On Tuesday morning Barbie and I set off on a little road trip to go “plant hunting”. We were looking for slightly less common plants, specifically ornamental and unusual grasses which Barbie plans to make a feature of in her garden. Two weeks ago when I attended the Rare Plant Fair in Stellenbosch I bought a beautiful grass from Fairholme Nursery who were in attendance. The grass is Panicum Virgatum “Shenandoah”, and after looking around locally and not finding it, we learnt that Fairholme Nursery specialises in perennials, grasses and lavenders. So off we set to go and find Fairholme Nursery in Elgin.
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So first off I have to mention that if you plan to go there, you will need to call them first and get proper directions! They are not easy to find, there is no signage and no big board welcoming you to Fairholme, in fact they are tucked away off any major route and unless you know exactly where they are, you will not find them. The reason is that they are in fact not a mainstream nursery but a wholesale nursery. They only sell to landscapers and retail nurseries, not to two newbie-gardening-idiots who decide to trek all the way to Elgin on a whim and come knocking at their doors. But in typical friendly country-style we were warmly greeted and an exception made as we had come all the way from Cape Town, but not before being told that “next time” we need to buy a minimum of 30 plants if we want to visit (or visit on the annual “Open Day” in October, when the general public are able to visit the nursery).
No problem, Barbie had a “grass shopping list” not quite a mile long but she managed to find all the grasses on her list and we left with about 20 good size plants and what promises to become a beautiful grass garden! How we got them all into the car I don’t quite know, but we managed and all the beautiful grasses are now sitting on Barbie’s front porch, waiting to be planted. I can’t wait to see how it turns out!
A bit of feedback on Fairholme Nursery – It is huge! And really impressive! And the plants are beautiful! Their selection of grasses was fantastic, we were in “grass heaven” here. Attached to the nursery is the owners home which boasts a hugely impressive garden. (their garden is part of the Elgin Open Gardens Festival held annually). It is a large and many-faceted garden with a magnificent view, terraces, pergola walkway, woodland garden, grass garden and rose garden. I took a few photographs of the garden which you can see in the photo gallery below, but as we were in fact intruding on this day, I was hesitant to take too many. We will have to go back in October during the Elgin Open Gardens Festival and take more photographs to share with you of this simply magnificent garden.
Contact Details & Address:
Owners: Duncan & Liz Henderson
Address: 2 km from N2 along Viljoenshoop Road in Elgin / Grabouw, Cape Overberg, Western Cape.
Telephone: +27 (0)21 848-9738 or +27 (0)82 550-8703.
Photo Gallery on Flickr:
8 replies on “Fairholme Nursery in Elgin”
Since the nursery doesn’t have a website – I’m linking back to you today.
This was such a lovely trip we took. The weather was perfect and the shopping a success, pity we drove around like blind people looking for the non-sign … but it was a laugh anyway! Won’t go anywhere again without proper directions. I can’t wait to show you my grass garden…. I’m going to show you the whole transformation this week, but I have to first get my very special addition planted first – my LEOPARD TREE. Going today to pick it out. They are in Stellenbosch area. Will report back with photos.
Oh yipee!! I can’t wait to see your new tree! Hurry back and post some piccies for us!
And yes, the trip was fun! I don’t think we drove around like blind-people, we drove around like “we-don’t-need-directions” men!!! How daft we were not to get directions, but remember the little plant cutting I “acquired” on that detour and stuck in the water bottle? Its got ROOTS!! So it wasn’t a complete waste of time, hehe.
Haaha! So funny! Yes like men that don’t need maps …. “I know where I’m going!” Oh yes, I forgot about the deviation with the morning glory. It was the most beautiful scenery I have seen in a long time. we don’t take the time to drive and just look around- always going from a to b. it was a good thing this trip! Thanks again!
I love all the grasses, they make me think of being seaside somewhere. Or Cape Cod.
Thank you for telling us about the nursery – it was fun reading. Good luck with your ornamental grasses.
Can’t wait to see the new grasses!
You do realize that a massive ornamental grass collection is just one step away from a massive bamboo collection… at least it was for me. (Bamboo is a grass — did you know?)
Note: always take a photo of the car after it’s loaded with what seems like an impossible number of plants. I’ve packed the car with bamboo before, and regret not having a photo of it.
This is the Duncan who used to be Duncan’s Roses. Couple of years back when we were at the Elgin garden festival I got a Mare’s tails grass, that I had seen at Jenny Ferreira’s Wellington open garden. Also 3 lavenders, a dark one, a pink one, and a white one which gave up the ghost.