THE Wellington Open Gardens will take place on 23 and 24 October from 09:30 to 17:00.
One of the gardens, Klein Optenhorst, lies in the historic Bovlei valley just outside the town of Wellington. This garden of Jenny and Naas Ferreira was terraced by them in 1987 and planted over the years with a range of interesting and unusual heat-tolerant plants.
Among these is the largest collection of Salvias ever assembled in South Africa, including many indigenous ones which flourish in the warm Wellington climate.
Other features include an ancient wild olive believed to be more than 400 years old, a gravel garden and various ponds.
The terraces from the stoep of the nineteenth century farmhouse lead down to a large farm dam and gazebo with fine views of the surrounding farms that lie at the foothills of the Groenberg.
Entrance to the garden is R35 per person which includes tea and home-made scones. For more information, contact Jenny Ferreira on 021-864-1210 or ferreira@patat.co.za
