by Meg Cowper-Lewis

ABOVE LEFT: Southermost reflected in the tidal pool on a rare calm morning. Southermost was the first house to be built in Agulhas, in 1929, and is still the southernmost private home in . Photo: Meg Cowper-Lewis. ABOVE RIGHT: Aview of the garden before the start of the project. Photo: Meg Cowper-Lewis.

On 13 April 1996 my whole life changed. This was the day of my exodus from lush, subtropical Durban to salt-laden and windblown Agulhas at the tip of Africa. After seventeen years in Durban I moved to Southermost, which has been our beloved family home for close on half a century. The fIrst house to be built in Agulhas, Southermost is still the southernmost private home in Africa. It was built in 1929 by Michiel van Breda of the well-known Overberg farm 'Zoetendals Vallei'. Having weathered winter storms and screaming southeasters, it was now desperately in need of love and care. The expansive lawn had been maintained by house-minder Jerry Buirski for many yeas, but the rest of the garden was virtually non-existent: a few lonely aloes, some hardy grey bushes and groundcover and, of course, the daisies in springtime. For the fIrst couple of years I concentrated on making the old house habitable again, and setting up a B&B. After the second year I decided to close the B&B after each busy summer season, and so, in the winter of 1998 and now deliriously in love with our local fynbos, I started to convert large parts of our existing lawn of buffalo grass Stenotaphrum secundatum into an indigenous and waterwise fynbos coastal garden. I would estimate my success rate during the fIrst year as not much more than ABOVE: A welcome sign for travellers to the windswept tip of Africa. A little cluster of aloes, 25 percent, but with invaluable advice from our local amateur fynbos guru, the strandbietou Chrysanthemoides incana and the late Lettie Myburgh, I have now managed to increase this success rate to around milkwood-sheltering manatoka in the background. a whopping 80 percent. I learnt very quickly, through bitter trial and error, that Photo: Meg Cowper-Lewis. transplanting fynbos is not for sissies. One summer I watched a bulldozer trash­ ing some huge, full-grown thatching restios Thamnochortus insignis and tried to

218 December 2006 Veld&Flora save as many of them as I could pack Southermost's enclosed courtyard into my small car. The dry, sandy soil affords some respite from the south­ had fallen off their roots, and even with easter for those plants unable to stand infinite care, none survived. Fynbos the wind, but even here the salty air for transplanting must be tiny - not penetrates when the wind is strong. more than 20 em high, and since the I have tried in vain to grow my own soil needs to be damp enough not to veggies and herbs. Sadly though, even falloff the roots, transplanting can in the most sheltered of places they really only happen after the first winter are still severely growth-impeded, some rains. With each tiny plant I try to bring plants eventually giving up the battle along a five-litre bucket of its own soil for survival. to minimize the shock of re-location. I Over the years one learns what works then mulch with decomposed organic and what does not. I have tried proteas, kitchen waste and !ynbos leaf mould. leucospermums and ericas with very These new plants will need water for the poor results. Other species, such as first crucial two or three years of their the limestone conebush Leucadendron lives, and thereafter, they're on their meridianum, battle on although one can own through the hot, dry summer. see they're not very comfortable down My baby plants come mainly from on the sandy flats and away from the our famous limestone ridge. Situated limestone ridge or the mountain slopes. on high ground above the town, much Restios and grasses will always be an of this astoundingly beautiful !ynbos is essential part of any !ynbos garden and endemic. Heavily threatened by ram­ the local thatching reed Thamnochortus pant development over the past fifteen insignis, the closely-related T. fratemus years, this botanic gem is fast disap­ and Ischyrolepis eleocharis all create pearing. I scour the road verges in the constant movement in the garden. new townships, rescuing small fynbos Our much-loved and protected milk­ plants before they become a fatal statis­ woods Sideroxylon inerme are not hardy tic to the herbicide that the Municipality enough to ever become proper trees sprays on the road verges to 'keep them growing close to this coastline. They clean'. I also watch out for vacant plots end up instead as thickets, which serve on which development is to begin, and a useful purpose by creating protection try to beat the earth-moving machines and nesting sites for small mammals to them before the entire plot's veg­ and spurfowls. Sadly, my three baby etation is lost. I have also propagated milkwoods among the garden fYnbos hundreds of aloes, vygies and indig­ will never grow into trees. Conversely, TOP: Gardening gets underway in Southermost, with the historic Cape Agulhas Lighthouse enous shrubs and groundcover from the old milkwoods growing among alien providing a picturesque background. Southermost's own garden. manatokas (Myoporum) and sheltered Ultimately though, it is the !ynbos by the garage from the southeaster sim­ ABOVE: A view across the garden to the that springs up spontaneously that ply thrive. An on-going ethical quan­ southernmost point of Africa. Southermost is right on the border of the . dary arises: does one remove the aliens, will always be the strongest and the To the left you can see the result of the 2005 most resilient. Bruinsalie or brown sage or allow them to stay and protect the plantings, and to the right, the beds prepared for Salvia africana-lutea, the sea guarri milkwoods? the 2006 winter plantings. Euclea racemosa and various varie­ Cotyledon orbiculata loves the garden, BELOW: Southermost in the spring. Along ties of Rhus, have all appeared as if by but its growth is always stunted by the the broad, grassed Agulhas waterfront, the magic. small Cape grysbokkies coming along yellow daisy Cineraria geifolia, the gousblom Our house, right on the oceanfront, for breakfast. Those that survive the Arctotis acaulis and the white spreading daisy battles bravely through the Cape win­ bokkies and eventually flower are great Dimorphotheca fruticosa burst into bloom. ter storms, whilst in summer, we bear favourites with the lesser double-col­ Photos: Meg Cowper-Lewis. the brunt of screaming southeasters, lared and malachite sunbirds. whi<;:h slash at the vegetation with salt­ As the garden expands, so do the laden, whip-like gusts. Just a few days number and variety of its faunal visi­ of this, and even hardy fynbos starts tors. 'Bokkie' has been seen emerg­ to take the strain. New tips shrivel and ing from her bed amongst the fYn­ blacken, with only a few standing up bos, and porcupines, hares, tortoises, to this onslaught. Fortunately, spe­ mongooses, mole snakes, and the odd cies such as Metalasia, wild rosemary puff adder all visit from time to time. Eriocephalus africanus var. paniculatus Encouraging is a recent huge increase and E. racemosus, the faithful bietou in the bee population. A proliferation of Chrysanthemoides monilifera and the birds includes Cape bulbuls, bokmaki­ Australasian but non-invasive copros­ eries, crowned plovers, rock martins, rna, its fruits relished by Cape bulbuls, spurfowls, and even the shy greywing provide windbreaks for smaller and francolin and the occasional hoopoe, more sensitive plants. whilst at night we hear the plaintive

