We received an exciting invitation to visit Tokara wine estate during the Open Gardens weeks,
including a visit to their special Adamastor Moss Garden
The gardens are spectacular, with many garden 'rooms' leading down from their home to the lake
Lovingly created by GT and Anne-Marie Ferreira, we wandered around in awe, exclaiming at the garden
and enjoying the marvellous views back over the vines to Table Mountain in the distance
The most recent addition which has been evolving over the past two years is the Moss Garden
We really had no concept of how amazing a moss garden could be until we saw it, and how beautiful and large it was
It has been created by moss artist Gert van
Tonder
using local sandstone, granite and mosses from the surrounding terrain
As they say, "it shares the beauty, humility and harmony of the Zen gardens of Japan, yet remains
quintessentially Tokara"
We followed the path that leads in front of the Ferreiras' house
and found the round lily pond
Beautiful swathes of old roses that have lovely perfume
A table for picnics in the green shade
Another view of the house and the round lily pond
"Lovingly nurtured by GT and Anne-Marie Ferreira, who founded Tokara over two decades ago,
their private farm garden is a place of serenity where awe-inspiring landscapes are accentuated by life-size sculptures
from the family’s extensive art collection"
We loved this one of dogs playing on the lawn
Then we found the Moss Garden. There were many people keen to see it
so we were taken around in a small group so as not to crowd it to much
Stepping stones, but only for the gardeners. We had to stick to the specially laid flagstones
One of the stone masons crafting another stone for the garden. So skilled
The lake is full of lilies and birds
We sat at the boathouse while waiting for our tour to begin. So peaceful and calm
Bees and dragonflies love these local pink waterlilies
We have decided to find some of these for our lily pond
The entrance to the Moss Garden
We were guided by this young man, who gave us all the information we needed
Another pretty flowering fynbos plant
The Japanese stone lantern was hand crafted by the stone masons
This is the second one; the first, sadly, broke during installation, so they started again. The tools they use are laid below it
Rocks, grasses and moss
You may not walk on the moss; here our guide is explaining the different mosses that you find here. All are indigenous
Some are large and green
Others are brown and grown in a velvet carpet. Here you can see many different varieties in the garden.
A stone basin in the rock
We were told that it is a Japanese tradition, on entering the garden, to wash your hands and scatter some water around
A beautiful Zen arrangement of rocks and nature
More rocks and moss and the addition of running water adds to the calm and quiet of the garden
This is the tiny yellow local waterlily Nymphoides indica
Geelwaterlelie (Afrikaans)
Yellow Waterlily, Floating Hearts (English)
Marombodane (Venda)
A rare Cape orchid
Flowering fynbos and Dietes iridioides
A species of plant in the family Iridaceae which is native to Southern Africa, planted near the water
commonly named African iris, fortnight lily, and Morea iris
The local bees seem to enjoy this beautiful fynbos plant Pseudoselago pulchra which often grows in rock crevices
So peaceful, so beautiful
Back up to the car through a lovely green lane
Another special sculpture 'seated' on the lawn. This is Dionysus by South African sculptor Angus Taylor. He is huge
Dionysyus is the Greek god of wine-making, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, festivity, insanity,
ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre
The children give an idea of his size
and, on a bench, a girl with an umbrella
Further up the green lane was the visitors' parking area
A very special experience
We were lucky enough to see Mrs Ferreira briefly and to thank her for inviting us to view their wonderful gardens
and especially the moss garden
All our stories can be seen in the Blog Archive near the top of the column on the right
If you do not wish to receive e-mails from us, please email menucape@gmail.com with the word 'UNSUBSCRIBE' in your email
