YELLOWWOOD Park resident Sari Bekker has spent the past six decades pouring her heart, hands and countless hours into her garden. The 79-year-old transformed what was just a patch of sand into a flourishing oasis.

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The decades of tending to her garden has led to Bekker being the recipient of this month’s Yellowwood Park and Woodhaven Ratepayers’ and Residents’ Association garden competition award.

A challenge from the start

When Bekker moved into her property, she had little to work with as it was just filled with sand. 

“To build the property they had to excavate the land,” she said.

From this blank canvas, Bekker planted every blade of grass to the giant trees and flourishing flowers. 

“Every single thing that you see on this property has been planted with my bare two hands,” she said.

A natural instinct 

Her green fingers extend beyond simply planting. Bekker developed a natural ability to propagate plants.

“I have this natural instinct where I can know whether something is going to grow by slip or whether I must graft it or whether I must air layer,” she said. 

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While picking her favourite section of the garden is nearly impossible for Bekker, she holds a special place for her dragon fruit plant, which she proudly shared produced seven dragon fruits this past season. 

Originating from Thailand, the dragon fruit plant presented Bekker with two particular challenges. The flower would only open at night and would close by the morning and the plant is pollinated by bats, which are uncommon to Bekker’s house. 

Never backing down from the challenge, Bekker took matters into her own hands and manually pollinated the plants.

“I would have to use a fine brush every night to transfer the pollen from the anthers to the sticky stigma and manually pollinate it,” said Bekker. 

All for the enjoyment 

While it seems like extra effort, for Bekker it was all part of the joy of gardening.

The enjoyment for me is watching something grow,” she said.

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After almost six decades of bending, planting, pruning and nurturing, Bekker admits her body is beginning to feel the effects of the physical work. Yet despite the aches and pains, her love for her garden spurs her on.

“This is my pleasure, sitting on my veranda and looking at everything here. Different times of the year give you different beauties,” she said.

Reviving the competition

Ayanda Ndlela, environmental officer for the ratepayers’ association, said the initiative was revived to encourage community pride and motivate residents to improve their gardens and the verges outside their homes.

For Bekker, the award is a recognition of the time spent doing what she loves. 

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