Inspiring indigenous gardens on show
This event is not only for garden lovers, all home owners and future home owners can benefit while enjoying a day out in beautiful settings.
EIGHT indigenous gardens will be featured at this year’s Kloof Conservancy Indigenous Open Gardens this Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 May.
The theme of this year’s event is the conservancy’s motto: Protecting Nature. Inspiring Change. The focus will be on the gardens with minimal side attractions so that there will be plenty of time to enjoy the beauty of the gardens.
The show features gardens in various stages of being indigenous – while in some, a wealth of research and knowledge has gone into their creation, others are newly indigenous as gardeners, inspired by this event and the numerous excellent plant books available, are discovering the merits of gardening with local species.
While the plant materials in all gardens are for the most part indigenous, they are arranged in a variety of design styles: many have a more traditional landscape feel, others are arranged according to wildlife and floral habitats, and a small number showcase the increasingly popular wild and natural look that has given rise to the newly named style of ‘conservation gardens’. This is where the garden show is of special value to the everyday gardener; visitors receive realistic and visual information about how to change to indigenous, what to plant in a variety of conditions, what combinations work well together, what brings in birds and butterflies, and, equally important, how plants with holes made by countless insect species thrive without the application of killer poisons.
There are eight outstanding gardens on show in a relatively compact route with the first garden in Everton Road. The second large garden, follows in Pearson Road after which a scenic drive along Acutts Drive will take visitors to the tea garden at Clifton Hill Estate, where two gardens of the gardens on show are based. The next garden is a short drive away on the grounds of Indigro Nursery in The Walk, Waterfall and this is followed by three well established gardens in Forest Hills. A number of top KZN gardening authors will also be at the various gardens.
The event is an important fundraiser for the many projects that the Kloof Conservancy run, including the removal of invasive alien plants in Krantzkloof Nature Reserve.
Entry to the gardens is R60 for adults and free for children under 12. Price includes entry into all eight gardens and refreshments at the tea garden. Pre-sale tickets are available in the Kloof area and will be on sale at the entrance of each garden and the tea garden.
