International honour for Vergelegen camellia collection
South Africa has a new national treasure – its first International Camellia Garden of Excellence, one of only 17 such gardens in the world, and the second in the southern hemisphere.
The outstanding collection of over 1000 camellia bushes at Vergelegen, the magnificent 310-year old wine estate in Somerset West, has been recognised as an International Camellia Garden of Excellence by the International Camellia Society (ICS).
The ICS is a non-profit society founded in 1962 with over 2000 members worldwide, of which 16 are in South Africa. Vergelegen’s camellia garden accolade was approved at the ICS Congress in Kurume, Japan earlier this year and a celebratory event was held on Monday 26 July at the estate.
Don Tooth, MD of Vergelegen, said a dedicated team had worked together to ensure that the garden with its magnificent white, pink and red blooms received the accolade it deserved. The guest of honour was camellia expert Jan van Bergen, who donated many of the camellias to Vergelegen over the years, and who received the South African Nursery Association’s (SANA) highest accolade, a SANA Gold Medal, at their annual convention in May this year for service to both the horticultural industry and plant breeding in South Africa.
Other horticultural experts who contributed towards this ICS recognition included Dr John Rourke, former head of the Compton Herbarium and a member of the Vergelegen Heritage Trust; recently retired Vergelegen horticulturist Erich Theron; and Keith Kirsten of Keith Kirsten Horticulture International.
Vergelegen boasts 18 diverse gardens extending over 10 hectares, part of a cultural heritage area spanning 60 hectares.
The camellia gardens at Vergelegen include approximately 550 cultivars, from as far afield as France, Japan, America and South Africa.
There are two parts to the camellia gardens: The Barlow camellia plantings consist of classic, pre-1940s Camellia japonica cultivars, most of which are now large, mature shrubs of up to five metres in height. Most of these camellias were planted by Cynthia Barlow after her family bought Vergelegen in June 1941 after the deaths of the previous owners, Sir Lionel and Lady Florence Phillips.
The Barlow family sold Vergelegen to the present owners, Anglo American, in 1987. The collection was established at Vergelegen from 1995 when ICS member and retired camellia nurseryman van Bergen donated several plants of each of the cultivars he had imported into South Africa, as well as new selections that he himself had bred.
“More than 700 plants have been gifted to the estate to create a show camellia garden,” said Tooth.
Young and mature camellias have been added to Vergelegen over a period of 15 years from van Bergen’s Boskoop nursery in Pretoria. These have been nurtured and supplemented by horticulturist Erich Theron, who joined Vergelegen in 1989 after working with van Bergen in Pretoria for five years. The estate continues to receive new species from van Bergen and these will be planted in an ongoing process, says newly appointed Vergelegen horticulturist Richard Arm.
The estate has also appointed Michelle Soetzenberg in charge of the upkeep of the camellia gardens. She has worked in the estate gardens for 17 years and her father, Herman, was born on the farm.
To meet the ICS admission criteria, every camellia plant on the estate is being given an identification label, and Vergelegen has invested in additional horticultural reference books to ensure that extensive information on camellias is readily available. Management is also exploring establishing a GPS location point for every camellia so that they can determine the variety even if the bush is not in bloom.
The camellias have been planted in three main areas: at the bottom of the Great Lawn; near the Vergelegen Restaurant; and below an expanse of yellowwoods accessed by a swing bridge over the pristine Lourens River (the only South African river that is officially a Protected Natural Environment) that runs through the property.
Vergelegen’s collection is the second Camellia Garden of Excellence recognised in the southern hemisphere. The first honour was bestowed in 2001 on Melbourne’s Royal Botanic Gardens, renowned for having the finest collection of plants in Australia from southern China, including 800 camellias.
China has the Chinese Camellia Cultural Park in Jinhua City, Zhejiang Province (2005). The four Japanese gardens are Tsubakiyama Forest Park (2003), Goto Camellia Forest Park, Goto Island, near Nagasaki (2010), Ishibashi Cultural Center Camellia Garden, Kurume (2010) and Kurume City Camellia Garden (2010), both near Fukuoka.
The three UK gardens are the Antony Woodland Garden, Torpoint, Cornwall (2003), the Marwood Hill Gardens, near Barnstaple, Devon (2003) and Mount Edgcumbe Country Park and Gardens on the Rame Peninsula, south-east Cornwall (2003). Switzerland has the Locarno Camellia Park (2010), Germany the Kamelien Paradies in Wingst, Germany (2001) and Italy offers Villa Anelli, Lake Maggiore, (2010).
The four United States gardens are the Descanso Gardens, La Cañada, California (2001), Huntington Botanical Gardens, San Marino, California (2001), Massee Lane Garden, Fort Valley, Georgia (2001) and the Norfolk Botanical Gardens, Norfolk, Virginia (2001).
Viewing the camellias
The camellias are currently at the height of their annual winter flowering season. The gardens can be viewed from April - when the early variety of Camellia sasanqua appears - to August, when the other camellias are at their best. There are many wonderful varieties and some of the most beautiful and rare include Francie L and Anticipation from New Zealand, Grace Albritton, Tiffany and Lasca Beauty from the USA, Laurian Brown from South Africa and Tama Electra from Japan.
Vergelegen is open every day from 09h30 to 16h00 at a cost of R10/head, with a reduced rate of R5/person for pensioners. Many visitors stay on for tea or lunch at the Vergelegen Restaurant, or a wine tasting. Picnics can be booked from November to April, to enjoy in the magical setting of the camphor forest.
“We are delighted to welcome garden enthusiasts to Vergelegen and will arrange guided visits for groups of up to 20 people,” says Tooth.
More garden delights
Vergelegen is a gardening treasure trove as it includes:
- 18 diverse gardens covering 10 hectares;
- Five 300-year-old camphor trees, declared national monuments;
- Africa’s oldest living oak tree;
- An ancient yellowwood;
- A giant oak grown from an acorn from one of the last royal oaks at England’s Blenheim Palace, birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill;
- The famous Octagonal Garden restored in the late 1980s;
- A restored wetland filled with white arums, including a boardwalk;
- The Margaret Roberts herb and vegetable garden.
Contacts:
Vergelegen Wine Estate:
Lourensford Road, Somerset West, South Africa
Phone: +27 21 847 1334 - Fax: +27 21 847 1608
www.vergelegen.co.za
Issued by: Meropa Communications
On behalf of: Vergelegen Wine Estate
Contact:
Judy Bryant 0832867168 judybryant@telkomsa.net
Stephen Forbes 021 6836464 stephenf@meropa.co.za
Vergelegen horticulturist Richard Arm 021 847 1334
