War of the rose gardens in Greyton

Writer: Elaine Davie | Photographer: Hedda Mittner

At the end of each October the small town of Greyton struts its stuff as the Rose Capital of the Overberg. In this time of pandemic, the organisers have not let us down. The Rose Fair is back with a bigger and better showing than ever before, flaunting an explosion of colour at every turn; happily roses seem to have developed their own immunity to Covid-19.

For the past 40 years or so the Greyton Rose Fair has attracted visitors from far and wide and they will not be disappointed this year. Of course, in about February when the organising committee started making plans for it, they had no idea of what was to follow, first on the world stage and then in South Africa. The possibility of having to cancel the Rose Fair was unthinkable, so it was a case of adapt or die.

A former wine farmer from Wellington, Evan Hodkinson is the gardener in the family. When he and his wife Kathi bought their house five years ago, there were so many weeds in the garden that it had to be ploughed up to start afresh. A lush and sprawling lawn now forms the centrepiece and is surrounded by masses of rose bushes, flowering shrubs, annuals and herbs, with strategically placed loungers, pergolas and ponds.

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