Thousands of people have flocked to the Castle of Good Hope in the Mother City for the inaugural Cape Town Flower Show.
Twenty show gardens are on display with both local and exotic species but there is also a strong focus on keeping spaces green despite stringent water restrictions.
It is a feast of colour as summer arrives in Cape Town. The show gardens have been designed by landscape architects and shows what can be done with a bit of flair.
The Floral Kingdom of Table Mountain garden celebrates local fynbos, while others demonstrate everything from the Cape Winelands, to small spaces used well.
However, the show is about more than just enjoying beauty.
“We are paying homage to the water wise element right now because we have just had more restrictions imposed on us so it is very relevant right now so people need to learn how they can conserve water and use water more wisely in their gardens so that they do not lose their gardens,” says Cape Town Flower Show’s Karey Evett.
In drought conditions, indigenous species are always encouraged, but a mixture including exotic plants can work. Experts say however, thorough research is necessary.
Ensuring a mulch layer of decomposed plant material at least ten centimetres thick will go a long way in saving water.
“When it is drought it is not necessarily to say you can only do gravel and succulents it is about grouping the things with the same water requirements together so that when you do water you are not over watering the one and under watering the other, you are basically giving the right amount of water and that is what water wise is actually about,” says Cape Town Flower Show Curator Paul Odendaal.
The flower show coincided with the commemoration of the Castle’s 350th anniversary.
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