La Brie [Franschhoek Open Garden 2011]

The Lake at La Brie

I cannot believe how quickly time is passing. Our wonderful trip to view the open gardens in Franschhoek seems a distant memory apart from the reminder we have by way of the hundreds of photographs we took.

La Brie, the farm garden I am showcasing today, presented us not only with three separate gardens to view...

...but also with the opportunity to meet a number of the resident animals. Here's looking at you, Odie!

I had considered doing this post in two parts...

...since there is so much material...will you look at those bushy eyebrows!

...but I have opted to keep this post it as one...

...even though this means it is going to be fairly lengthy...

So, for those of you who have braved my lengthy posts before...brace yourselves. Those of you who are too busy to hang around...Cheers! Porky over here will be happy to escort you off the property.

"I have heard Odie, over at The Simple Life, absolutely loves my kind!"  

"So, Odie, here I am practising my best pose for you!"

"I've been growing my goatee to delight the ladies. Do you think it's looking impressive enough?"

"Excuse me...may I please remind you that this is meant to be a post about our farm, not YOU, Billy Goat!"

Thank goodness for Toady! At last we can proceed with the tour of this garden...we'll spend a few moments at the waterlily covered lake to set the scene...

It was overcast and drizzly, but we were not at all deterred!

Surrounded by so much beauty, who would care about a bit of drizzle?

After enjoying The Lake, we moved to the next garden at La Brie...The Potager! 

This was a delightful garden of roses, herbs and vegetables, beautifully laid out and carefully tended...

...with the central arbour forming an exquisite focal point!

This was huge, but I'd love a smaller version in my own garden!

Isn't it gorgeous?

Have you spotted the horses in the paddock ahead? I'll show you where they are stabled in a little while.

I just want to sit quietly on this rustic bench to imbibe the loveliness and sense of calm pervading the potager garden.

As with all gardens in and around Franschhoek, this one is surrounded by lush  vineyards and superb mountain vistas. 

Artichokes are such sculptural flowers! Since they require so much space, I've not tried to grow them myself. 

As promised, here is the stabling for the very lucky and pampered horses that call La Brie, home!

They each have their own hanging flower basket! 

Much of the main garden around the Manor House consisted of perfectly manicured lawns, surrounded by formal plantings in beds demarcated by neatly clipped hedges.

A number of lovely, ornate water features added their silent reflections to enhance the overall beauty and pervasive calm of La Brie. This one is at the side entrance to the Manor House.

That attractive building was the garaging for cars.

This sculptural depiction obviously holds significance for the owners. Perhaps twin daughters who love to dance? Or, perhaps Mother and Daughter?

Formal garden on this side of the white washed boundary wall. Sprawling vines beyond.

A closer look at the dancing girls framed by the fence behind.

A wide-angled shot of the Manor House side entrance.

...and here we view it from the front. Regular readers of Driftwood Ramblings will by now easily be able to identify this architectural style as Cape Dutch.

Look at the striking contrast of the bright, white-washed walls, snow white Iceberg roses and the rich green of the lawn and trees, set against the blue-grey backdrop of the imposing mountain. 

I kept thinking of how our dogs would have loved to run about and play on these expansive, level lawns. Just as we were ready to leave, the lady of the manor exited the house at the rear with three Great Danes and two smaller dogs. She called out to us that they were "going stir-crazy" with having been locked up in the house all day (obviously, due to the open garden day). Those dogs literally shot out of the house and were so excited. They, with their owner, disappeared into the vineyards in the blink of an eye, to enjoy their carefree romp.  

The front door of Cape Dutch homes is traditionally a stable door. The upper half of this door was open and beyond it was a magnificent floral arrangement highlighted by a huge, ornate French chandelier. I saw others marching up boldly to take a photograph of the interior from the open doorway, but I did not feel comfortable doing this. There is a fine line between being an appreciative visitor and overstepping the boundary to become annoyingly intrusive.    

The statuesque heads of Foxgloves lend themselves to these sizeable gardens.

I have a permanent love-affair with blue flowers. Aren't these absolutely  glorious? 

This is the back of the house, but it was as beautiful, if not more so, than everywhere else. There were a couple of seating areas, each one quite charming!

These beautiful aged walls embellished with ancient mosses and lichens divided the back garden into various sections. The swimming pool was beyond this one, on a raised terrace. 

Roses perfumed the air... 

Just tossed this one in to make sure you're paying attention! 

Swoon...there's that startling blue again!

And look at the detail within the bell of each creamy, white Foxglove flower. 

Gnarled old trees and solid old walls will outlive us all. They hold our secrets in perpetuity.

A naive sculptural form, perhaps representing an angel? Or a lone figure standing in silent awe, contemplating the marvellous sights that make up La Brie.

What a wonderful spot for enjoying those long, summer evenings outdoors! Or al fresco luncheons that go on forever...

Or, we could move out here, under the Willow trees to catch the cooling breezes and enjoy the mountain vistas, while some amongst us might wish to lie on the cool, green lawn and daydream.

Aah! Here is the third stone sculpture in this unique style that we saw in three of the gardens we visited! I still haven't found out who the artist is!

These flowers were in a tree we have yet to identify.

Just a pretty view over a section of the vineyards...

And a section of vine left after the last pruning!

That brings us to the end of this visit. I do hope that those of you who managed to stay with me to the end, enjoyed it.