INLSA
Helen Terblanche, Co- ordinator of the Kloof conservancy garden show.Picture: Colleen Dardagan
Walking through the dappled sunlight in Helen Terblanche’s garden overlooking the Kloof Gorge Conservancy is akin to stepping into another world, a universe of peace and tranquillity where a gentle expression of creativity is given free rein.
Terblanche settles down with a glass of fresh fruit juice and tells the story of how she has co-ordinated the Kloof Conservanacy Indigenous Garden Show for the past 10 years – and how being diagnosed with ovarian cancer changed her attitude and her outlook on life.
“I remember being diagnosed just before the first show in 1998. I had the surgery and then lay on a couch in my friend’s home where the organisation was centred and directing things from there,” she recalls.
Cancer, says the quietly spoken blonde, was the best thing that happened to her.
“When you are faced with the fear of dying, I think the first question everyone asks is what is the meaning of life? First I went on a health thing and then I went on a spiritual journey.”
She rushes off to the bedroom to bring out a book entitled A Course in Miracles, by Helen Shucmann, which she said caused her to reassess her life, particularly as it was during this time she got divorced from her husband, John.
“I am a perfectionist… I blamed John for all sorts of things which were, in fact, my fault. Through studying the book, I began to realise that happiness is inside… I also realised I have to take 100 percent responsibility for myself,” she says.
And so began a journey that saw Terblanche look differently at life. “At that time, my garden was filled with every exotic plant you could think of. I love beautiful things and I love creating something soothing and peaceful. I was involved in alien eradication projects at that time… when you rehabilitate an area and create this beautiful, functioning natural environment where everything is in harmony and working together, there is nothing better.”
And so it was, when indigenous gardens were considered ugly with no colour, and there were very few nurseries supplying local plants or books to guide gardeners in the way of the natural garden, Terblanche and a handful of enthusiasts began to change the environment in their area.
“When we first started the plant show, the proceeds – which was R17 000 that year – went to the Krantzkloof Nature Reserve to assist the protection of that area. At that time the city had cut back on funding and the conservancy was struggling for funds to eradicate aliens and put in benches and things like that.
“The last show we raised R100 000 and that went to specific Kloof Conservancy projects, such as the restoration of the Memorial Park behind the Kloof High School. Members of the conservancy have taken what was just a stretch of bare grass and some exotics and rehabilitated the wetland. It is beautiful now, so many people are benefiting. To walk there and see the return of the birdlife, small animals and insects is so rewarding.”
Terblanche said the Msinsi reserve was another project that was being assisted with funding. “Ultimately, what we want are these small reserves and parks that create a corridor for birds and animals.”
As the swallows swoop in under the eaves of her home to roost, Terblanche tells of how a family of monitor lizards have taken up residence in her natural pool, returning each summer to lay their eggs and raise their youngsters.
“You see them on the lawn digging for crickets and grubs. What was lovely this year is some of the previous year’s babies returned as well. We also have a family of dusky flycatchers who nest in a coconut shell hanging from the tree outside – they have been coming there for years.”
