IndigeNews
May 2023
Witkoppen Wildflower Nursery’s newsletter
Hello fellow Gardeners, lovers of indigenous plants and of plants in general,
Welcome to our new look IndigeNews. This revamp has come about initially because we have changed our email software vendor to SendFox. This decision was made purely because Mailchimp has become too expensive. This change has also given us the opportunity to include creating IndigeNews as a “blog” on our website. This will possibly also give more people access to our newsletter,
Witkoppen Wildflower Nursery, North Riding is 10 years old
is hard to believe that we have been based in North Riding for 10 years now.
We were basically forced into the move from Cedar Avenue due to the high cost of the municipal water. Andrea and I bought this property so that if we did ever need to move the nursery, Witkoppen Wildflower Nursery would have a new home to move to. Late in 2012 me made the decision and started to move our plants from Broadacres to our home here. It was a tedious move, as every thing was moved on the back our Kia 2700 bakkie. As Monica observed later, “It was like moving a sand dune with a teaspoon”.
We closed the nursery in Broadacres at 20 past 4 on Sunday the 8th of April, spent the next 5 days setting up the new nursery. On Saturday morning, the 13th at 8′ o’ clock we opened our new gates at 363 Valley Road, North Riding. Our first client here was Mark van Vuuren.
Here is hoping we will continue to grow interesting indigenous plants and our customer base for the next 10 years and many more.
Malcolm opened the gate to our new Witkoppen Wildflower Nursery at 8 ‘o clock, 13 April 2013.
Calvin closes the Broadacres nursery for the last time.
Our first roadside signage in North Riding.
The ‘New’ nursery on opening day.
Mark Van Vuuren, with Calvin, our first customen at our North Riding nursery.
May 2023’s discounted plant specials
Each month we select 15 plants that we sell at much discounted prices for that month. For the period from today until closing time on Sunday the 7th of May we will sell all 30 plants selected for both April and May 2023 at the discounted prices. There after we will sell only those plants selected for May at the discounted prices.
The Pink Confetti Bush or Aasbossie (Coleonema pulchellum) is one of the plants selected for April. Click on the above picture to see the full list with a short description of each plant.
The Redwing or Rooivlerk (Pterolobum stellatum) is one of the plants selected for May’s specials. Click on the above picture to see the full list with a short description of each plant.
Tree Identification Course
We are running the last of these courses for this season from the evening of Friday, 12 May and lunch time on Sunday 14 May.
There are still a few places available on this practical, hands-on course on how to identify southern African indigenous trees. Students will identify approximately 50 indigenous tree during the course.
Click on the picture of the tree on the left to get all the details.
Hedgehog Sage or Ystervarksalie (Coleus livingstonei)
We have reworked our plant blog about this beautiful garden shrub. We did a blog about this plant while it was still known a Pyncnostachys urticifolia. In 2019 botanists realised that it was incorrectly classified and moved it into a revived genus Coleus. Unfortunately, there was already a species called Coleus urticifolia. So they named it in honour of David Livingstone, the explorer and missionary, who collected seeds of this plant in what is today Malawi and sent them to Kew.
Click on the picture on the right to see the blog.
The flower spike of the Hedgehog Sage or Ystervarksalie.
Thank you for reading this newsletter, and we hope you have found it interesting and entertaining, We are using technology that is new to us and trust that it works. Please let us know what you think.
Till the next issue, enjoy your garden and gardening.
Stay safe.
Regards,
The Witkoppen Wildflower Team
© Malcolm Dee Hepplewhite & Witkoppen Wildflower Nursery, (Text and Photographs) 2023.
Contact Details:
363 Valley Road, North Riding, (Below the Northgate Dome)
PO Box 3249, North Riding, 2162
Tel: 011 516 0262 Cel: 082 900 8324
Email: malcolm@witkoppenwildflower.co.za Web site: WitkoppenWildflower.co.za