December 2006 Veld&Flora 219 that just weeks before had looked com­ pletely dead, and the smaller Z. jlexu­ osum with its dainty yellow flowers, flourish. We also see the lovely yellow blooms of the medicinal geelkatstert (yellow eat's tail) Bulbine lagopus, and the vygies or mesembs that include the huge purple­ flowered suurvy or sour fig Carpobrotus acinaciformis and Lampranthus ama­ bilis with their striking orange and magenta flowers, thrive into the sum­ mer months. Spring brings out the best of our flowering limestone fynbos, and a hike along the ridge is a constant reminder of our unique Floral Kingdom and its astonishingly dense biodiversity.

Summer ABOVE: The highlight of winter is Southermost's wonderful display of aloes. Here the striking blooms of Aloe Our summers are warm, dry and, arborescens seem colour-coded to the historic Cape Agulhas Lighthouse. Photo: Meg Cowper-Lewis. tempered by the prevailing winds, they BELOW: Excitement erupts in February and March when the indigenous April fool or skeerkwassies escape the intense heat of inland areas. Haemanthus coccineus burst into bloom. Coming straight out of dry, poor soil, the blooms of these bulbs are The sun is hot and almost overhead, spectacular and fascinating. Photo: Meg Cowper-Lewis. the soil dry and oily from the harsh southeast winds ... and all I can do now BOTTOM: Spring brings the daisies, and on the limestone ridge, the dune daisy or wild cineraria Senecio elegans proliferates. is try to maintain the new plantings through their first crucial summers. Excitement erupts in February and cries of the spotted dikkop roaming March when the indigenous April fools around the property. Cisticolas nest in or skeerkwassies Haemanthus coc­ a Leucadendron while the tiny prinias cineus and H. sanguineus burst into love a swim in the sprinkler. I presume bloom. Coming straight out of dry, poor that this increase in wild things is also soil, the blooms of these bulbs are spec­ partly due to Southermost's shared tacular, and fascinate not only local border with the Agulhas National Park, residents but world travellers to the established eight years ago. southern tip of Africa as well. Our giant dune moles, adored by Geraniums and pelargoniums too, conservationists but a nightmare for especially Pelargonium capitatum with gardeners, often appear after the first its sweet-scented leaves, and P. cucul/a­ winter rains. Well-established plants tum, attractive with its veined pinky-red can simply disappear under a molehill flowers, love the summer months. the size of a small koppie (hill), or have their entire root system chomped om Autumn For someone who is both conservation­ Although autumn in Cape Agulhas ist and gardener, this clash of interests does not quite fit Keats's 'season of creates yet another ethical conflict. mists and mellow fruitfulness,' it cer­ tainly has a charm of its own, and Spring is truly a time of calm and rejuvena­ Spring brings the daisies! Down on tion. After the southeaster abates, and the broad, grassed Agulhas waterfront, before the winter storms and frantic the yellow daisy Cineraria geifolia, the fynbos-planting begins, the summer gousblom Arctotis acaulis and the white crowds leave, the days turn warm and spreading daisy Dimorphotheca fruti­ gentle, the sun is lower in the north, cosa (formerly Osteospermum frutico­ and the nights are crisp, clear and star­ sum) burst into bloom, whilst towards fJJ.led. The autumn sky is cornflower the Historic Point, Gazania pectinata, and cobalt, the sea a streaky blend of Osteospermum subulatum and everlast­ Prussian, aquamarine, turquoise, virid­ ings Helichrysum retortum spring up ian. After the first autumn showers, the everywhere. On the limestone ridge, stretch of grass along the waterfront the dune daisy Senecio elegans creates turns from ochre to subtle shades of an undulating purple carpet, and the green. This is Cape Agulhas at its very hardy Zygophyllum morgsana, which best, with residents and fynbos relaxing never fails to rejuvenate from bushes into these brief, but mellow days.

