Three Fountains Private Nature Reserve

Three Fountains Private Nature Reserve There is only 4% of it left and part of what we are doing on the farm is to strengthen and protect the fynbos we already have and to re-introduce lost species.

I'm creating a page for our farm to showcase the outstanding natural beauty of this area and to help inform about Renosterveld - a type of fynbos of the Cape Floristic Region. We are one of the tiny pockets of land in the area which has never been used for farming - a rarity near the Swartland. In time we hope to eradicate the aliens and create a haven for Renosterveld so that people can visit our farm and enjoy this incredible fynbos.

Some pics from walks in the reserve the last few days 🥰
14/09/2024

Some pics from walks in the reserve the last few days 🥰

Euphorbia caput-medusae in full flower 😍
14/09/2024

Euphorbia caput-medusae in full flower 😍

2 little Lachenalia bulbifera popping up in our reserve 😍 I haven’t seen a sign of them since the first fire we had 5+ y...
31/07/2024

2 little Lachenalia bulbifera popping up in our reserve 😍 I haven’t seen a sign of them since the first fire we had 5+ years ago, so this is very exciting!

It’s been a really long time since I posted to this page - mainly because it’s so depressing to see what our precious fy...
23/05/2024

It’s been a really long time since I posted to this page - mainly because it’s so depressing to see what our precious fynbos reserve looked like after the fire in January 2022. The first winter/spring after the fire was abysmal. Our very special Marasmodes fasciculata population was wiped out in the fire. There were hardly any bulbs to be seen.
What a difference a year makes! On the 26th of May 2023, I went for a walk in our reserve and to my astonishment, I found that our Marasmodes had started regrowing! Some even flowered. I literally sat down and had a little cry. I never thought I’d see them again.
In the last year they have multiplied steadily and we now have a very healthy population again 😃 The very (very) wet winter/spring 2023 was a super special one for the reserve as bulbs started to bounce back. I’ll save those photos for my next post.
Photo 1: my first sighting of our Marasmodes in 2023.
All other photos taken this week 😍 They may not look like much, but to me this is a triumph of conservation & validates the blood, sweat & tears that have gone into protecting this special little fynbos reserve.

This is a heartbreaking post to make, but this past Saturday, an Eskom fuse fused & dropped to the ground on the hottest...
27/01/2022

This is a heartbreaking post to make, but this past Saturday, an Eskom fuse fused & dropped to the ground on the hottest day of the year & a veld fire started on a neighbouring farm, fueled by a howling South Easter. Our 20 hectare nature reserve was wiped out - but will hopefully bounce back over 2-3 years - my little succulent nursery burned down & the fire was stopped 3m from our home by a succulent firebreak slowing the fire, but mostly brave & determined community members & fire-fighters. We want to build a longer, stronger, denser succulent firebreak to our nature reserve & farm. If you can’t donate (I know times are beyond rough!) please consider sharing ❤️ Link below:

https://www.backabuddy.co.za/jodie-franco

Flowers from a walk in the reserve 🥰 including critically endangered Hermannia procumbens which I’ve never seen before!
24/09/2021

Flowers from a walk in the reserve 🥰 including critically endangered Hermannia procumbens which I’ve never seen before!

Gorgeous little parrot beak padloper found in our reserve today 😍
06/07/2021

Gorgeous little parrot beak padloper found in our reserve today 😍

Some bulbs & succulents in our reserve yesterday afternoon 😍
03/07/2021

Some bulbs & succulents in our reserve yesterday afternoon 😍

Some flowers from our reserve this afternoon
19/10/2020

Some flowers from our reserve this afternoon

Lachenalia contaminata 😍
08/10/2020

Lachenalia contaminata 😍

More flowers from our reserve 😊
18/09/2020

More flowers from our reserve 😊

Some beauties from the reserve yesterday afternoon
18/09/2020

Some beauties from the reserve yesterday afternoon

From my walk around the reserve this evening 😊
30/08/2020

From my walk around the reserve this evening 😊

Some beautiful from our reserve
26/08/2020

Some beautiful from our reserve

Where there was once 2 scraggly Marasmodes fasciculata shrubs...now the area is packed with them!
26/08/2020

Where there was once 2 scraggly Marasmodes fasciculata shrubs...now the area is packed with them!

Last weekend I took part in a Global challenge to upload photos of wildlife to the iNaturalist platform. When I was out ...
03/05/2020

Last weekend I took part in a Global challenge to upload photos of wildlife to the iNaturalist platform. When I was out there taking photos of everything in sight including spider nests & genet s**t, I finally had the chance to have a look at how our rare shrubs are doing. A few months ago, I went out into the reserve with Jacques Van Der Merwe & we found that the protected Marasmodes we have had started to multiply rapidly! It’s probably from a combination of factors: alien tree clearing; reintroduction of plants grown from cuttings of the parent plant; better rain season etc.

BUT: whatever the reason, I counted over 66 new plants grown without any human involvement just in the last 2 years or so. There doesn’t feel like there’s much to celebrate in the world right now, but I’m definitely celebrating this!

Oncosiphon africanum - Wild Chamomile / salt stinkweed in full flower 😍
05/10/2019

Oncosiphon africanum - Wild Chamomile / salt stinkweed in full flower 😍

Lachenalia contaminata coming out beautifully in the reserve 😍
23/09/2019

Lachenalia contaminata coming out beautifully in the reserve 😍

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Philadelphia Farms
Cape Town
7349

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Videos

Over the moon to see the taddies are doing well! There aren’t loads, but that’s better than none 😄👍🏼

A few months ago, we got 7 'kapok' chickens to add to our 4 older brooders. In October, we took on a rooster (Brewster) who needed a new home. The result? 6 baby chicks so far & plenty eggs to go! I had the privilege of seeing this yesterday morning:

The croak of a threatened Klipheuwel Dainty frog :)

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