Newsletter 9: July 2025

Dear South African Plant Lovers and Enthusiasts

Sitting here in front of my computer with some Old Brown Sherry trying to compose this newsletter (After work hours of course !).  You would think it would be easy after a years break, sadly writing is not my strength, but here goes.

We are in the middle of Winter at the moment and it has been chilly and wet.  For some reason Silverhill has always operated from very cold offices – I think it is just a trend, it is certainly good for the seeds, but not so much the humans who have to work with the seeds.   I  don’t keep record of the rain so I don’t know if we are above average or not, but all farmers and plant enthusiasts are happy for any sort of rain and it saves the Utility/Water bill at the end of the month if you are having to water your garden or collection of pots.

The Cape Peninsula had the most dreadful fires in April.  It damaged a large amount of fynbos at Silvermine, due to this Silvermine has been closed for path rehabilitation.  We are hoping it will open on the 1st of July and it will certainly be worth a walk to see what is coming up after these rains.  It will probably be too early as we have not had many warm days to trigger germination, but always great to have an excuse to get some fresh air.

Recently there has been a lot of news regarding the poaching of Clivia mirabilis.

I was quite staggered as these plants are not in the most accessible place to dig out.  They grow in the area of Nieuwoudtville in the Northern Cape.  Erica, Louise Nurrish and her 2 sons and I walked the Oorlogskloof Trail in 2023 and we saw a few plants. We now hear that most of them have been removed, which is very sad to hear, as they do not survive well out of their natural habitat.

 

 

 

 

 

On the subject of the Oorlogskloof Hiking Trail…..  What an amazing 5 day 4 night trail.  There is very little information regarding the trail, but what there is in the form of Blogs is VERY accurate.  I must admit I did underestimate the trail.  After walking/hiking since I was a small child, I asked myself “how hard could this actually be”, I am fit and experienced, “it can’t be that bad!”  Believe the blogs, the trail is not for the faint hearted.  It was taxing, but the scenery was incredible.

You were taken to points that would give you the best view of the kloof or down the mountain towards Vanrhynsdorp.  The huts were great, the trail did need some maintenance as well as better signage (footprints on rocks etc), but it was all part of the excitement.  The Oorlogskloof river was in full flow, bridges had been washed away, so crossing the river on the 3rd day was a bit exciting with a full pack especially when your legs/knees are not as “springy” as they used to be.  Wonderful time was had by all of us.

Our Namibia adventure this year was phenomenal.  The amount of rain that they received was incredible in some areas.  We saw rivers flowing which I have never seen flow before, the veld was green and the waving grasses were something to behold.

There was actually grass in the Messem Crater, I have never seen the base of the crater undulating in the wind with the short tough grass.  We spent 2 nights in the crater, just exploring, I have never done this before as we always seemed to be in a rush.  I think the biggest excitement for me was that we took the correct road into the crater this year!  There are so many tracks and they are not well marked and “Garmin” is often confused in there!

I had the most wonderful friend/explorer/companion this year, Morne Faulhammer.  His “day job” is owner and manager at Super Plants Nursery in Tokai.  We are both crazy about plants and we spent a lot of time with our “bums” in the air looking at everything from rocks, insects and of course plants.

 

 

 

 

On the way home we were going home via Rosh Pinah and Oranjemund then over the Orange River to Alexander Bay and then home.  The Orange River was overflowing its banks and the road for 700m was closed as the river had burst its banks.  A bit of “sweet talking” by Morne and we were allowed through the short piece.  It certainly saved us many kilometers if we had to go back to Keetmanshoop and down the B1 back to Cape Town.  The river in full flood was incredible to see.

 

 

All of us know Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, we have either visited or just heard about it through the media, or plant conserving platforms.  It has been known as one of the best Botanical Gardens in the world, because 0f the diversity of Fynbos plants it has had within its “walls”.  I got sent the following interview by a previous employee of Kirstenbosch and thought I would share it with you.  This makes us very sad to hear.

We often go into the gardens to walk around and learn, I have worked with seeds for so long, but I often don’t know what the plants look like and it is a great place to go and learn.  I have found in the last 8-10 years that the gardens are becoming a glorified park and less of a Botanical garden, the beds are not weeded, plants and labels are not replaced.  Don’t get me wrong it is a stunning park and the setting is just  incredible under the mountain, but it would really be wonderful if there was more “Botanical” to Kirstenbosch.

Nina and I have been going on lots of day trips looking for plants and seed, from spending the night on Table Mountain, having to wade rivers and carry the two Dachshunds (Sam and Pippa) over flooded streams, to driving different dirt roads over hills and down valleys.  It is wonderful to have such great company when driving, often longer distances.  My estimation of distance is not great when walking on the mountains, but I know the direction and we just walk.  What an amazing job we have.

2025 Price increase:

After lots of thought we have had to increase our prices for seed.  We have used the published inflation rate for £/$ and ZAR to make the increase affordable for each currency.  With constant rise of petrol and the cost of living we have to keep up. We are still however one of the most affordable seed companies for South African seeds.

Staff News:

Pat soldiers on and if we ever have updates on the website, she is the one who deals with the succulents – just how it rolls now, it is an in-house joke.  Her Grandson, James, keeps both her and Kenneth on their toes especially when Ben and Max (The other grandkids) come over.

Nina’s boys are getting big and Nina is getting more exhausted as they get older.  Max, the youngest, is into everything all the time, climbing, jumping etc.  Ben is due to go to Pre-school next year – how time flies.

Erica got into Onderstepoort (Pretoria University) to study Veterinary Nursing.  She is loving it and doing very well.  She has also asked to adopt a cat or 5 and the answer has been no until she can pay to look after them.  I am a bit worried…  how many cats is she going to end up with when she has her own house?

Dorothy’s daughter is getting married in August, so there is much excitement, Regina, Lucy and Etinah are doing well, still sorting, cleaning and picking seeds.

Kirstin is still the most incredible bookkeeper and is still keeping me on my toes.  Islay is going to a new school at the beginning of the new school year in August.  They are still in Dubai, not enjoying summer, but happy.

My Parents have moved in with me, so we have a full house.  They are really enjoying the extra company.  Mum helps plant seeds from her wheelchair and Dad chats up the ladies in the office.

Our animal compliment has increased by 1.  Coco who was originally Kirstin’s dog has come to live with us, so 2 Cocker Spaniels and 2 Dachshunds, and 4 cats.