03/08/1950 – 25/04/2022
The Groenewald family moved onto the current 5 acre Montrose Nursery property in Morningside, Sandton in 1965. The manic road of today’s South Road was a dirt track and there was nothing but veld all around. Small holdings scattered the surroundings. Our dad Brian Groenewald was only 15 years old at the time his parents Andrew and Christine relocated here from a short stay in Durban.
Brian didn’t waste any time and got busy quickly and by 1966 had already registered Montrose Nursery and Farm with the department of agriculture. Little did he know that in 1980 this dream would become a reality. He spent his weekends and afternoons after school selling fruit from the numerous fruit trees on the property. It included pears, grapes, plums, apricots and peaches as well as selected vegetables. In the back of his mind he kept focused on his dream of one day owning his own nursery.
After concluding high school Brian went and studied horticulture at Pretoria Tech, graduated and got a job as a horticulturalist with the Johannesburg Parks Department. His division was responsible for planting many of the trees you see in the Johannesburg CBD and surrounding areas today. Brian always had a green footprint wherever he went.
By 1980 he was ready to spread his wings and fly into his own business. He resigned from the Parks Department and on the 1st August 1980 he opened Montrose Nursery. His cash register was a Bakers Baking tin. As a young boy his son Wayne vividly recalls driving with his dad to plant growers in Pretoria and surrounding areas buying plants to sell – we were too small to get them delivered to us so we had to go and collect them. His Daughter Taryn, the heartbeat of today’s Montrose Nursery was not even born yet.
During the 80s the suburbs of Sandton began exploding with a new rush of residents. Sandton had quickly become the new envogue place to live and Montrose Nursery wad right in the middle of the urban sprawl. This was incredible foresight on our Dads behalf. Today when we drive around the neighborhood we can see all the established trees and gardens that came from Montrose Nursery. Brian kept his finger on the pulse and nurtured Montrose Nursery into one of the oldest businesses in Sandton. Brian worked hard often 7 days a week to create this gardening utopia which still stands today 42 years later.
Montrose Nursery is testament to a man’s genius, commitment and blood and guts hard work. We as his children are so proud of his vision and what he created and strive to follow in those green footprints. The man may be gone but his legacy lives on.
MBG: 3 August 1950 – 25th April 2022