Built along the reed-lined Klein River, the Overberg village of Stanford is idyllic at any time of year. Founded in 1857 and declared a heritage area in 1992 by the then National Monuments Council, it is a rare example of a South African village where the entire old centre, with its original streets and buildings, is legally protected. Its walkable streets, Victorian and Edwardian houses and clutch of cafés, galleries and shops lend it a laid-back, bygone-era kind of charm that tickles visitors in all the seasons.
But from now until 24 September, it’s putting on its prettiest party dress with the second annual Stanford in Bloom — a floral fiesta of talks, gardens, markets, displays and more. Here are 7 reasons to make the trip.
1. FOR THE CHAMPIONS
The centrepiece of the festival is Chelsea Flowers in Stanford — a replica of this year’s fynbos-forward, gold-winning South African entry at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in London. At the opening on Wednesday, landscaping rock star Leon Kluge, the creative force behind the design, spoke about bringing “little snippets of moments in the mountains” to a place where they could be easily enjoyed — and hopefully spark more love for, and will to conserve, the splendours of the Cape Floral Kingdom.
Poet Siphokazi Jonas followed with a praise piece, hailing the “unique dialect of Erica irregularis whispered in these wilds and nowhere else in the world”, before radio personality John Maytham confessed that his dark sunglasses were there to hide his happy tears as he cut the ribbon.
On paper, the display is 25,000 cut stems of fynbos and indigenous flora arranged to evoke the meeting of the Indian and Atlantic oceans. There are cliffs draped in Cape primrose and disa orchids, a canyon cleaving through tumbles of proteas and pincushions and a river of tannin-rich water — stained amber with rooibos tea — winding through it all. With delicate botanical artworks from the Grootbos Florilegium lining the walls, and staff from the nearby Grootbos Nature Reserve on hand to chat and so deepen the wonder, the show feels immersive, theatrical and strangely moving. Quite right that the seating is pews — just don’t forget your dark sunglasses.
• R200 per person. Book at Webtickets.
2. FOR THE FINDS
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Let’s face it, the word festival is really code for “Let’s eat, drink and shop” — and if Chelsea Flowers is the floral centrepiece then the Village Green market is the feast. Stanford’s historic Village Green, laid out in the 1850s as a community grazing ground and one of the oldest of its kind in South Africa, becomes the spring fête ground, complete with a tented marketplace. You’ll find a curated spread of gifting, clothing, handmade and proudly local goods — plus the Leivoor Lounge pouring wines from the Stanford Wine Route alongside craft beers and gins (look out for a special Stanford in Bloom beer). And with flowers still at the heart of it all, the green is also hosting a mini-garden competition — Stanford’s own take on the RHS Chelsea Flower Show — with local green fingers vying for top honours.
• Free entry. Open daily from 9am — 7pm.
3. FOR THE STORIES
Local art gallery Betrag is curating Nave Narratives, a boutique literary mini-festival with talks, interviews, panels, Q&As and signings taking place in the nave of Stanford’s oldest church, St Thomas (built around 1880). More than 30 writers, journalists, artists and performers are set to contribute under the theme “Land, Journey, Imagination”. Just some of the impressive names on the bill are musician Koos Kombuis; actress and politician Celeste Matthews-Wannenburgh; authors Nick Dall and Matthew Blackman; and veteran journalist Peter Bruce. Expect poetry, memoir, travel, justice, crime, romance, pop-art, eco-film, zines, wellness and the craft behind books.
• Tickets range from R75 to R120. Full programme at Betrag.me or Webtickets.
4. FOR THE GROUNDING
In 2022, ex Joburgers Cavy and John Kelley, seeking a “more grounded life” in the Western Cape, found a 2,000m² plot in Stanford with a wildly overgrown garden. Guided by their permaculture studies with Geoff Lawton, one of the most respected global voices in the field, they’ve applied “rewilding by design” principles to create a thriving food forest in their own back yard. Now it stands as a living, evolving showcase of what permaculture can do — designing with nature rather than against it, growing food and herbs in ways that build soil, save water and move towards self-sufficiency. It’s kinder to the planet, and, as Cavy puts it with a smile: “If the shit hits the fan, we have food and medicine.”
