Camellia celebration weekend hosted at Vergelegen

Staff Reporter|Published 1 year ago

The Vergelegen wine estate in Somerset West, offers visitors to its weekend of celebrating camellias a botanical treat to feast their eyes on, like these Camellia Japonica Debbie flowers.

Bookings have just opened for Vergelegen’s popular annual Camellia Celebration Weekend that will take place on Friday August 11 and Saturday August 12.

Vergelegen wine estate’s International Camellia Garden of Excellence in Somerset West, the only International Camellia Garden in Africa, and one of only 39 International Camellia Gardens in the world, is putting on a show of pink, white and red blooms during this weekend.

Tickets to this family-friendly event are limited to 40 people daily, and cost R150 per person. A ticket includes the access fee to the Vergelegen estate, a camellia garden tour with resident horticulturists Richard Arm and Chris Randlehoff, plus coffee or tea with a slice of cake, or scone, at Café Fleur.

The tour starts at 9am on each day, departing from the Wine Tasting Room. The tour is one and a half hours, followed by refreshments from 10.30am until noon.

Camellias, established decades ago at this 323-year-old wine estate, can be viewed by visitors in all its glory.

The collection comprises about 550 cultivars, developed locally and as far afield as France, Japan and America. There are about 1 000 specimens, with glossy foliage and a glorious array of beautiful blooms.

The camellias flourish in three main garden areas: at the bottom of the Great Lawn; near the Café Fleur restaurant; and below an expanse of yellowwoods accessed by a swing bridge over the Lourens River, the only South African river that is officially a Protected Natural Environment.

International Camellia Gardens of Excellence are ambassadors of the International Camellia Society across the world. They are intended to promote appreciation and knowledge of camellias, and to encourage the conservation and sustainability of camellia collections.

Bookings to this event can be done online at vergelegen.co.za/event/camellia-weekend/ and for enquiries call 021 847 2111 or email customerservices@vergelegen.co.za

Read more about the International Camellia Gardens of Excellence online at internationalcamellia.org/about-this-programme or at vergelegen.co.za/gardens/

Vergelegen will open the gates to their estate to give visitors access to their splendid International Camellia Garden of Excellence in August where shrubs like these will be in abundance.

Established on the estate grounds decades ago, the Camellia collection boasts with about 550 cultivars, developed locally and as far afield as France, Japan and America with about 1000 specimens.