220 December 2006 Veld&Flora With the B&B closed for winter, I now turn to my many hobbies and interests: the patchwork quilt for a grandchild, watercolour or charcoal "I scour the road verges in the new townships, portraiture classes, photography, writ­ rescuing small fynbos plants before they become a ing or environmental work. Or maybe a short trip over the Swartberg into the fatal statistic to the herbicide that the Municipality Great Karoo. And then, together with sprays on the road verges ... " the winter rains, work starts again and planting begins in earnest.

Winter The highlightofwinteris Southermost's LEFT: Meg Cowper-Lewis and garden helper wonderful display of aloes: three hun­ Nico Moses in the garden of Southermost. dred blooms this year. The Southern Photo: Hilary Marshall Overberg Fynbos includes only two aloes, Aloe arborescens and the tiny, BELOW: A pelargonium pot plant shelters from the wind on the patio at Southermost. compact, vulnerable A. brevifolia, Photo: Meg Cowper-Lewis. endemic to the . The rest of the aloes in the garden come from BOTTOM: The Cape Agulhas Lighthouse lights other parts of the country. They are up as the summer sun sets. Photo: Meg Cowper-Lewis extremely ornamental, non-invasive, loved by the sunbirds, and can provide a bit of wind shelter for struggling baby fynbos. Very striking is A. ferox with its fat, pink-tipped leaves. backbreaking of jobs to enhance 'our' Arums Zantedeschia aethiopica spring garden, Nico has been an essential part up from nowhere in their hundreds, and of the project, without whom I could the wonderfully hardy blombosse - the never have achieved the success of my common blombos Metalasia muricata, first decade of this work in progress. the limestone blombos M. calcicola and Our tiny Cape Floristic Region, unique M. pungens - all transplant success­ and so rich in biodiversity, is under fully, grow easily, act as windbreaks for serious threat from unsustainable smaller plants and exude exotic smells development, loss of habitat, agricul­ of honey and herbs as you pass by. ture and other human impacts and has Bulbs like Watsonia coccinea and already been reduced by half. The Royal W. meriana, Lachenalia bulbifera and Botanical Gardens at Kew regard it so L. rubida and Babiana montana (bob­ highly amidst the vast botanical wealth bejaantjies), are all to be seen during of the planet that they have consigned winter and spring. to us an entire glasshouse. During my It would be remiss of me not to men­ visits to those great gardens at Kew, I tion my sole garden helper, Mr Nico have stood in that Victorian glasshouse Moses from . For the last bursting with national pride, with tears eight years, between his days of going rolling down my cheeks. Pleased and to sea, Nico has dug up literally thou­ proud too with my efforts to conserve sands of sods of grass for me. Always some of it in my little garden at the tip cheerful, ever willing to do the most of Africa. ~

The Author Meg Cowper-Lewis has served as an Honorary Nature Conservation Officer for CapeNature since 1999, and for two years as a SANParks Honorary Ranger (Fynbos Parks). She is an active mem­ ber of Greenpeace and a longstanding member of WESSA and BotSoc. In 1999 Meg founded the Suidpunt Environmental Alliance (SEA) of which she is the director, and which now has 150 signa­ tories pledging support. Meg has been an active member of Mensa for 27 years, and was awarded Honorary Life Membership in 1990. Meg can be contacted at tel +27 (0)284356565; fax +27 (0)28 435 6544; email [email protected] and website www.southermost.co.za. Further reading Cowling, R.M. and Richardson, D. 1995. Fynbos: South Africa's unique floral kingdom. Fernwood Press, . Maytham Kidd, M. 1983. . Wild Flower Guide 3. Botanical Society of SA, Cape Town. Mustart, P, Cowling, R., Albertyn, J., and Paterson-Jones, C. 1997. Southern Overberg Wild Flower Guide 8. Botanical Society of SA, Cape Town.

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