RHS Chelsea Flower Show

18 - 22 May 2027

Show Gardens 2018

The Trailfinders South African Wine Estate

Awards

  • Silver-gilt medal winner

Did you know...

Designed by:
Jonathan Snow
Sponsored by:
Trailfinders Ltd
  • The dense planting of the native fynbos landscape is represented beautifully, with many well-known garden plants - such as red hot pokers (Knphofia), agapanthus and proteas – resplendently intermingled
  • Box hedges contain the informal planting outside the house with billowing flowering dill, red-pink roses and spires of white foxgloves – which intentionally link through colour and texture to the natural fynbos part of the garden
  • Atmosphere abounds here, with planting, hard materials and even the facade of the house being in keeping with the landscape the garden represents

About the garden

The winelands of South Africa’s Western Cape are instantly recognisable and strikingly beautiful. This garden is a snapshot of a traditional South African wine estate. A charming Cape Dutch homestead with a terracotta-tiled terrace leads down steps into a formal, romantic garden, then through a gate to a vineyard. Beyond the vineyard is a representation of the wild and beautiful fynbos landscape.

Plants of the fynbos including agapanthus, gladioli, kniphofias and pelargoniums are shown growing in their natural environment – among an evergreen, leathery-leaved Mediterranean-type shrubland with occasional splashes of bright colours and exotic-looking flowers. In contrast, the manicured, domestic garden contains calmer, softer tones with more lush, fresh foliage. Representing an area of recently burnt fynbos, bright bulbs, seedlings and resprouting plants can be seen growing among the blackened remains of older vegetation.