The highly popular gardens of Babylonstoren, known for their beauty, offer more than aesthetics. The property, as well as being a functioning commercial farm, houses a collection of plants unrivaled in South Africa. For botanists, plant enthusiasts and amateur gardeners, the beds and rows can offer inspiration and awe.
To look on Instagram would suggest Babylonstoren is a prickly pear maze, ideal for selfies. But beyond self-portraits in sun hats, there is something to experience – and it’s only twenty minutes away from Stellenbosch.
The gardens have over three hundred species of edible or medicinal plants, according to Constance Stuurman*, who has been a gardener at Babylonstoren for ten years. Stuurman takes garden tours most mornings, as well as other tours. She makes the walk worthwhile, if you can keep up with her; her knowledge of rejuvenating herbal teas has certainly kept her youthful.
Stuurman describes her first time approaching the entrance to the garden, one whiff of nearby citrus blossoms was enough for her. “Boom! I got hooked,” she said, as she led guests past the oldest house on the property. After her Eureka encounter she handed in her resignation at a nearby nursery and a few days later she was working at Babylonstoren.
A heritage garden
You begin the tour where it all started, at the first house built on the property. It was constructed over three hundred years ago by Pieter van der Byl, who was given the land by the Cape governor, Simon van der Stel, in 1692. It is now owned by Karen Roos, the former editor of the South African Elle decoration magazine.
The name, Babylonstoren, comes from the conical hill which sits alongside the property. Originally called Babilonische Tooren in Dutch, Stuurman said it reminded the surrounding farmers of the tower of Babel, because of its shape. She added that others suspect it may be because of the mixing of languages and cultures happening around it in the seventeenth century, not unlike the mixing of plant species from around the world happening nearby today.
If the garden’s layout gives you the feeling that you’re walking through a pristine French formal garden, that’s because it is partially true. It was designed by French architect Patrice Taravella, who owns, and designed, the historic gardens of Prieuré Notre Dame d’Orsan in France, a place worth a quick internet search.
The chickens and turkeys scratching around the old Cape Dutch buildings take you back to that time. A time when the distance between where your food was grown and your plate was a lot smaller – something Babylonstoren is trying to bring back.
What’s going on?
This is no museum, this is a working farm. While you as a guest may walk around the manicured pathways at your leisure, the staff on the farm are as industrious as the bees. The garden changes throughout the year, but your visit may coincide with planting, picking or pruning. It is encouraged to sample the fresh produce at either the farm’s restaurants or at the shop (or in the garden). Wine, olives, meat, veggies, nuts, oils, bread and fruit leave the property in visitors’ shopping bags or in their satisfied tummies.
There is always something to share with people who roam through the gates, said Stuurman. Like many other gardeners on the farm, she becomes animated while sharing her work with visitors.
“When you come to work it’s like a surprise,” said Liande Hamilton, who works at Babylonstoren’s shop. Hamilton has been working at the farm for two and a half years, and every day is a new day for her – it’s exciting. She feels like her work has enriched her life, not something that everyone is able to say. Talking to staff around the property, you get the impression that they find it a privilege to be able to work here.
Those who tend the green tapestry can be proud of the collection. There is not just one type of apple, pear or plum, instead Babylonstoren looks after different varieties. It’s rare focus on diversity is one of the things that makes the farm special. You can walk past several types of apple on the same path, including one that was taken as a cutting from the very tree which inspired Newton’s idea of why stuff doesn’t float (commonly known as the theory of gravity).
The variety and diversity on the farm means that there is always something flowering or ready to eat. The garden is seasonal and no visit is the same.
Something new
There is always something new at Babylonstoren. This November they are promoting their bitterlekker non-alcoholic aperitif. Arranged around similarly-coloured orange pincushion proteas at the entrance to the gardens, the drink has only been in production for the last year, said Debora van der Merwe.
“It took twenty-seven formulations to get it right,” she said.
Van der Merwe is behind the development of the drink; she studied food science at Stellenbosch University. She says that aperitifs are something more familiar to Italians than South Africans. It’s a wonder why, the combination of blood orange, rosemary, two different species of honeybush tea, citrus, bitters and one secret ingredient is enough to know we’ve been missing out.
Don your hat, or your beanie, as throughout the seasons, the gallery may have a new collection to display to see, or the greenhouse a different mountain of fruit for you to sample. Every corner of Babylonstoren has something wondrous, and there’s not just the garden to explore.
While you are free to meander and experience the farm at your own leisure, a tour can give you some behind the scenes insight, it’s free and takes place every day of the week at ten in the morning.
The Garden Tour
“There is a garden of Eden everyone talks about, but nobody has seen. This is my garden of Eden,” said Stuurman. She has a rare office space of three and a half hectares.
Although it was their first time at the garden, visitors Jacques and Shiné le Roux were amazed by the variety of plants they saw. After being told about Babylonstoren by a friend, the couple decided to see it for themselves.
Shiné le Roux said the gardens inspired them to change the layout of their garden at home. Though they would gladly come again (and again), Shiné and Jacques said being shown the garden from behind the scenes was an amazing experience. “A big factor is the person guiding the tour,” Shiné said. The pair followed Stuurman as she walked proudly around the garden; both agreed that she made the visit really special.
A library
Stuurman describes the garden space as her library. You could wonder how that could be, but as you look around your Babylonstoren walk, observing the labels for the various species of plant and taking note of the collections of rare and indegenous plants, you can see it is serving a purpose, besides looking incredible. It also is a space where medicinal knowledge is curated, where historic heirloom species of fruit and vegetables are protected and catalogued.
The library is a responsibility. One that Babylonstoren obviously takes on with pride and style, the space is arranged thoughtfully and beautifully. “If you haven’t been here, you’re going to miss out on a lot of things,” said Stuurman.
*To read more about Constance Stuurman, read Victoria O’Regan’s profile article here