Glass house is well-travelled
Thanks to quick action by long-time volunteer Ken Gie and the generosity of Capetonian Colleen Gardner, the Garden Route Botanical Garden (GRBG) now boasts a new venue that is entirely made of glass. Visitors get the best of two worlds: they can feast their eyes on the beauty of nature while sitting cosily inside.
The story is almost like a fairy tale. Gie was on a private visit in Cape Town when he heard of a lady who wanted to get rid of the glass structure over her swimming pool. This was an opportunity he couldn't let pass and he asked her if the GRBG could have it. Gardner not only agreed, she also donated R6 000 towards its transport costs to George.
This story is told in a 2019 report on the GRBG by garden manager Finn Rautenbach. Gie oversaw the whole operation. With the help of Anco Aluminium the structure was removed and brought to George. It is worth about R100 000. "We saved a lot of money," said Rautenbach.
The foundation that had to be built in George for its reconstruction was funded with money raised at a golf day in October. The project was tackled in the last part of 2019 and took four weeks.
Rautenbach is very pleased with this "great asset for the GRBG".
According to Gie the project was a logistical challenge. Removing it was quick and easy, but reconstructing it was difficult.
Another special addition to the garden is a mosaic of the George Lily. This spectacular mosaic was made by Pieter Beukes, who volunteered to construct the mosaic after hours. Stiles generously provided the tiles for the project at a great discount. It was a challenging task and took about a month to complete. "Pieter did a fantastic job and we are grateful," Rautenbach said.