Visitors to Babylonstoren, the opulently restored Cape Dutch farm and hotel 45 minutes from Cape Town, are encouraged to pick fruits and vegetables directly from the renowned kitchen gardens.
Photography by Marie Viljoen except where noted.
In late January (South Africa’s summer) it reads: “Baby marrows, beans, onions, garlic, parsnips and basil are lush and ready for harvest. Get lost in the stone fruit block to enjoy juicy plums, nectarine and peaches.” In this garden, you may pick what you see.
The parterred edible playground, designed by French landscape architect Patrice Taravella, is the sort that fulfills horticultural cooks’ fantasies.
Inspired by the Company Gardens established at the Cape by the Dutch East India Company in the 17th century (to replenish scurvy-plagued ships en route to the East Indies), the eight-acre gardens support an intoxicating collection of plants supplying the farm’s restaurants, guest suites, and gift shop.
While familiar edibles are plentiful, a timely improvement on the colonial gardens is the inclusion of diverse native South African plants such as wild rosemary (Eriocephalus africanus), flanking the path above.
The needles of confetti bush (Coleonema species) are highly aromatic, pairing well with seafood and citrus or quince cordials.
Waterblommetjies (Aponogeton distachyos) are a traditional ingredient in lamb stews called bredies, and are delicious raw, as pickles, or in side dishes.
Photograph by Vincent Mounier.
While vegetables are here to be eaten, their ornamental appeal is not lost, and seeds are saved; artichokes are allowed to flower.
Stick-art takes tomato teepees to a new level, while straw mulch preserves moisture from the intense southern African sun.
Organic principles are adhered to as much as possible, and the bug hotel provides stylish accommodation for beneficial insects (a pile of brush in your garden will do the same thing).
Pruning and espalier workshops are led by head gardener Liesl van der Walt and master fruitman, Anton Roux, who has spent his life pursuing the art and craft of fruit growing – the extensive orchards are under his care.
Gardener Gundula Deutschlander leads garden walks and teaches tea and herb classes.
For day visitors on a budget, the gardens offer a cheap but rich botanical tonic. The day’s fruit and vegetables arrive color-coded, and the effect is arresting (and can be learned from the Babylonstoren cookbook, Babel Cookbook).
For an immersive experience, the artfully renovated farm cottages in an avenue of oak trees provide sumptuous accommodation.
The lemon and orange trees were in blossom, and in our cottage a box of the fresh citrus greeted us. But a supper of wood-fired pizza topped with garden leaves and charcuterie waited for us in the farm bakery, transformed for the night into a rustic restaurant for hotel guests.
Photograph by Vincent Mounier.
The sense of generosity that characterizes Babylonstoren could be attributed to the fact that Koos Bekker, a South African media billionaire for whom money may no longer be an object, is the husband of Karen Roos, the farm’s owner.
Our dreamy kitchen—a glass cube extending from the thick walls of the historic building—was stocked with Babylonstoren’s olive oil, wines, and teas. Pick your salads, lemons, and fresh peas, and pull carrots in the quiet that envelops the vast grounds after the day visitors have left.
Before dinner, a walk around the farm in the early evening showed us the springtime clivias in bloom in the shade beside a mountain stream. If you venture farther afield on foot or mountain bike you will find rice paddies, vineyards, fruit orchards, and fynbos trails.
Photograph by Vincent Mounier.
Photograph by Vincent Mounier.
Farm breakfasts are served in the conservatory.
A stop at the farm shop is highly recommended.
Photograph by Vincent Mounier.
Fresh-picked farm flowers, soaps scented with waterblommetjies and citrus blossom, and fruit and herb preserves and cordials, and local honey are hard to pass up and make shopping for gifts a pleasure.