A vision of a pristine indigenous landscape

Me and my team Vic Bay during lockdown
Juanita Wilmans and her team cleaning up an area near Victoria Bay during the Covid-19 pandemic.
by Tisha Steyn
Juanita Wilmans is a woman with a mission. She cannot walk past a weed without removing it.

A thoroughly cleared plot of aliens in Wilderness Heights.
Trevor Dearlove, who found the Wilderness National Park during the early 80s, says invasive alien plants, black wattle and Port Jackson, were a problem even back then. “I suppose we will have to accept that it will still be a problem for our great-great grandchildren!”
Not if Juanita has a say: She is fighting a never-ending battle against these unwanted plants.
“I regard every weed that I pull not as an endless war that I have no part in, but rather as an opportunity to make a difference.”
Juanita is a landscape designer who founded Juanita Knox Designs 36 years ago. She lives in Wilderness on the Garden Route, and her landscape designs show her passion for indigenous plants.
Juanita’s view on weeds

Members of the Touw River Conservancy lend a hand to clear alien vegetation.
Some people are daunted by the huge task of removing weeds. Not Juanita. “Sometimes looking at a weed-infested property, one feels so broken, like there’s nothing we can do. It just seems so overwhelming. But in everything I’ve done, I realised that just as it overwhelms us, every undesired plant that is removed makes an intrinsic difference to the ultimate landscape. Every weed that you pull out prevents another generation of weeds. Knowing that you are making such a massive difference encourages you to go on.”
She suggests using the weather in your favour. “Going out after the rain makes the work of removing weeds so much easier. Also, if you go out when the plants are still small, it is easier to remove them.”
It is also of vital importance to follow up.
“When you take the approach that if you are going to do this, and commit to it, you’ll do what it takes. In that way the commitment has lasting value for all involved.”

Neglected areas in the neighbourhood were thoroughly cleaned up.
Her philosophy is that humans need to know that what they are doing has value. “In some cultures, acceptance is the only way to peace. My way to find peace is to make the change that I can, knowing that everything I do each day is ultimately making a difference.”
Ex-Rhodesian
Juanita was born in Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe. She came to South Africa in 1981. “I was one of the children of the migrant families who came here with R1 000; five of us in a caravan and we had to make it work.”
She has always been a hard worker. “As a child, my mother used to give me pocket money for pulling out piles of weeds, and I think that is where the passion started.”

During her stay in Johannesburg, Juanita Wilmans cleaned up the neighbourhood in Linbro Park.
She developed a career as a landscaper from 1987. “I had to learn about plants and the study of Alien Invasive Plants was part of that, only in those days they weren’t called AIP’s. I have always been passionate about doing things right. Removing the weeds and making a difference has always been part of my landscaping process.”
Linbro Park
While living in Johannesburg from 2006 to 2019, she used to clear the weeds in Linbro Park. “The weeds came up as the decay of the city enveloped the neglected plots. I used to call it the ‘place where weeds grow’.”
Being a keen horse rider and cyclist, on her trails she observes the sites overgrown with weeds. “Once I have seen the weeds, it creates a need in my body to go to remove it. It is almost unbelievable – I must go and deal with them.” While out she forms listsin her head as she plans how to return and remove them.

Cleaning up unsightly overgrown plots can uplift an otherwise derelict area.
In Linbro Park, she would go out with her landscape team, or even homeless people who needed a temporary job, to remove the AIP’s. “It has always been a passion of mine to do something good for nature.
“I have been involved with SALI (South African Landscape Institution) as a member since 1992, then nine years on the committee and as the chairperson in 2003/2004, where the members of SALI and SANA (South African Nursery Association) were co-opted by National Department of Agriculture to help develop an alien invasive list.” The list formed part of the initial CARA (Conservation of African Resources Act no 43 of 1983) legislation which was overwritten by NEMA (National Environmental Management Act 107/1998). This was in conjunction with Working for Water and Environmental affairs.

Juanita Wilmans makes use of any pair of hands available to do the job, in this instance unemployed persons.
“All the information is out there, but few people seem to care about removing these invasive aliens,” she says.
Wilderness
In 2004, she bought land in Wilderness. “I fell in love with the pristine indigenous landscapes here and made it my next big mission to clear the whole Touw River Valley”. To do so, she had to get involved with the Touw River Conservancy, as she needed more than her own two hands to get the job done.
“We achieved massive success, but unfortunately, I had to learn that people have their own opinions on weeds. It is a big challenge to encourage people to feel as passionate as me to solve the problem …”

A member of Juanita’s team cleans up pampas grass, which is still being planted in gardens despite being a declared weed.
She has worked with landowners, people on the street, ratepayers’ associations – anybody who was willing to roll up their sleeves and do something. She has also been involved in alien awareness campaigns. “I like to educate people and share my knowledge and knowhow with them.”
No challenge is too big. Whether making use of her regular landscaping team or any number of unskilled people in the area, she tackles any plot that needs clearing with basic gardening tools.
“We do not know what the future holds, but will strive to make a small difference every day. Happy weeding!”
For more information, contact Juanita Wilmans at 081-049-0820 or send an e-mail to Admin@juanitaknoxdesigns.co.za
Juanita created a wonderful garden for me at a very fair and reasonable cost from an absolute disaster and completely neglected site.
I am so Privileged to have worked for a Master Landscaper ,Juanita .all those years ago in Johannesburg