Lesego breaks new ground
Professional scientist now a ‘gardener’ of repute
Lesego Seloane not only intimidates men with her savvy driving skills, but is also breaking new ground in the male-dominated gardening world.
Seloane giggled as she confessed: “I am a landscaper, but people call me a gardener and I don’t mind.”
Seloane, 27, a scientist by profession, hung up her lab coat after graduating in biochemistry and botany from the University of Johannesburg in 2014.
Frustrated with the isolation of laboratory work, Seloane said she kept asking herself why she chose the profession. “I knew I wanted to work with plants, but working with them on a microscopic level made me miserable and I felt the process to work with plants would take too long.
“[But] I was excited by discovering that South Africa has a whole plant kingdom ... this was in my final year,” she said.
To equip herself for her new career path, Seloane did a landscaping course in 2015. “I went to Lifestyle College in Randpark Ridge and studied there for 12 months ... I learned ecology, environmental studies, landscaping and design, horticulture, irrigation and construction basics.”
Seloane now owns a landscaping company Ronewa Creations with her aunt Dinah Kgeledi. They employ about 10 males when there’s work to do. “We hire the guys if we have a big project but otherwise we do it ourselves,” she said.
Seloane said she’s also learnt to check the house plan thoroughly and to always have emergency numbers like those of plumbers before doing a garden bed and putting in a lawn – in case they damage underground pipes.
Seloane, who is the eldest of five girls, described herself as a leader. “It is important to live right ... and being the eldest, you have to set an example.”
Like most females, she said she had to learn to be assertive. “I am normally a quiet person but sometimes the guys take us for granted, so I have to go back and explain how I want something done,” she said.
Her CV boasts largely – apart from household garden maintenance – construction of a boma, lapa, pool deck, a water pond and maintenance of large gardens, with the Thokoza Park in Soweto being one of her biggest projects.
Her dream is to offer permanent employment to her staff and open an educational institution on landscaping.