About Us #

My sister and I grew up in a garden. We played our days away, not with toys, but with daisy-dolls dressed in petunias, snapdragons and nasturtiums. Our homes were between leafy, colourful beds of roses and bluets.

We had the freedom to eat from the garden and our friends were astonished when we offered them spekboom leaves as food. We had the freedom to pick flowers to our hearts’ content, and we often carried bucketsful for our mother’s artful arrangements.

Some people get hysterical about bees, but we were never afraid of bees or even snakes, because our parents respected animals and nature. What a privilege that my love for plants, birds and nature could put down its roots by them!

As a married woman, I’ve also had the privilege of a beautiful garden where my children could grow up. My dream was always to have a nursery, and this dream came true in an old livestock kraal on our farmstead.

Sun’s golden rays
Undeserved grace
The singing of birds
Heaven’s serenade
When I’m in a garden, God is near –
And with that, I’ll say, “My home is here.”

The Story of Kruiekraal #

The dream of an own nursery, focused especially on herbs, unexpectedly became true in 2020 after a whopping 45 years’ wait. As a direct consequence of Covid’s impact and a nethouse team that was looking for work, the nethouse was assembled in record time. The auction-kraal next to it became a venue overnight, and so Kruiekraal was born!

Garden of Hope #

At the beginning of 2022, Kruiekraal nursery was getting filled with plants. Because I always enjoyed cooking with herbs and making fresh herb salads, I started thinking more and more about workshops that would advance the use of herbs in the kitchen. Thanks to the enthusiastic encouragement of steadfast friends, our first workshop was in October 2022.

In light of that, a request was made on behalf of a “small group” of cancer patients. The group turned out to be more than 50 people. I met so many people who yearned to know more and shared the passion for herbs. Outstanding was the blissful, peaceful atmosphere when Kruiekraal was filled by the aroma of heaps of fresh, chopped herbs. And so the idea of a Garden of Hope was born.

Several new friends asked: What about gardens at hospices, preschools, high schools, hospitals, clinics and orphanages? Why don’t they work out? Why are so many community gardens planted with enthusiasm, only to wilt away? With the planning of the first “Garden of Hope”-workshop, I fully realized why there were countless examples of failed community gardens worldwide.

The only way I saw that they could succeed, was if passionate people from all the layers of society united and, out of their love and gratitude for what the plant-kingdom meant to them, developed a reliable model. Such a model would have to be put together in collaboration with our treasured range of botanical “giants” in SA – like Ben-Erik van Wyk and Margaret Roberts.

For more than 50 years, I’ve walked the path with these two and many others. Next to my Bible on the table, these supplementary “bibles” can often be found. The knowledge in them is indeed breathtaking. We try to live out this knowledge at Kruiekraal, and this will be elaborated upon extensively in our section where everything we do is described.

Regarding our “Garden of Hope”, the progress since 2023 was the prioritization of planting our own garden. We planted it at the end of 2024, on an open plot of earth without any vegetation, surrounded by the spacious home of rabbits – also the white Saanen goats’ grazing and sleeping area. Of course, the garden is properly fenced, because the neighbouring animals are fervent herb-lovers!

What an adventurous journey! The peace that the garden brings the team is infectious, but the reality is also that we need to take the garden through four seasons to develop the ideal model. And then we’d only have the model for the Mooketsi-environment. We have, however, already made more holistic discoveries, which we’re convinced will work.

Important steps for success: A Holistic approach and joining hands #

1. Start young. This is my personal passion and vision for “GOH”. My experience is that, once small children start to walk, they must be exposed to such a garden daily. Daily activities must be established revolving around the garden and they must become part of the rhythm of the season. Most important is the knowledge and application of this, which needs to be conveyed. This way they are trained to be little guides.

2. The flame of caring must be ignited. In this kind of project, you don’t merely need a model that will work. The collaborators’ own conviction to keep such a garden alive, must be developed during this year – along with the sharing of knowledge. After the year the garden remains part of a network of interaction with other GOHs.

3. Keep the garden alive throughout all the seasons. Because gardens experience seasons and thus have periods of great and not-so-great aesthetic appeal, efforts must also continue during the “dead” seasons. Create shelter and protection in the cold, wet winter gardens, and provide troughs of food and water for animals and birds – especially in regions with very warm and dry climates.

4. Art and culture. Display art that remains beautiful in all the seasons and gives structure when greenness is lacking. Also, arrange for presentations and adventurous outings.