THE GARDEN OF MARGOT McNEIL

Margot McNeil lives on a farm to the west of Trichardtsdal in the central Lowveld. It is at the base of the northern Drakensberg. Her home is uniquely situated with the escarpment rising precipitously for some hundreds of feet behind the farmstead which is part of the Legalameetse Nature Reserve. This is the Pedi word meaning ‘water and ashes'. It describes the hot dry Lowveld on the one hand and the moist temperate grasslands of the Highveld on the other. Water is abundant on Margot's farm, with the confluence of a number of perennial streams in her garden. The hillsides are steep, and are clothed in large indigenous trees, which provide dappled shade for the clivias which she and her late husband planted.

As described in a Clivia Society Newsletter (Vol. 4, No. 1, January 1995, page 1), clivias came to this area from the Gladys Blackbeard collection in Grahamstown when Gordon McNeil, Margot's late husband, acquired hundreds of Clivia miniata and trucked them from the Eastern Cape to his farm at Cyprus. He set about terracing the hillsides above the house where small rock fragments are abundant and planted out acres of clivia beneath the large indigenous trees. Gordon passed away some years ago and Margot has extended his work and embarked upon a careful breeding programme which has produced some remarkable cultivars. Not only do clivias still flower in profusion on the terraces, but Margot has developed a beautifully landscaped clivia garden in a more natural setting in the valley below the terraces. These are well worth seeing and a visit to Legalameetse is a most rewarding experience for the enthusiast.

People planning to visit Margot's clivias at Legalameetse could well embrace much of the beauty of the north-eastern region at the same time. For example Cheerio Farm at Haenertsburg is a riot of colour in late September and early October with one of the best Azalea and Cherry blossom displays in the country. Nearby in the indigenous forests of the Magoebaskloof area Clivia caulescens abound which flower later in October and November. Not far away at Tzaneen are some well known Azalea and general nurseries, while the subtropical vegetation below the escarpment in the Tzaneen area is worth a visit, especially if the Spring rains make an early appearance. The Modjadji Nature Reserve, home of the celebrated Rain Queen is not far away. The area is dotted with caravan parks and camping grounds, B & B's and selfcatering cottages, and some of the country's best hotels like the Magoebaskloof Hotel and the Coach House with its lovely views into the Letsitele Valley.

(Original article by Meg Hart published in Clivia Society Newsletter: 2002, number 2)