The historic Stellenbosch homestead and garden, Old Nectar, is all set to welcome the town’s annual influx of holidaymakers, with a range of new experiences and seasonal blooms.
Set in the magnificent Jonkershoershoek Valley – a magnet for mountain-bikers, hikers and lovers of the great outdoors – Old Nectar provides the perfect idyll in tranquil and beautiful surroundings.
This year, visitors can look forward to a fresh and exciting experience now under management of renowned Cape horticulturist Cherise Viljoen. A former senior manager of SANBI’s famous Kirstenbosch Garden, Cherise oversees amongst others, Old Nectar’s expansive landscape of heritage plants that has been the premier destination for garden-lovers for over 70 years.
“With South Africa’s ‘outdoor’ season well underway, the garden is really at its best. The flowerbeds are lush and colourful, and the lawns mowed – we really have the ‘green’ carpet out for our holiday season visitors,” says Cherise.
Old Nectar is a world-renowned heritage garden extending over four hectares, with a collection of individual and secluded spaces, each with its own character. Its variety of trees includes 200-year-old oaks, that provide the shade that make the garden so popular for family picnics.
Old Nectar is also home to a stately and restored Cape Dutch manor, moss-lined water features and an ornamental dam. It also affords views the surrounding mountainsides that shape the Jonkershoek Valley.
Highlighted by The Gardener magazine as the Open Garden to visit this Spring, Old Nectar offers guided tours; and has a rose and newly-planted cut-flower garden. Flower enthusiasts will be happy to know that special and unusual dahlias have been chosen as the highlight of the current season.
The history of the garden began when the late Una van der Spuy and her husband, Kenneth, acquired the property in 1941. She soon poured herself into transforming it. The landscape gradually evolved over the years into a tranquil Eden of multi-layered, tree-lined and flower-filled spaces populated by a vast and diverse collection of both well-known and truly unusual botanical species.
Una became renowned thanks to her skilled green fingers and passion, as well as the 15 garden books she authored. Peter, her middle son, later took on the property’s mantle until he announced his retirement at the end of September this year, handing the management reins to Cherise.
The Old Nectar garden is open every day of the year including public holidays, with the exception of being closed on Christmas Day (25 December) and New Years Day (1 January). The ticket prices are R50pp, paid in cash at the entrance. Under 18’s are free.
Visitors are encouraged to pack a picnic basket to enjoy in the gardens. Well behaved dogs on leashes are also welcome.
For further information, follow Old Nectar on Facebook @OldNectar. Share your experiences on Instagram and tag @Old_Nectar. Call 021 866 1133, email info@oldnectar.com or visit www.oldnectar.com.
steven
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