A-LISTERS | Clivias and celebs spring up in Hyde Park

Does he have green fingers, I wonder, when I spot Mohale Motaung on Tuesday evening standing near a display of familiar evergreen perennials with bright clusters of flowers in shades of orange and yellow.

“No, I don’t,” says the influencer and media personality, putting up his hands.

Pointing to the rows of clivias in full bloom, I cannot resist the opportunity to share a pertinent fact with the man whose entanglement with Somizi Mhlongo reads like a Mexican telenovela.

“You know, they say anyone can grow them. And, in fact, they might be something that could last … longer than your longest relationship.”

We were at what has of late become my home from home, Johannesburg’s Hyde Park Corner shopping centre, this time for Babylonstoren in Bloom, a celebration of the incoming spring season put on in conjunction with the fabled Franschhoek farm.

Andre Swart of Vleikop Nursery and Mohale Motaung at the opening of Babylonstoren in Bloom. Picture: (MASI LOSI) While it would have been nice to reacquaint with billionaire businessman Koos Bekker and his oh-so-stylish wife, Karen Roos, I hear the couple spend a fair chunk of their time these days at The Newt in England, a property that follows the Babylonstoren model of farm meets hotel and which it is said Koos purchased with the proceeds of his Naspers shares.

Instead, I am greeted by Tandi Oosthuizen, who is responsible for ensuring that the farm’s delicious goodies don’t take long to get to us Gauteng online shoppers (they have a distribution hub in Joburg).

I also meet a man who can teach Mohale a thing or two about growing clivias, Andre Swart of Vleikop Nursery, who is a master breeder of the distinctively South African plant.

Andre is a trailblazer at cultivating double clivias, which feature multiple rows of petals — with one on display (named what else but “Hyde Park”) fetching a cool R20,000.

Actress Gina Koffman at the opening of Babylonstoren In Bloom. Picture: (MASI LOSI) “This is the Grok of the clivia world. Clivia genetics, clivia technology,” explains the convivial farmer, wondering out loud whether the centre has sufficient security to protect his precious plants from itchy fingers (it is said that the Chinese, in particular, hold the home-grown variety in high regard as a symbol of virtue, nobility and wealth).

Up comes someone who always makes me smile, Elana Afrika, the broadcaster and award-winning podcaster, thrilled to send a petal pic to her father-in-law, Brian Bredenkamp, who regularly sends her updates on the clivias blooming in his garden.

Pretty as a posy is Peta Eggierth-Symes (in yellow with a matching flower in her hair) with her chum Yolanda Kloppers, and then on to a feisty investigative TV journo who is only marginally taller than the plant, Devi Sankaree Govender, who came along with hubby Perumal Moodley.

We hear from Hyde Park Corner’s GM Tevye Block and Tandi while guests meander through a replica of the farm’s Puff Adder walkway to peruse Babylonstoren wares. And a treat was a harvest table groaning with artisanal breads, cheeses, nuts and cured meats sourced from the renowned estate.

TV presenter Devi Sankaree Govender and husband Perumal Moodley at Babylonstoren In Bloom at Hyde Park Corner. Picture: (MASI LOSI) As a professional grazer, I would have happily picked at the table with gusto, but a very rare gastronomic delight lay ahead down the road in Greenside, where Andrea Burgener and Nick Gordon were putting on a sensory sensation, equal parts umami and comfort, to complement the most delicious bubbles from Krone, the handcrafted vintage-only Cap Classique sparkling wine.

Now, any foodie worth their salt will tell you that to have dined at any of Andrea’s famed restaurants (Superbonbon and Deluxe) is like a trip down a culinary yellow brick road, but alas, now all we can settle for are the delightful morsels and ready-prepared meals from her and Nick’s The Leopard kitchen.

Well, siblings Svend and Abigail Rands from the Tulbagh estate have convinced the duo to put on their chef’s hats again for a very special Krone Chefs in Residence II: The Leopard Pop Ups, which will take place as three lunches over three days in November.

I was part of a very exclusive club that got a preview of what you can expect.

First, our senses were snapped wide awake thanks to an unusual pairing of spicy starters (seared sirloin with Ethiopian tartare dressing and a patha roll of avo in roti) with Krone’s semi-sweet Night Nectar Blanc de Blancs on arrival.

Radio and TV broadcaster Nothemba Madumo and Leigh Roux, co-owner of Pablo House in Melville, during a private dinner at QLounge in Rosebank. Picture: (MASI LOSI) We sat down at a table specially laid out in The Leopard’s deli for the courses that ensued: free-range pork rillettes with Leopard’s signature bread and butter pickle, which we scooped up with olive oil crackers, followed by a succulent lamb bredie served with garlic bread, which arrived wrapped in parchment paper.

Finally, to end it all, wedges of goat cheese served with wafer-thin slices of Granny Smith apples on one platter and dates with labneh, honey, olive oil and a dash of salt on the other. All cleverly complemented with tipples like the wine estate’s deliciously dry Amphora and Krone’s RD (which esteemed British wine journo Tim Atkins praised in his 2026 report for its intense concentration, savoury character and “lingering bone-dry finish”).

I met Tim the next evening when he was the guest of honour at a private dinner hosted by Wayne Buckley-Koch of Quoin Rock and local wine expert Tsepang Molisana.

This was an exuberant affair held at the Stellenbosch wine estate’s QLounge in Oxford Parks in Rosebank.

Among those who turned up were jazz queen Nothemba Madumo and Leigh Roux of Melville landmark Pablo House.