Meet the Garden Day champions in Paarl

Garden enthusiasts celebrated their cultivated spaces nationwide for the 10th annual Garden Day on Sunday, October 12, with the residents of Perdeskoen Cottages participating in the competition in Paarl. 

Garden Day, held annually on the second Sunday of October, celebrates South African gardens and green spaces. It's a day to pause from the hard work of gardening and instead celebrate the joy and mental, physical benefits of your garden with friends and family.

One of the highlights of Garden Day is the annual Perdeskoen Garden Day competition presented by Babylonstoren farm in Paarl. 

The Perdeskoen Cottages — Babylonstoren’s farmworker homes built in a horseshoe shape around the estate’s green fields, inspired the name of the annual competition, which began in 2013. 

Gardens are judged across five categories: neatness, colour, design (such as a path, seating area, or social space), use for food or medicine, and trees.

Jan Kanfer won the competition, followed by Jumat Lewies in the second place and Karel Siegelaar in the third place

Mr Kanfer said: “I think it’s the layout of my garden and the fact that I recycled something again to use in my garden, like glass bottles. This is the fourth year in a row that I have won.”

Babylonstoren’s master gardener, Gundula Deutschländer, said watching the trees grow over the years “has been incredibly moving.”

“It's proof that small acts of nurturing, like planting a tree, can transform a whole community. Whether you are sitting under a tree, growing herbs in a pot, or making lemonade with your kids, Garden Day is a moment to pause and be grateful because every garden has the power to grow happiness,” said Ms Deutschländer.