I have been fortunate to listen to two presentations by Elsa Pooley: one hosted at Random Harvest Indigneous Nursery in 2015 and the other at the ILASA Conference held in September 2015 (See Previous Blog written on ILASA Conference). I also recently attended a course at The Cavern in the Drakensberg where I was able to view some examples of beautiful indigenous plants and see examples of these plants growing in the wild.

Turrea floribunda flowering at Random Harvest Nursery

To see more about the tree in the above image visit: http://www.randomharvest.co.za/South-African-Indigenous-Plants/Show-Plant/PlantId/112?Plant=Turraea%20floribunda

Elsa Pooley is an advocate for using indigenous plants in public and civic spaces and strongly believes that any form of rehabilitation should exclusively make use of locally indigenous species. She has spent many years studying the indigenous flora of South Africa, particularly in Kwa-Zulu Natal and knows the great potential that South African plants have, but are unfortunately not commercially grown and therefore not well known by landscapers and home owners. Fortunately for us Random Harvest is one of only a handful of nurseries in the country growing indigenous plants, many of which have until now been unavailable.

An indigenous garden can have colour all year round and although this may not always be bright flowers it can come from foliage and the variety of colour and texture from different plants. Elsa mentions how South African plants are used throughout the world but we do not necessarily appreciate their true value as we prefer to make use of exotic plants in our designs. The temptation for landscapers is to use the same old plants they always use because they are easy and work well but there are so many other plants that we could be using.

Some plants I saw in the Drakensberg that I hope to use in the future in my landscape designs:

Pelargonium reniforme  (photographed at Engen Garage in Harrismith, all other images taken at The Cavern in the Drakensberg) — *Pelargonium reniforme* (photographed at Engen Garage in Harrismith, all other images taken at The Cavern in the Drakensberg)

Helichrysum sutherlandii - look at this wonderful grey foliage — *Helichrysum sutherlandii* - look at this wonderful grey foliage

Kniphofia northiae - large Poker highly rated by Elsa, impressive flowers — *Kniphofia northiae* - large Poker highly rated by Elsa, impressive flowers

Hesperantha coccinea - Pink Variety, normally Red Flowers — *Hesperantha coccinea* - Pink Variety, normally Red Flowers

Helichrysum hypoleucum - likes a bit of shade — *Helichrysum hypoleucum* - likes a bit of shade

Merxmuellera macowanii - beautiful ornamental grass (Gomphostigma on Right) — *Merxmuellera macowanii* - beautiful ornamental grass (*Gomphostigma* on Right)

Syncolostemon macratnhus - tall purple pink flowering shrub — *Syncolostemon macratnhus* - tall purple pink flowering shrub

Thalictrum rhynchocarpum - soft and delicate foliage for shady areas — *Thalictrum rhynchocarpum -* soft and delicate foliage for shady areas

Seriphium plumosum (Bankrotbos) also known as Stoebe plumosa — *Seriphium plumosum* (Bankrotbos) also known as *Stoebe plumosa*

Polygala virgata (Purple Broom) — *Polygala virgata* (Purple Broom)

Clematis bracteata (Travellers Joy) - beautifully scented dainty white flowers make this an ideal creeper — *Clematis bracteata* (Travellers Joy) - beautifully scented dainty white flowers make this an ideal creeper

I hope that you will also be inspired by these beautiful plants and experiment with indigenous plants in your garden!

Random Harvest Details:

For directions please go to our website www.randomharvest.co.za : or call 082-553-0598

Hours of business 8:00 to 17:00 Monday to Sundays

I highly recommend subscribing to Random Harvest Newsletter on their website

The Cavern hosts a variety of activities on its events calendar throughout the year including: bird weekends, yoga retreats, photography workshops and mountain bike races amoungst others. I joined the course called ‘Sketching and journaling – creating a nature journal’ hosted by two well-known figures in the botanical field: Elsa Pooley and Gillian Condy.

The course was run from Wednesday 1 March – Sunday 5 March 2017 and we were blessed with wonderful weather over this time. A few late afternoon showers were well timed as this was when we were indoors drawing in the studio.

View of the Hotel from a vantage point on a morning hike

If you have ever been to The Cavern you will already be well aware of its reputation to fill your belly with the most wonderful and delicious meals as well as provide a relaxing atmosphere that makes you feel as if you have entered into a beautiful warm bubble where all you can think is “Life is Good”.

Always fun choosing what to have for dinner from the menu!

Our programme roughly involved breakfast at 8am followed by a morning hike into the beautiful surroundings where we would stop to draw whatever caught our eye (a dam, a tree, the bridge, moss, flowers, a bubbling stream) and then tea was brought to us at our location in the bush. We would head back to camp for lunch and then in the afternoon spend time in the studio drawing the plants we brought back with us from the morning walk. Some people drew flowers, others fungi, leaves, insects or seeds.

Elsa Pooley has the most incredible plant knowledge (which comes from her love of the area and having written several books on the subject) but it is her passion for plants that is completely contagious. She generously shares her knowledge of each plant we stop to admire, points out its special features and patiently answers all our questions (most often, “How do you spell that again?”)

Heading out for the morning walk and drawing session in the forest

While Elsa is the person to go to for any plant question Gill Condy is a trained botanical artist and gives tips and direction on how to improve your drawing skills. Both ladies are talented at water colour painting and it was a treat to learn some tips on how to use this medium for the first time.

Our nature journals were all very different and we had the freedom to make them into whatever we liked. It was interesting to see how each person took a slightly different angle and approach to the same subject and how everyone was drawn to different plant types.

We arrived on Wednesday afternoon not quite sure what to expect, and left on Sunday feeling inspired and rejuvenated. The fresh air combined with soul-inspiring walks through unspoilt nature, not to mention being fed and pampered (some even went for massages at the onsite Spa) made for a most amazing and memorable trip. Thanks to everyone for making it so special!

Inspired by South African Indigenous Flora

The Cavern - Nature Journaling Course