Hidden TREASURE

On a recent visit to the diverse province of Mpumalanga, we stumbled into a magical garden, hidden between the clouds.

- Izola van der Merwe

The Panorama route in Mpumalanga forms part of the Blyde River Canyon, the third largest canyon in the world, well-known for its vistas extending over the Lowveld. With dramatic views from the well-known ‘God’s Window’, the area has abundant waterfalls, plants and trees.

At the heart of this tourism region, lies the little town of Graskop, (‘grassy hillock’) at an elevation of 1400m above sea-level. This mountaintop boasts precipitations of 1200mm on average annually, which means lush indigenous forests and diverse grassland plains. This is where we met Gustav Peach, hands filled with kokedama, at his Westlodge Guesthouse.

To understand a garden, you must know the history of the person that created it. Born in the Free State to a bank managerfather and a mother who was a keen gardener, there is no wonder that Gustav followed in his father’s footsteps.

Banking and the intrinsic love of plants and nature by his mother, became part of his life. His gran on his father’s side was an avid veggie gardener and he recalls shelling peas and cutting up beans while eating yellow peaches, with his Granny Peach in the kitchen or sitting in her ‘voorhuis’ filled with indoor plants, at a young age in Fouriesburg.

Being in the banking sector, not much time was afforded to garden, and after 24 years of relocating to numerous towns in South Africa, Gustav found himself in Graskop, where he could finally settle and garden to his hearts content. He started collecting and breeding clivias, and with the help of specialist clivia friends in the Lowveld, his collection grew. As we know with many types of gardeners, the allure of collecting a specific species can become overwhelming and Gustav made the decision to scale down his collection.