Clivias in Bloom at Random Harvest Indigenous Nursery

by | Sep 13, 2024 | Johannesburg, Johannesburg Day Trips, Lodging, Markets/Shopping | 12 comments

A few days ago, during a fit of low motivation, I asked my Instagram followers to suggest potential topics for Joburg-related blog posts. Thank you again to everyone who submitted suggestions — you made my week! I received more than 30 viable ideas and found it hard to decide which one to pursue first. I finally decided on Random Harvest, and indigenous nursery north of Joburg, because two different people suggested it and spring is a great time to blog about a nursery.

Clivias in bloom at Random Harvest
Clivias bloom in September at Random Harvest Indigenous Nursery.

Random Harvest is a Joburg institution and it’s weird that I hadn’t blogged about it until now. Perhaps it’s because traveling there requires some commitment. From central Joburg, the nursery is a 30-minute trek up Beyers Naudé Drive, which is hot, dusty (especially at this time of year), congested at all times, and has a ton of perpetually broken traffic lights. I pulled into Random Harvest’s parking area feeling tired and irritable. But the moment I stepped into the nursery — enveloped by birdsong, buzzing bees, cooling mist from the sprinklers, and the soothing sound of water trickling through the fish ponds — my irritability vanished.

At Random Harvest
Inside the nursery, which has shady restaurant tables scattered among the indigenous plants and trees.

A Morning at Random Harvest

Random Harvest, like many nurseries in South Africa, is actually a lot more than a nursery. It’s a full-on farm, with acres of indigenous trees, flowers, and other plants, as well as a restaurant, shop, and even a guesthouse (although I didn’t see the guest rooms yesterday). I didn’t go there with any specific plans — I just wandered about, taking the occasional photo and breathing as much cool tranquility into my thirsty lungs as possible.

Fun garden ornament
I saw lots of clever landscaping and quirky garden ornaments.
Guinea fowl statue
No swimming sign at the nursery
This sign made me chuckle.
Birdfeeders
Love these beaded birdfeeders.
Baobab type tree at Random Harvest
I saw a bunch of these trees that looked like small baobabs — does anyone know if that’s what they are?
Aloe in bloom
Aloe season is mostly over but I did catch a few late bloomers.
Honey bee butt
A cute honey bee butt.

My favorite part of Random Harvest was the grounds outside the main nursery area, which felt sort of private but I didn’t see any signs telling me not to walk there so I went ahead. I found huge beds of clivias, an indigenous flowering plant that blooms prolifically in Joburg at this time of year. (I would say clivias are to South Africa what daffodils are to the northeastern U.S. — a classic symbol of spring.)

Clivias in bloom
I loved this jungly section of the grounds.
Yellow clivias
Yellow clivias are less common than orange ones.
Farm road at Random Harvest
A pretty farm road at Random Harvest.
White coral tree
It’s hard to see in the picture but I believe this is a coral tree (lucky bean tree) with white flowers — something I’d never seen before.

Lunch at Random Harvest

I sat down for lunch after my stroll. Random Harvest has a really lovely breakfast and lunch menu: Like literally, the menu itself is dazzling. I noticed they also offer afternoon tea, which I’d love to go back for.

Pretty menu at Random Harvest
So pretty! I love how the art on the menu matches the art on the table.

I had a chicken mayo sandwich on seed bread and it was delicious — R80 ($4.50) for a filling sandwich and side salad.

Lunch
I loved the curry flavor in the chicken mayo. (“Chicken mayo” is the equivalent of chicken salad in America.)

I finished my lunch, bought a new flower pot and some bird-feeders, then reluctantly left Random Harvest and plunged back out onto Beyers Naudé. This outing was perfect — thanks to the two people who recommended it.

Random Harvest is on College Road in Muldersdrift. They have a fantastic newsletter with all kinds of fun stories and announcements about gardening classes, birding walks, etc. I picked up a hard copy at the shop but the newsletter also appears online.

12 Comments

  1. Momo Street

    Apparently that plant is the cyphostemma juttae (Namibian grape). I’m not an expert…I tried Google Lens and it seemed to work.

    Reply
    • 2summers

      Oh wow I love the sound of that!

      Reply
  2. dizzylexa

    Sounds like the perfect inspiration you needed. I love strolling around nurseries, it’s a bit like a good meditation session.

    Reply
    • 2summers

      That’s very accurate actually.

      Reply
  3. Maarten

    You could have safed yourself a lot of stress by visiting my garden where we have a lot of Clivias and other indigenous plants blooming at the moment. This nursery is almost an addiction as we love gardening and birds. The gardeners are more then helpful to show you around and give proper advise and after we where allowed also to visit their planting and seedlings area we even got more addicted.

    Reply
    • 2summers

      I can see how it could become very addictive!

      Reply
  4. Albert

    Ah, mystery solved!! :-). A good friend in Pretoria has recommended it to me years ago but alas I have not gone there yet. All the more reason to head there soon.

    Reply
    • 2summers

      Yes and it might be closer for you!

      Reply
  5. Leigh Colombick

    Random Harvest is a family favourite spot to both visit and stay at in their guest houses, which are reasonably priced and some really lovely. They also have a beautiful small dam area where you can walk to and sit and observe the many birds. They keep some dairy cows on the property, and the milk, cream and butter at the restaurant all comes from these cows. Not something I advocate as a vegan 😉 but very nice I guess for people who are not.

    Reply
    • 2summers

      Oh I didn’t know that about the cows! Cool.

      Reply
  6. Marco Brown

    Seems like an awesome “hidden” gem! Will pay it a visit soon, thanks for the blog.

    Reply
    • 2summers

      It’s definitely a bit hidden and also a gem!

      Reply

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