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The Gardens at Vergelegen Estate

This afternoon I spent a wonderful few hours exploring the gardens at Vergelegen Estate with a friend – we went specially to view the Camellia garden as we both love Camellias. The Estate, which is located approximately 40 minutes drive from the centre of Cape Town, has been a gardener’s paradise since the van der Stel era in the 1700’s and today, 17 beautifully themed gardens are on display for visitors to enjoy. But back to the Camellias …

The outstanding collection of over 1000 Camellia bushes at Vergelegen have been recognised as an International Camellia Garden of Excellence by the International Camellia Society. And when you wonder through this garden you can see why. The gardens include approximately 550 cultivars from as far afield as Australia, New Zealand, France, Japan, America and South Africa. But there is more to Vergelegen than the Camellia garden. Let me take you through a quick walk through the splendours of Vergelegen …

When you arrive the first stop is the Visitor Information Centre and Gift Shop which is housed in the former stable buildings. Next is the Wine Tasting Centre where you can sample Vergelegen’s award winning wines, some of which are rated among the best in the world. We were here to see the gardens so we didn’t stop for wine tasting, but for visitors new to Cape Town I would highly recommend the wine tasting and a visit to the Winery (booking essential). Next is the Interpretive Centre where exhibits on display in the former stable building give a detailed insight into the history and development of Vergelegen. But … we were here to see the gardens so we skipped this and proceeded along the Almond and Oak Avenue and went on to the Octagonal Garden which is a magnificent typical English garden with wonderful herbaceous borders. We did a brief walk through the Homestead which has been extensively refurbished with fine examples of early Cape furniture and textiles and provides a history of Vergelegen. We walked on to the Camphor Trees and great lawn. At the front entrance to the homestead are five magnificent Chinese camphor trees which were planted between 1700 and 1706 by Governor Van Der Stel – these are apparently the oldest, living, documented trees on the subcontinent and were dedicated as a national monument in 1942.

Camellia ShrubsWe made our way to the Rose Garden (not at its best right now, but beautiful nonetheless) and then on through the Yellowwood Walk and Water Mill to the Camellia Garden. You walk past the ruin of an old water mill, cross the river over a suspension bridge and then follow Camellia lined pathways through a yellow wood forest until you reach the Camellia garden. The Camellias are really quite magnificent and it was wonderful for me to see what I can expect my Camellia bushes to look like in a few years. Most impressive to me was a grouping of three Camellia shrubs – they were huge – taller than some of my trees! (see photo on the right).

Then a wooden boardwalk leads you through groves of tree ferns and arum lilies, gunnera and azaleas (also gorgeous!). This is known as the Wetland garden. Then there is the Camphor Tree picnic area – in season you can collect a basket from the info centre and a picnic in the Camphor Forest and I believe there is entertainment provided for kids in the form of a treasure hunt. Sounds like a lovely family day out to me.

Unfortunately it started to get late and chilly so we missed some of the other highlights which include the Margaret Roberts Herb and Vegetable garden. We went inside to the restaurant where we enjoyed coffee and scones (I had the most sublime cheese cake ever!) before we were warned that the gates would be closing at 6pm, so unless we wanted to be locked into the grounds overnight … we opted to leave and come back another day to explore some more.

Photographs (click to enlarge)

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If you are interested in Vergelegen Estate their website provides a lot of detailed info about the history of the estate and the gardens. Website: http://www.vergelegen.co.za/

By Christine

Dominated by large trees on a medium sized property, my garden is very shaded. With no “full sun” areas I have to plant shade and partial shade loving plants. I love shrubs and flowers including camellias and azaleas but Roses and Irises are my favourite and getting these to thrive is a challenge …

10 replies on “The Gardens at Vergelegen Estate”

I see a rainbow. I miss them. It’s hot and dry these days.

Your caption has been selected and I have a link to your blog in the Wasabi post.

Thank you so much for this wonderful tour of a garden that I have no hope of ever seeing in person… I enjoyed reading your description of it and the pictures are beautiful!

So beautiful! Thanks for sharing your tour with us. I love the photo with the rainbow! It does sound like one needs more than one day to fully explore all the estate has to offer.

I’m not a big fan of formal gardens, so I was looking through the photos with a bad attitude: “boring” “boring”, “boring”… BAMBOO! Ah maybe I should go back and take another look at the other photos now! 🙂

That bamboo grove needs a bit of maintenance though — it could look so much more impressive.

Thanks for sharing!

This was a lovely tour you took us on today. Amazing gardens on huge grounds. Your rainbow image is gorgeous. I take them for granted here in Niagara Falls since everyday that is sunny, we have them. But to see one like you showed is more rare.

Had another good look at the photos. I just love the suspended walkway. Great idea and the bamboo Forrest! Wow!!!

Outstanding! And that beautiful old Cape Dutch farmhouse makes me kind of homesick! Thanks for taking us on a wonderful trip to a unique place!
Love
Mami

What fabulous photos xx one really gets the feel of space and care in these gardens. The rainbow?? !! wow what a bonus. Hannes would be proud 🙂 What a pity you missed the Margaret Roberts veggie and herb garden. This would be my kind of place to visit. Xxx Really nice photos.

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