Page 7 — 4th July 2007The Midlands Herald

News from

Rosewood Embroidery Shoppe

Rosewood Embroidery Shoppe has spent

“over two wonderful years” in a beautifully-

renovated old tractor shed on a hill at St.

Ive’s Stud near Lion’s River, opposite Piggly

Wiggly Farm Stall.

Here, in the magnificent countryside close

to Howick and Pietermaritzburg, owner Rose

Kenyon has established both a workshop and

a shop, with large windows that enable visi-

tors to look straight through and watch her

staff hand stitch the beautiful embroidery

for which she has become well known.

“We’d love people to visit us and see our

new shop,” she says with enthusiasm.

A member of the Midlands Meander for

ten years, Rosewood also exports its prod-

ucts to Boston and Tennessee in America,

to the U.K. and to newer outlets.

Orders can also be made via the Internet

at www.rosewoodshoppe.co.za

“We are unique,” Rose explains. “We’re

true crafters on the Meander and are so proud

of our community project; today our ladies

are highly skilled and professional hand-

embroiderers.

“We also do a full range of linen, soft

furnishings and accessories as well as ladies’

nightwear, and now have a new range of cute

babywear that we’ve called ‘Rose Beetle’”.

New to Rosewood is the embroidery class

that will be held on the lovely premises on

Thursdays from 9-12 noon.

Rose is participating in the Midlands

Meander Creative Festival in July. She will

be teaching silk ribbon embroidery —

“Flower your Alphabet” — from 9-12 on

14th and 15th July and on 18th and 19th July.

The cost of R315-00 includes full kit and

notes, elegant tea and a surprise “pressie”.

Contact Rose to book at 033-234 4386.

Rosewood is open daily from 9 am to

4 pm.

Is there something sinister about

the recent frenzy of tree-felling?

Above:A staff

memberposes with a

hand-embroidered

sit-in tea cosyat Rosewood

EmbroideryShoppe

oppositePiggly WigglyFarm Stall, atSt. Ive’s Stud

near Lion’sRiver. In thebackground

is a patch-work quilt.

Right: One of theoddities — opposite

Howick’s raliwaystation, a large deodarwas cut down late lastyear, yet behind it are

24 gum trees — one ofthe “Working for Water”

programme’s pariahtrees as each requiresaround 2 000 litres ofwater per day — that

were left behind.

Below:Planking done on siteafter pine trees at the

bottom of AmberAvenue were felled inearly June. Pines andothers of the cypress

family are being fed offto a private coffin-making business

fromDurban that isbeing run at premiseson the Department of

Agriculture’s premisesat Cedara.

Right:In this picture taken by

DA councillor MaryFriday last Saturday,trees have just been

felled outside theHowick Falls Hotel.

Numerous complaintshave been received by

DA councillors fromconcerned residents.

The Heraldunderstands that themunicipality intends

repairing damagecaused by the trees to

the paving and plantingattractive indigenoustrees in urns that will

control future rootactivity. In addition,

Victorian-style lamppoles will be erected to

give character to thetown.

enue.

The man said that the pines need to be

cut down as the roots become problematic.

When asked why he was selecting only

pines and not the adjacent mature planes, he

answered that “they don’t need them for

coffin-making.”

Prompted, he said that when finished, he

was about to move across to work in Hilton’s

suburbs.

Late last year the large deodar tree oppo-

site Howick railway station was cut down

— yet 24 gum trees directly across the main

road were left untouched.

Gum trees consume large quantities of

water — up to 2 000 litres per day — and are

high on the “taboo” list of the Department

of Water, Agriculture and Forestry’s Work-

ing for Water campaign, which aims to re-

move all forms of invasive plants including

invasive trees.

According to Working for Water, these are

to be replaced with indigenous plants.

The tree expert in Howick, who has

watched the felling with interest, said that

he suspected nothing sinister.

“The reason that other types of trees

haven’t been cut down is because of their

longer life span,” he told The Herald.

“Liquid amber trees have a life span of

80-90 years while a plane tree lives for up

to about 90 years.”

And he is glad for at least one removal —

of the poisonous ruis trees that were grow-

ing along Dicks Street.

Members of the community are continu-

ing to express concern at the number of trees

that are being cut down in Howick’s resi-

dential area and CBD.

uMngeni municipal manager Dumisani

Vilakazi was quoted in Village Talk on May

9 saying that one of the reasons the trees

were being cut down was to improve the

groundwater reserves.

He said that the pine trees were also be-

ing felled as they are prone to uproot during

windy weather and cause damage to prop-

erty.

However, a local expert on trees said that

the problem is not the roots but their

branches, which tend to break off as they

age, and that they only have a life span of

between 40 and 60 years.

Mr Vilakazi went on to say that wood from

the trees is being used to build coffins at the

Department of Agriculture at Cedara.

It is understood that a coffin-maker from

Durban has taken up residence there.

A visit early last week established that

wood from the cypress family, which in-

cludes deodar and pine, is being used for

the coffins.

In the past few months, a number of trees

in Howick’s suburbs have been cut down.

The Herald, posing as a resident, spoke

to the contractor that was felling pine trees

on the island at the bottom of Amber Av-

By Russell Barnes and Roxanne Akal