Right in the village, their Casa Blanca Permaculture Farmstead is open to visitors with QR codes that will guide you on a self-tour through the garden and put fascinating info at your fingertips — including footage of how it all looked three years ago. The difference will make your jaw drop.
Alongside the open garden there’s a pop-up market and a programme of talks on topics such as spiral herb gardens and composting, practical tips for anyone keen to green their own patch — and maybe stand a chance in a zombie apocalypse.
• R20 entrance. Find Casa Blanca on the daily schedule at Stanford in Bloom or check out their Instagram.
5. FOR THE CULINARY QUESTS
The Klein River Cheese Farmstead sits in a bucolic setting about 7km from the village, using age-old artisanal, environmentally-conscious methods to create a delicious array of award-winning cheeses — with tastings and sales conveniently at its little shop on Queen Victoria Street.
Over the festival, the farm is sponsoring the Klein River Cheese Artisans Demo Kitchen in the Ou Lap Hall, next to St Thomas Church. With three slots per day, workshops run the gamut from making your own cheese with botanicals to a guided tasting of gourmet fynbos flavours.
About 18 different chefs will be doing demos and tasters, with notable names including Janine van der Nest, chef-owner at the local darling Agteros, famed for its hyper-local heritage dishes (the restaurant is doing a special high tea for the show); and Simon Watt-Pringle from The Station cafe in Hermanus. Even landscaping legend Kluge pops up here, swapping his dungarees for an apron to make waterblommetjiebredie with renowned-Stanfordian cook Mariana Esterhuizen.
• Demos R80 - R140; workshops R350 - R650. Find the full roster pinned on their Instagram.
6. FOR THE SCARES
For weeks, local businesses and residents have been hauling hessian, stuffing straw and stitching seams to swell Stanford’s population by about 50 — scarecrows, that is. You’ll spot many loitering along Queen Victoria Street and around the Village Green, but wander further and you’ll find more peering over hedges and posing on lawns.
Some come with backstories: the pair on Shortmarket Street are characters from Making a Killing, a murder mystery by local author Bonnie Espie; while the weirdo sticking his tongue out on Church Street at In the End is called Floki. Built by the offbeat design studio Murg, he doubles as a signpost for a larger multi-medium exhibition of their work inside, which opens today.
The scarecrows add an extra incentive to explore the village on foot. Pick up a numbered map from the information desk on the library stoep, tick them all off on your stroll, and drop your entry at the designated spot to be entered into a lucky draw at the festival’s end.
7. FOR THE CHATS
There’s a full roster of talks scheduled over the two weeks, tackling everything from fynbos and pollinators to botanical art, the flower trade and even coastal geology. These sessions — a mix of free and ticketed — are taking place in venues across the village, including the NG Kerk, Okkie Smuts School Hall, tented spaces on the Village Green and St Thomas Church.
The programme is vast but a few selected highlights are Kluge again — and if the entire festival were to choose a “ “best in show”, it must surely be him — talking about SA’s road to Chelsea. Helen Boem, the RHS’s floral marquee manager, will be talking about RHS shows worldwide; and gardening celebrity Tanya Visser is giving talks on several topics, including planting “thrillers, fillers and spillers”.
Conservation-focused sessions feature specialists such as Sean Privett, Rupert Koopman, Michael Fabricius and a Grootbos Florilegium artists panel. You can also hear some Stanford locals such as Dr Jeff Levin, talking about his world-renowned Life Alignment energy-healing system; and the “royal gardener” Annalize Loubser will be spilling the tea about her days spent working as part of Queen Elizabeth II’s gardening team at Buckingham Palace.
• Tickets for headliners are R80 - R100 (via Webtickets or at the door), while many of the conservation sessions are free. See the daily schedule at stanfordinbloom.co.za.
