“People often comb the beach, collecting shells as they walk along. Though Gansbaai's coast boasts no really exotic shells, the sea still regularly spews out some beautiful specimens.

What people don’t realize is, that when treated with an abrasive agent, the shell's ' true beauty' is revealed, since shells are often covered with a calcified crust. Oysters, especially, reveal surprising colors and a beautiful golden sheen,” said Nelmarie White from De Kelders. “Most often we don’t know what to do with our quarry and they end-up in a box and are stashed away until the next spring clean, after decluttering shells eventually end-up in the bin or are taken back to the beach.” She, however, started making garden pots, embellished with shells and any debris she can collect from the beach and makes sure not to remove living creatures or anything from the sea itself. For the outer casing of the pot, she uses clean sea sand which gets white-washed and ends-up as a very robust outer shell.

“My pots can be kept indoors or outdoors, though care should be taken to leave them under roof during a heavy downpour, considering they're made of white cement. Sand works better than soil - so these pots are ideal for succulents,” she said. Nelmarie also mentioned that the cement is porous, but at some point, when they've reached a certain level of saturation, the outer casing can become dirty, but a bit of jik, applied with a wet rag, will leave them looking clean again.

“You are welcome to come and have a look at 74 Main Road, De Kelders, or phone me at 079-995-1926.”

Hardus Botha

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