Clivias in Bloom at Random Harvest Indigenous Nursery

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.

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.

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.

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.)

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.

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

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.