Meet the people
Sarah-Leigh Hillary
Manager of the wedding venue at Cheerio Gardens
Early in August, the azaleas and crab apples start to bloom at Cheerio Gardens, but the cherry blossoms hold out until the end of September to be the stars of the show. A palette of pink, purple, peach, yellow and cream decorate the dense greenery, attracting visitors from all over for the Magoebaskloof Spring Festival.
In December 2010, Sarah-Leigh witnessed the first couple saying “I do” at her wedding venue 7 km out of town. She has a background in the hotel industry as well as graphic design.
She attended primary school in Haenertsburg and went to high school in Polokwane for two years before Stanford Lake College opened on the mountain.
After matriculating, she lived in London, Cape Town and Polokwane before finally moving to the farm where she visited her grandparents as a child. Sarah-Leigh’s great-aunt, botanist Sheila “Box”Thompson, started Cheerio Gardens after World War II, planting specimens she had collected during her travels while in the army. Her work came to the attention of the Japanese Emperor’s physician, and he sent her azalea seeds and cherry pips.
Sarah-Leigh says family businesses and generational farms are common in the area – many owners of various farms are related. Next door is Nipper Thompson from Wegraakbosch. “Sheila’s brother was Nipper’s father,” she says. “Everyone is related here!”
Sarah-Leigh likes the fact that everyone is “quite chilled” here on
