Garden fest feeds the soul

Nature takes drought in its stride and puts on a stunning show

In spite of the bone-dry water features and the absence of gushing waterfalls, trickling streams and mossy ground cover, the Hogsback Open Gardens Festival is still a sight to behold.

A water shortage has hit the village hard this year, but nature has somehow continued to flourish, providing visitors with a spectacular display of flowering shrubs, multicoloured leaves and magnificent canopies.

Festival organiser Lizzie Blackbeard, who owns one of the seven stunning private gardens on show, said: “We haven’t had much rain since February, and honestly the gardens are nothing like what they were last year, but mother nature is incredibly resilient.”

She said underground springs and grey water were being used to water most of the gardens. Hogsback had received two big rains during the year, which had helped garden owners tremendously.

“Some plants have come on before they should have, others later and some haven’t bloomed at all,” she said.

“But the beauty of Hogsback is that there is always something to see. Something is always blooming, so our gardens have still done fantastically, all things considered.” Blackbeard’s 21ha garden, Little Timbers, is the largest on show at the festival.

The festival, started by flower fanatic Lynn Johnson several years ago as a way of getting the village’s elderly residents out into beautiful surroundings, has begun attracting visitors from all over the country.

“We’ve had about 500 visitors booking guided tours and people have come from Bloem, Johannesburg, KZN, and even the Western Cape to see our gardens,” said Blackbeard, who has run the festival for the past three years.

Originally from England, the former clinical researcher says gardening, especially in Hogsback, is “good for the soul”.

“My mother was a keen gardener in England so I’m sure my love for it comes from her. It’s amazing, it’s a tonic.”

While Hogsback’s usually spectacular clivias did not do so well in the drought, huge shrubs of flowering azaleas, russet-leafed maple trees, Japanese cherry blossoms, dogwoods and california redwoods made up for their lack.

“The gardens have many of the same plants, but they each have their own atmosphere and character. We have about 150 rhododendron and azalea species in Hogsback, so you’ll find a lot of those,” said Blackbeard.

“We have very acid clay soil in Hogsback so the azaleas and maple trees grow very well here,” she said.

Hidden Away, a garden owned and nurtured by retirees Quinton and Jeanette Dick, is one of the steepest properties. The garden’s main attraction is a kaleidoscope of indigo and fuchsia Alpine phlox.

Quinton is also exceptionally proud of his roses and his clematis. “We used to live in East London, but wanted to retire among trees and mountains,” said Quinton happily.” It took us a while to get the garden to look like this, and it’s amazing looking back to what it was just a jungle of shrubs compared to what it is now.”

“Most of the gardens were started by the original owners around 1950, but some, like Hidden Away, were done from scratch by the present owners. Quinton and Jeanette did this all themselves,” said Blackbeard.

Mistlea, a 5ha garden, boasts an incredible vista of colourful blossoms below a canopy of trees. It is home to one of SA’s top 10 most beautiful rose gardens, which come into full bloom in November.

Offering a serene spot under a pretty cherry blossom, the Hurry garden is ingeniously landscaped to nurture two sections, one shady and one sunny, which ensures there is always something in bloom.

The garden also boasts an array of trees, including one of the oldest tree species, a tulip tree, a flowering camellia japonica and the grand old lady of the garden, a 90-year-old california redwood.

Grey Haven is the smallest of the gardens at 2.5ha. It is owned and maintained by retired botany professor Don Grierson, whose love affair with orchids started as a teenager and has never faltered.

While Grierson’s orchids are his babies, Grey Haven is also filled with azaleas, almond trees and an impressive collection of bonsai trees.

“It’s a full-time job keeping the orchids happy, but I just love my gardening,” said Grierson.

The festival runs for three weeks and ends on Sunday, and while it’s a tough act to keep up, Blackbeard said the Hogsback Garden Club would definitely keep it going.

“People just love it so much, and that’s why we do it. It’s quite taxing on the owners, but staying open for just a long weekend isn’t enough time to see everything in bloom,” she said.

The Mirrors and Dunaverty Gardens are also on show during the festival which ends on October 27. For more information or to book tickets, contact Blackbeard on 082-787-0927.