The intersection where several unemployed people sit and wait for work also has flower sellers believed to be picking the flowers illegally.
Image: Tauriq Hassen
A seemingly harmless roadside flower trade at the Victoria Road and Helgarda Road intersection in Hout Bay has prompted residents to question whether some of the bouquets may have been picked illegally from nearby natural areas.
Several unemployed people regularly gather at the intersection while waiting for work. Among them are flower sellers who display colourful bouquets to passing motorists.
Residents, however, allege that some of the flowers may have been illegally picked from surrounding natural areas.
Hout Bay resident Celeste van der Hoven said she began questioning the source of the flowers after noticing the behaviour of the sellers.
“It’s always a beautiful bouquet of flowers that they have on display and some of them really have a skill, but I always asked where they were getting them from until I started hearing about flowers being illegally picked,” she said.
Van der Hoven admitted that she had previously bought one or two bunches, but stopped after considering the possible consequences.
“I realised this was probably encouraging them to go back to wherever they removed the flowers from and they would create more damage. I was basically an assailant if I purchased these flowers,” she said.
Another local, who withheld her identity, pointed out that the intersection is always flooded with people looking for work.
"I have to get work and take that route daily, and sometimes to see them sitting there, just waiting, I can somehow understand why some are choosing to sell these flowers," she said.
"But causing harm to the environment to do some business is certainly not on."
The issue has also proved difficult for authorities to police.
Law Enforcement officers have conducted patrols in the area, with fines issued and flowers reportedly confiscated.
However, residents say sellers can quickly disappear into nearby bushes when they spot a police or Law Enforcement vehicle.
Sentinel News visited the intersection and spotted several flower sellers.
When approached, however, the sellers disappeared - taking their flowers with them.
One of the unemployed workers waiting along the pavement even described the Sentinel News team as “undercover police”, apparently believing an enforcement operation was taking place.
The incident demonstrated just how quickly those selling the flowers can disappear from the roadside.
The main robot on Victoria Road where the alleged flower sellers do their business.
Image: Tauriq Hassen
While there is no evidence linking the Hout Bay roadside sellers to illegal flower harvesting, the wider problem of flora poaching in the Western Cape is significant.
According to information presented to the Western Cape Provincial Parliament, 8 642 plants and more than 1 million seeds were recorded as illegally harvested or poached between October 2025 and February 2026.
Fourteen flora-related cases had also been registered during the 2025/26 financial year at the time of the parliamentary response.
CapeNature has also highlighted biodiversity crime as an ongoing concern. Between April and June 2025, officials registered 12 biodiversity-related cases, eight involving flora, while 19 fines were issued for contraventions of the Nature Conservation Ordinance.
These figures are provincial and cannot be attributed directly to the Hout Bay sellers, but they underline the threat posed by illegal harvesting.
Wayne Dyason, spokesperson for Law Enforcement, confirmed that the City is aware of the situation.
“The City’s Law Enforcement Department is aware of this matter and officers have issued various fines and conducted confiscations. Officers will continue to do regular patrols in the area,” he said.
Dayason urged residents to report suspected illegal activity to the City’s Public Emergency Communication Centre on 021 480 7700, providing details such as the date, time and exact location.
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