay Hackers : Convenor: Rob Boyd 082 567 8858. See Rob’s report here.
Hangklip Hardcore Hackers (HHH): Convenor: Chris Geldenhuys 082 900 8299.These hardcore hackers continue to do great work. In Chris’s own words: “We can now say that we have successfully eradicated most of the pine seedlings along the bottom part of the Hangklip – Fontein valley between the Hangklip Fontein and the old Water Reservoir, except for the piece of pine forest that we have kept for the Christmas Tree project in December and the pines still standing in Maurice van der Walt’s property. A big thank you to the group of exceptionally hardcore hackers who carried out 18 hacks on Mondays. We can also be very proud of the energetic effort made on the old Clarence plot in Rooi Els that was concluded over three Wednesday hacks. Thanks to Mike Christelis for setting up this hack and through that the HHH Group received a generous donation from the owner. From the Rowland and Leta Hill Trust, the hardcore hackers were able to buy two new chainsaws and eight medium poppers”. The HHH hack every Wednesday morning and for the past several months have been eradicating pines on Monday mornings.
Pringle Bay Hack: Pringle Bay Hack No 214. On Saturday 30 August members of the Pringle Hack Group together with hackers from Betty’s and Pringle Bay tackled aliens in the center of Pringle Bay while other members of the group tackled the Hangklip Valley where Rooikrans and other seedlings were removed.
The Rooi Els Hack takes place on the second Saturday of every month, led by Mike Christelis 082 467 2795. They meet at the Rooi Els Village Shop at 8.30.
CREW
The Kogelberg Crew Team continues to do wonderful work in searching for endangered or near endangered species, recording the numbers and locations. It all helps the conservation of the fynbos in the Kogelberg Biosphere. To Adele Scheepers and the other Crewe Members, a heartfelt thanks for the most valuable work that you do.
KLEINMOND NATURE CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION As stated in the previous month’s newsletter, we are very honoured to be asked to participate in the Kleinmond Nature Conservation 50th Birthday Celebration and be part of the Fynbos Festival from 6 – 10 October.
We will be selling Fynbos Plants outside the Kleinmond Library and all profits generated from these sales will be accrued to the Kogelberg Branch of the Botanical Society. We will also be manning an Information Table in the Library Boardroom, where we will be selling some of our books, including “Your Place in the Kogelberg”.
MONTHLY TALKS
This month’s talk, “Our Whirlwind Romance with the Cape Honeybee”, was given by Lourens Kruger on Saturday 20 September.
“From a bee swarm moving into an owl box in our garden to a dream of establishing fifty Cape Honeybee Conservancies in the Western Cape, our journey has been nothing short of extraordinary.
Being part of Helderberg Hospice Open Gardens and saving 238 bee swarms, our story continues today as a story of hope for our endemic species, the Cape Honeybee.”
Lourens gave us wonderful insight into what makes the Cape Honeybee so special.
CONCLUSION
Spring is definitely upon us, and one can just feel everyone’s high spirits and the joy that spring brings. Every day I have to pinch myself that where we live is real and every day I give thanks for being able to live in such a wonderful floral kingdom. This floral kingdom must be conserved at all costs, and I am immensely proud of what our volunteers are doing in this respect.
Peter Dall
082 784 4326
Please contact Peter should you wish to join the Supporters of the Koggelberg Branch of the Botanical Society.