Founded over 20 years ago, the annual Bedford Country Gardens is an Eastern Cape Midlands lifestyle experience that has visitors returning again and again for a dose of down-to-earth country fun. For three days, and three days more the next weekend, gardenistas and nature-loving families explore country roads, linger in lovely farm gardens and discover soul-mates. The hosts are on hand, ready to swap ideas on how to bloom where you are planted (as the saying goes), hundreds of km from the nearest garden centre.
The routes criss-cross town, straddle mountain and grassland biomes and traverse farms. The variety of birds and trees is eye-popping. This is prime terrain for hiking, trail running and mountain biking.
Open farm gardens offer refreshments; some serve light lunches and a couple set aside spots for picnickers.
In Bedford village, there are more open gardens, The SA Rosarium, plant nurseries, lots of shopping, live music, warm hospitality and the scrumptious food the region is known for. Art, quilts, photography, funky scarecrows and floral arrangements pop up all over.
The event is about more than just gardens though. There are celebrity food events and talks about everything from gardening to palaeontology. Small group walks around the old part of town are led by Bedford’s local history enthusiasts and early morning birding excursions take visitors into the pristine mountain forest which forms Bedford’s backdrop.
The cost depends on the amount of gardens you visit with a nominal fee payable at each garden visited.
More information: https://www.bedford.co.za/
Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/BedfordGardenFestival/
ANNUALLY over two weekends – OCTOBER / NOVEMBER
E-mail: bedfordgardenfestival@gmail.com
