Spirits of old times continue to influence the lives and believe of a large part of the population. Ghosts of forefathers are still dwelling around and a whirlwind is widely seen as two fighting ghosts. A 'tokkelossie' (Afrikaans) or 'uthekulosi' (Xhosa) is, with a few exceptions, experienced as an evil alter ego.
These and other artifacts of the early days of mankind seem to have an eternal life.

But what is the connection between this 'spiritual history in a nutshell' and Soekershof?
Just a thin line.

Unlike spirits or ghosts we do not have an eternal life although we are curious about the developments in times to come.
The making of a landscape takes many decades or even millennia. Trees and plants have to grow. Some of them at Soekershof, such as the Buddha tree (Ficus religiosa) and the South African Baobab (Adansonia digitata), need a few thousand years to 'age into wisdom' while some other plants are short-lived and will be replaced within a few decades.
A landscape or a garden is a living entity that has to evolve in time. We are very much aware that we will not survive Soekershof but can only hope that our spirits and our passion for life will continue to be in this wonderful and imaginative environment.

The original founders of Soekershof, Maarten Malherbe (whose friendly ghost is still wandering around) and his wife Molly (whose ghost is still searching for him) created a magnificent succulent garden in the sixties of the twentieth century. Twenty-four years after Malherbes' dead in 1976 (the whole farm was neglected since then) we sensed their love for plants and started to fulfill theirs and our dreams.