The gardens at De Kruis are a study in restoration. Unsurprisingly, the areas closest to the homestead were the ones most heavily grazed by sheep over many years, and despite their best efforts, the many builders and tradesmen who worked on restoring the homestead could not help but trample on delicate specimens. The objective of the restoration process, guided by Franchesca Watson, was to design and re-build gardens that merged into the distant veld.

The process began with the rehabilitation of the trapvloer – an area on the slope just to the west of the homestead thought to have been used for threshing and grinding wheat, which resulted in hard, compacted and seemingly barren soil. Work was then extended to the area surrounding the swimming pool, and more recently we are bringing life back to the degraded land around the dams and berms as well as further afield.  Here it is important to allow seeds to grow up naturally, without the generous but ultimately harmful effects of irrigation. You will find shale stones used as mulch, and thorn branches as soil and water traps.

The overarching principle has been to grow species that would occur naturally on the farm itself, and then more broadly in the Tankwa Karoo as well as the wider Karoo. Many plants were grown from seeds picked in the De Kruis veld, germinated under the loving care of Sue Milton-Dean and Bertus Fourie of Renu Karoo, and then transplanted back to their home. Of course, it is important not to be too rigid, and a small patch of lawn and some climbing roses never hurt anyone! The soil is rich, and with water to tide seedlings over the hot times (and sheeting to protect against frost and snow), the plants have grown quickly.