Capetown - vineyards & botanical gardens
- Julia Stevens
- Nov 9, 2017
- 3 min read
I scheduled in my diary to write about Capetown this week. I can't remember why I thought this would be a good time to reflect on South Africa. Possibly because as here in the Northern hemisphere we are entering the colder months in the Southern hemisphere it is warming up. Down in the Cape the vineyards are blooming and two of my favourite places in the whole wide world, Babylonstoren and Kirstenbosch gardens are bursting into life.
I have a calendar on my wall which I picked up in the farm store at Babylonstoren last year. It sits in my living room as a constant visual reminder that the roses are now blooming on the other side of the world.
Babylonstoren is a vineyard with the most spectacular gardens planted alongside the farm buildings. A labyrinth of apricot kernel footpaths leading to rose arbours, lemon trees, bee hives, fruit orchards and a cactus maize among other horticultural genius.
I visited Babylonstoren twice last year and spent a few happy hours exploring the gardens. For me this particular corner of the planet is my little piece of heaven on earth. My photos don't do it justice, so below are a whole load of lush photos taken from Babylonstoren's Facebook page.
There is something about the combination of mountains and gardens that is really dramatic and beautiful.
That is also what makes the second garden, Kirstenbosch so spectacular. It is the most unusual botanical garden lying at the foot and up into the eastern lower slopes of Table Mountain.
The tablecloth spreading over Table Mountain is a comforting view to me and one I came to know very well when I spent a month staying in a house in Camps bay, recovering from falling off a moving train and fracturing my skull!
It's a long story but basically entails being a penniless gap year volunteer catching the train in to Capetown on New Year's eve from the suburbs. A group of us jumped on the train and joined the third class carriages as they were too crowded for a train collector to monitor and hence the train ride would be free. At some point along the journey I found myself being pressed into the centre of a huddle of people and my pockets picked. Grabbing hold of the thief's hand and not letting go, he dragged me off the moving train at the next train station and I fell, fracturing my skull. When I was released from hospital I needed a local place to recuperate so I stayed with the family of my boss. I didn't realise it at the time but I was living with 2 South African legends. They had a beautiful home that they built themselves by hand. It is now an iconic Camps bay architectural statement and the couple, Gwen & Gawie Fagan are national treasures. Below are 2 photos from Elle Decoration of their home. I remember that view and the swinging chair where I spent so many weeks looking out to sea and up at the mountain.
It was that prolonged visit to the slopes of Table Mountain that gave me a love for the area. I went of day trips with Gawie to Boschendal Vineyard where she had planted a rose garden and was taking photos for her new book on Cape roses. Later on in my stay the family gathered for a picnic in the farmlands and I ate the sweetest, juiciest peaches amongst buzzing bees and orchards.
Last year I revisited Boschendal Vineyard to see how Gwen's rose garden was doing. I was quickly distracted by the way the place has grown and developed. I loved these photos on the walls of the restaurant.
The food was great, I chose a bright fresh salad dressed with flowers. I sat in the shade eating my lunch and enjoyed watching a waddling troupe of Indian running ducks being herded home from their work pecking at the slugs, snails and other pests in the vineyard.
So on this crisp November day in England my thoughts have turned to Spring and a blossoming Cape province which I can't wait to go back and visit again one day.
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