Lilies of the African landscape

Our resident environmentalist, PHILIP VAN DEN BERG (U34), writes: Aloes are often spoken of as lilies of the African landscape. They vary in size from minute dwarf-like plants to huge trees.  Believe it or not, there are examples of all these shapes of aloes growing in our village. A few of those appear in the photographs below. They display flashes of colour; some of them in reds, others in oranges and yellows, a few of them pastel pale, but most of them bright and intense.

In their various forms, shapes and sizes, aloes are a distinctive feature of the many different landscapes, contributing to the wealth of the floral kingdom of the southern tip of Africa.

Being hardy and drought-resistant plants, aloes are ideal garden plants for a dry and hot place such as Bela-Bela. They do, however, need well-drained soil, enough sunlight, sufficient food and some attention as a thriving, vigorous plant will be less prone to pests and diseases. White scale is a common pest in our village but can be treated by modern aerosol contact insecticides, systemic insecticides or simply by spraying the plants with a mixture of washing powder, alcohol and water.

Another serious disease is aloe cancer. Do not try to treat this – simply remove the plants.

We welcome Jenny Olivier to our village

Jenny Olivier

Jenny Olivier (U47) was born in Lusaka, Zambia, 67 years ago. She and her family later moved to Gauteng via Tanzania, Kenia and Durban.

After matriculating in 1969 at The Hill High School, Johannesburg, she became a clerk in a commercial bank. When the time came to retire, she had been the Personal Assistant to the General Manager of Victor Industrial Equipment in Boksburg for 25 years.

Jenny subsequently went to the United Kingdom where she obtained a formal qualification as a Professional Caregiver. She looked after various elderly people in England and Scotland for two years before returning to South Africa.

She considered several retirement villages before deciding to lease Unit 47 in our village because it meets all her requirements, including her need for security. Bela-Bela is also close to Polokwane where one of her two daughters lives and within easy reach of O R Tambo International Airport in order to catch a two-hour flight to Cape Town where her other daughter resides. She has five grandchildren.