More colourful Plett gardens for PAWS

Garden lovers can look forward to the fourth Plett Open Garden Day in support of PAWS, on Saturday 31 October from 10:00 to 16:00. This popular event will again feature Rae Gilbert’s magnificent Bosky Dell Rose Garden as the anchor garden. Last year, despite cold and wet weather, 313 hardy visitors turned up to help PAWS raise the impressive sum of R34 000.

The roses at Bosky Dell will show off their first glorious flush of colour and visitors can enjoy the tea garden, PAWS quality cake and plant sales – with live music thrown in.

Tickets at R60 for all four gardens will be sold at all the gardens. Flyers describing the gardens and their locations will be available at all the gardens, and can be collected from Barney’s Kiosk, next to Mugg and Bean, in the Market Square Shopping Centre.

Plett GardensThe small, but committed PAWS team works hard to raise enough funds to cover our monthly operating costs of about R50 000. Without the generous support of the public for our events,, we cannot continue to provide the essential primary health care service, to improve living conditions for the many neglected and abused dogs and cats in the Bitou region.

The featured gardens are:

Bosky-Dell Rose Garden. Access on the N2, opposite The Heath – follow dirt road to the farm. This magnificent rose garden, containing more than 6 000 rose bushes, is based on strict geometric design, with the bright colours of a large variety of roses complemented by indigenous borders and shrubs. A central pavilion, overlooking a verdant valley, houses the tea garden and visitors can stroll around a lovely lily pond.

Plett GardensHawkes garden. Brackenridge Estate, access via main entrance, off Piesang Valley Road. Directions available at gate. The position of the stand, at the top of the ridge and exposed to prevailing wind was an important factor when planning the garden. Mike Vlok, the designer of this impressive indigenous garden, over two stands, created several tranquil corners, including a pond with a Robbie Leggatt sculpture. The plan includes imaginative planting of some exotics to provide year-round colour.

McIvor garden. 52 Bitou Glade, access via main entrance to Brackenridge Estate, off Piesang Valley. Directions available at gate. Designing this indigenous garden was quite a challenge because of severe clay conditions. Graham von Hoesslin provided the backbone for the layout, and the owner set about planting her garden for the bees, birds, butterflies and buck. She has had to learn to share her garden with many wild visitors, including a voracious tortoise who loves gazanias.

Plett GardensDippenaar garden. 4 Robbebergbaai Road, Brakkloof, Last road left, off the road leading to Robberg Nature Reserve gate. This garden was very new when it was featured during the first Open Garden Day in 2012. Now, three years later, it has matured and still offers a large variety of mainly indigenous plants, with natural and unstructured plantings . It was designed for maximum impact of colour and to attract nectar, fruit and insect-eating birds.

For more information contact Marsja Hall-Green: 073 645 9476/044 533 4578•

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *