Boschendal unveils environmentally friendly redesigned Werf Food Garden

Boschendal has unveiled its newly transformed and redesigned Werf Food Garden, further demonstrating the historic farm’s commitment to environmental stewardship and its focus on farm-to-table dining.

The Werf Food Garden is designed to sustainably increase Boschendal’s purchasing capacity and provide fresher, tastier products for the seasonal menus offered. Everything in the redesigned garden has been reused, donated or replanted.

Kholwane Thela, Gardens and Landscaping Manager at Boschendal, said the project to redesign the Werf Food Garden prioritized environmentally friendly practices. “We have taken greater care to tread lightly on our lands by producing our own compost, reusing materials that naturally occur on our farm, employing a range of water saving practices and using invasive Casuarina trees and Kasuarina tree for our structures. Our vegetable and herb boxes are made from 365 invasive Beefwood trees found on our property and felled to allow the rich variety of native plants to thrive in their place.”

Thela and his team have taken a series of measures to reduce the farm’s carbon footprint and support Boschendal’s wider sustainability and regenerative agriculture efforts. These include producing great growing media from over a thousand cubic meters of compost and mulch made on the farm as part of an out-of-this-world clean-up program; sourcing soil from the original garden to avoid alien seeds and chemical inputs; repurposing river stones in the sub-foundation and drainage layers; and the use of drip irrigation and drainage in the farm’s wetlands to help aquatic life thrive.

“We also used sustainable wood sources for the construction of our pergola,” says Thela. “And many of the benches found in the garden are made from reclaimed wood from invasive species and created by our woodworking team.”

The gardens were designed by renowned landscape expert Andy Jasper – project director and special advisor to Boschendal, Gardens Portfolio – drawing on ideas from Boschendal’s own restaurant and garden teams, with the assistance of James Furse Roberts – landscape architect – from FRLA.

Jasper says there is something to discover around every corner, from the culinary and herb gardens to the abundant fynbos gardens. “Guests are also encouraged to visit our beautiful rose garden, dedicated to Gwen Fagan, for her indispensable work in collecting and restoring heritage roses on our farm and in the greater Cape region. More than 150 people from Boschendal and Alan Dawson Gardens, who were contracted to support the in-house team, have been involved in creating, planting and even harvesting the new garden.”

The gardens were created a short distance from the kitchen of Restaurant The Werf to create a closer connection between the vegetables and herbs grown here and their ultimate destination: the plates of hungry guests and visitors.

Stella Delport, chef at The Werf restaurant, says she is excited about serving the farm-fresh produce from the new garden to guests. “We believe that the shorter the distance between the garden and our kitchens, the better the flavors of our food. Our teams will pick fresh herbs and vegetables daily to celebrate the best seasonal produce and authentic flavors.”

Jasper adds that he hopes the new Werf Food Garden inspires others in their own environmentally friendly efforts. “With the support of our guests, we hope to instill a love for sustainability and farm-fresh flavors in every visitor to our farm. We invite guests from around the world to share our story of sustainability, community and culinary excellence with the world and hope people will return again and again to see the bountiful harvest.” We hope this garden will continue to inspire and delight – and help everyone experience our farm in their own way.

The Werf Food Gardens are now open. For more information, visit boschendal.com