Bargain Nursery and Elvis Brew – An Oasis between George Airport and the N2
On the N2 near George.
BARGAIN NURSERY
[email protected]
PHONE: 062 340 4953
ELVIS BREW PADSTAL
[email protected].
PHONE: 061 548 5155
Bennie and Ernst are thrilled about having Elvis Brew on the premises because it attracts more customers. “Clients who come for plants, pop in at the coffee shop, and people who pop in for a quick coffee end up staying longer to view the nursery”.
My father arrived here with a head full of dreams…
There is an old saying “If you want to be happy for an hour – drink a bottle of wine. If you want to be happy for a year – get married. But if you want to be happy for the rest of your life – start a garden”
A place to start a lifetime of gardening is Bargain Nursery Bennie Niemand and Ernst Coetzee’s place on the R404 between the N2 and George Airport.
“We are what we say we are,” says Bennie, “bargains are what you’ll find here”. Most of his clients are from the area – but the area is pretty big stretching from Mossel Bay in the Southwest to Plettenberg Bay in the Northwest. A significant portion of his clients are holidaymakers taking the long road back inland after spending time at the coast as well as tourists on their way to the airport who can resist getting a bargain gift or memento. People who are tempted to do this should only do so if they have plenty of time before departure because there are many bargains to be had. “We are a house garden nursery,” says Bennie “We provide flowering plants, fruit trees, citrus trees, as well as flower and vegetable seedlings, of which we grow 95% on-site”. Benny says the triumvirate of Price. Quality and Variety guarantee a value-for-money basket of products. Then there are cement pots, decorative and functional ironwork, arches, and water features. “A lot of that we make ourselves,” says Bennie proudly.
The nursery is one of many ventures Bennie is involved in, but primarily he is a farmer. “We hail from the Great Karoo. We were sheep farmers, but in 1989 my father decided to cross the Outeniqua Mountains and so we established a vegetable farm here”, says Bennie. Apart from the nursery they also run the Good Food Farm Stall. “We are farm people AND foodies”. And that is all one needs to know.
Another reason to stop on the road from Herolds Bay to Oudtshoorn is Elvis Brew – the coffee shop founded by Elvis Blue, the 2010 Idols winner. Bennie and Ernst are thrilled about having Elvis Brew on the premises because it attracts more customers. “Clients who come for plants, pop in at the coffee shop, and people who pop in for a quick coffee end up staying longer to view the nursery”.
But they are even more thrilled about their partnership with Charge to erect an electric vehicle charging station at Bargain Nursery. “I don’t know much about EVs, but I realize it is going to be a big thing in the future. If solar power works for houses and businesses, it can work for cars too” he enthuses “I’m a vegetable farmer. I love the land and animals. But we don’t ever own the land we live and farm on. We are merely the custodians for future generations. Reversing climate change is just a part of that”.
Bennie goes silent for a few moments and then adds “When my father arrived here, he dreamed of building a filling station, but the red tape was such an issue that he gave up and eventually the rights lapsed. He passed away in 2009, but it’s as if the EV charging station is his dream coming true”.
If you find yourself traveling the Garden Route, budget a lot of time for a stop at Bargain Nursery and Elvis Brew. There’s way too much to see and do for a simple pit stop.
