Every spring brings a new opportunity to breathe fresh life into your garden, and where better to gain inspiration and expert advice than Vergelegen Wine Estate.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!This provincial heritage site in Somerset West is famous for its remarkable collection of historic and themed gardens, where formal design, seasonal blooms and magnificent old trees create a succession of beautiful spaces.
Vergelegen horticulturist and gardens manager Richard Arm will lead a daily series of informative spring garden walks from Friday 30 October to Sunday 1 November, from 08h30 to 11h00.
Tickets cost R250 per person and include entry to the 326-year-old estate, the guided walk, and tea or coffee and a scone at the Firehorse temporary restaurant before the tour.
Arm says the garden tour will start in the Sundial Garden – newly refreshed with colourful plantings ahead of the reopening of adjoining Stables restaurant – then continue past the first spring agapanthus blooms in the East Garden.
Visitors will then explore the oldest estate garden, the Octagonal Garden. This area is renowned for colourful herbaceous borders that frame the path to the Cape Dutch homestead.
The tour concludes in the breathtaking Rose Garden, framed by ancient camphor trees, where dozens of roses provide a vibrant tapestry of colour and fragrance.
“The gardens are going to pop this year,” says Arm. “We have planted thousands of delphiniums, foxgloves and salvia, and the rose garden will be an absolute delight by the end of the month.
“Nature too is working with us, with good weather and plentiful water.”
The Potting Shed Gift Shop will stock the 10 most popular roses grown at Vergelegen, for all Vergelegen visitors to purchase and plant in their own gardens, or gift to friends.
The Potting Shed also offers a selection of practical additions to a gardener’s toolkit. For example, attractive garden gloves with a green or blue floral design, in a sweat-absorbent fabric and a slip-resistant grip, retail for R425/pair, while durable pruning shears cost R450.
Popular lifestyle items include gardener’s friend exfoliating tallow soap for R150 and whipped tallow butter for R195. Hand washes and hand creams, inspired by the fragrances of Vergelegen’s gardens such as rose, honey and white wisteria, retail for R350 each.
Vergelegen has expanded its online retail offering, and shoppers can now purchase a larger variety of estate items online. See https://shop.vergelegen.co.za/.
Book for the spring garden walks: https://shop.vergelegen.co.za/products/vergelegen-garden-weekend
Visitor information:
Vergelegen Wine Estate is located in Lourensford Road, Somerset West. Opening hours are Monday-Sunday, 08h30-17h00 (last entry at 16h00). Estate entry is R30 for adults and R10 for pensioners and scholars. Pensioners may enter free on Mondays.
