A Rose Garden of note.

Time to let you in on some of my favourite haunts in Cape Town. Bearing in mind that I live in the Southern suburbs, this is generally my area of interest, though I have been known to venture further as needs and must dictate.

Chart Farm in Wynberg is both a visual and sensual feast for the soul. It is a rose garden so beautiful, with it's expanse across the Constantia Valley and breathtaking view of the Constantiaberg Mountains, that I can't visit it often enough. The roses are for the picking, so that the public may come and borrow buckets and secateurs and pick beautiful, fragrant blooms at R4 a stem. My best kept secret is that on Sundays there is a half price offer. Loathe as I am to spoil the fun for everyone, I'm not sure if anybody is reading this blog yet, so I doubt that there's likely to be a stampede. However, that is your little reward if you are kind enough to take the time to read my writing. I hope that you too will discover what it feels like to be the Lady of the Manor with armfuls of beautiful roses as you stroll along the rows of rosebushes. The garden is in full bloom at the moment and I have never seen it looking better. There are many varieties from which to choose, but Harmony, for it's name and nature, not to mention fragrance, remains my all time favourite.

Chart Farm also offers grape picking in summer, and has some of the freshest vegetables imaginable at it's farm stall. The spinach especially, which makes it's long journey of 25m from the field to the stall is the best available at only R8 per bunch. The stall also sells Klondyke cherries and a variety of jams. Compost, mulch and rosebushes are available at the garden shed. What I particularly like about these outlets is that they are good old fashioned farm stalls in the true sense of the word, nothing pretentious at all, in the way that farm stalls have been souvenir emporiums.

The tea garden, which shares the magnificent view over the valley, will no doubt tempt pickers and visitors. In my experience it serves passable fare, but I have found the management to be rather unpleasant, so we avoid stopping off there, which is a pity, as it would be fabulous to revive with a cuppa and a piece of cake and continue drinking in the view. But it's up to you....


Chart Farm, Klaassens Road, Wynberg
www.chartfarm.co.za
021-7610434
Open: 9am - 4.30pm daily (but be sure to get there before 4pm if you wish to pick flowers)