Garden pops with colour

VOTE: VISITORS AT THE TRIAL GARDENS WILL BE ASKED TO PICK THEIR FAVOURITE FLOWER

Ball Straathof was inspired by famous trial gardens in the UK and US.

Green is serene, but colour makes the heart sing, so the saying goes and gardeners, in particular, respond when colour comes in the form of flowers of every shape and variety.

Next Saturday, Ball Straathof opens its flower trial gardens to the public and gardeners can expect wave upon wave of colour, both in the 2.5 hectare gardens as well as in the trial house, the size of a rugby field.

On arrival, each member of the public is given a flag and asked to vote by placing it in the pot of their favourite flower.

“Growers and garden centres will be watching to see which flowers receive the most votes because that helps the planning for this coming summer,” says

product manager Kathy Varney.

This is the only trial garden of its kind in South Africa and it’s only the second year it has been opened to the public as part of a week-long viewing by landscapers, growers and garden centre buyers.

It has been inspired by other famous trial gardens, such as the Colegrave gardens near Cambridge in the UK and the Ball Horticulture trial gardens in West Chicago, US.