Open Gardens Constantia 2016

Photos: Marianne Alexander

Hello, Cape Town. I miss you.

This weekend the biennial Open Gardens Constantia takes place. Four beautiful private gardens will be open to the public for two days only.

Tickets are R60 if you purchase them at the following garden gates:

29 Brommaert Avenue, Constantia (plus tea, cake!)

72 Starke Road, Bergvliet (plant sale)

5 Susanne Avenue, Constantia

5 Parade Crescent, Constantia Hills

Advance tickets are R50 online, at WebTickets.

You can also buy R50 advance tickets from the following shops:

Ferndale Nursery, Brommersvlei Road, Constantia

Peter Gilder, Constantia Village, Constantia

Sherwood Hardware, Ladies Mile

The Greenhouse Nursery, Montebello, Newlands

One ticket purchase gives you access to every garden and includes a garden tea (29 Brommaert Avenue), plus all the home-baked cakes, muffins, sweet loaves and sandwiches (made fresh all day) that the Constantia and Constantiaberg Garden Clubs can produce. And that's a lot.

The gardens range from grand to manageable. Three are in Constantia, one is in Bergvliet.

Gardens are open on November the 12th from 10.00am - 5.30pm, and on Sunday the 13th from 10.00am - 4.30pm. 

There are food gardens, shade gardens, indigenous gardens...

In addition to the gardens and tea, tickets also give you access to the plant sale. Members of the garden clubs have been growing and propagating plants for the last two years. Snap up shade-loving Haemanthus albiflos:

Ticket sale proceeds are donated to Abalimi bezekhaya and Soil for Life, two established and highly-regarded not-for-profits that provide essential infrastructure, support and training for food gardeners working mostly on the Cape Flats. These food gardens help provide income for microfarmers, as well as food for the farmers and their neighbours. Abalimi's CSA box is available from Harvest of Hope.

In 2014 my mom was able to had over sizeable checks to both beneficiaries. Help be part of their success again.

Enjoy the gardens, post on social media (#opengardensconstantia), and have some cake for me.