Green fingers show their best hand

PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - Garden lovers along the Garden Route were in for their annual treat when Plettenberg Bay once again hosted its Plett Open Gardens event in aid of the Plett Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) last Saturday.

The event, which attracts hundreds of visitors each year, took place on 9 November at various gardens throughout the town.

"Visitors are able to stroll through four rather unconventional gardens – a break from the more traditional 'pretty' look," the organiser Marsja Hall-Green told KPH last week before the event. "It also has the advantage of having the backdrop of Plett's spectacular views of ocean and mountains."

The day offers visitors a relaxing time outdoors, meeting friends and comparing notes about garden design and plantings, she added.

All money raised during the day will be donated to Plett Animal Welfare Service (Paws) and, according to Hall-Green, just short of R60 000 was raised for the organisation last year.

The featured gardens included Hum Bee Flora Farm on Airport Road, home to 10ha of gently sloping fynbos areas and a forest walk which leads to a dam. "Ulrike Baldzuhn grows cut flowers and foliage organically and no fertilisers or spraying are used," Hall-Green explained. Another featured floral exhibit was the Wiehan Garden at the Whale Rock Robberg Estate. "Situated in an eco-estate, the house and garden were destroyed in the 2017 fires. The house was rebuilt and the garden reconstructed by Graham von Hoesslin, who focused on the indigenous forest and coastal vegetation with endemic species and other indigenous plants."

The third garden was the Gaechter Garden in Christina Street. In designing this garden, Hall-Green said, Charles Reitz aimed to retain and extend the threatened fynbos biome. "It is a perfect example of a low-maintanance garden with colour throughout the year."

The final garden open to the public was the Allen Garden at The Tides. The garden includes a soccer pitch and a pavilion with an impressive roof garden planted with an array of succulents. The popular Paws cake-and-plant sale was hosted at Ouland Royale on Airport Road.

Four gardens, like the McIvor garden last year, in Plettenberg Bay were open to visitors during the Plett Open Gardens Day.