Indigenous Plant Fair calls gardening gurus to Drummond

THE Drummond Indigenous Plant Fair is back for the tenth time, with the theme of Fifty shades of indigenous grey – naughty but nice.

What will be on offer to guests?

Eleven growers contribute their plants to the annual event, and hundreds of gardening enthusiasts visit every year to admire and purchase the plants on sale or drink free tea and coffee under the trees. Local home industries supply delicious edible items, which are homemade or home-grown, and breakfast and lunch are available for hungrier guests.

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For the first time, the plant fair will offer an indoor plant range that is not exclusively indigenous, and herbs, citrus trees and vegetable seedlings will also be available.

All profits raised from the plant fair go back into conservation in the Drummond area.

What is special about Drummond?

The suburb is a well-kept secret. It is tucked below the foothills of Alverstone and Botha’s Hill and is known as the Comrades halfway mark. Drummond has many smallholdings of mixed-use, including farming and horse stabling. The community has fought to maintain the rural charm of Drummond, including the dirt roads and absence of street lights. The Drummond Conservancy has been involved in Drummond for over 16 years, with a dedicated, involved committee at the heart of many projects. The organisation is fortunate to have an annual sponsorship from SA Natural Products (SANP) whose head office is in Drummond. A dedicated team is responsible for alien plant eradication on the major roads in Drummond, and the team undertakes a bi-monthly litter collection, with SANP also sending out their own team weekly. Illegal dumping is an ever-present threat, and this is monitored closely and eradicated promptly to stop further dumping.

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Drummond has a grassland biome, a biome which is quickly disappearing in South Africa due to development. Grasslands attract seed-eating birds that in turn draw in raptors, resulting in a large, healthy raptor population within the suburb. The semi-urban ecosystem is a thriving environment for the small antelope and myriads of insects living in it.

The Sterkspruit River runs through Drummond which does allow some wetland habitat, but clearing the alien vegetation turned out to be a six-year project for the conservancy. Once the major alien trees were removed, the Drummond Conservancy embarked on replanting indigenous trees on the surrounding slopes.

Date: Saturday, August 27
Time: 09:00 to 14:00
Place: 3 Duiker Drive, Drummond
Cost: Free entrance
Information: 082 354 9484