Nature inspires elegance at Vergelegen’s new Potting Shed

Bolander attended the unveiling of the The Potting Shed gift shop at Vergelegen Wine Estate in mid-December, located in a recently-renovated Cape Dutch-style building, with traditional thatched roof, overlooking the glorious rose garden, with the scent of rose petals wafting in.

Dr John Rourke, former president of the Botanical Society of South Africa, and a member of Vergelegen’s Garden Committee, performed the ribbon cutting ceremony.

He was assisted by Tania Coetzer, who curated the homeware collection in collaboration with consultant Paul Duncan. Food consultant Petro Blommaert also worked closely with the team to source and brand food items.

Items range from stylish garden tools, kneeling cushions, exfoliating tallow soap to remove garden grime, and whipped tallow butter to nourish dry hands.

All manner of homeware items are available, and affordable plants such as estate hydrangeas, clivias, roses and agapanthus in a dedicated area alongside the shop.

And for the youngsters, there are knitted toys inspired by farm wildlife such as Cape foxes, honey badgers, eland, and Rau quagga, plus toy farm vehicles.

Catering for sweet tooths, they have Belgian chocolate slabs, nougat, handmade biscuits, bonbons, and candied clementines.

The shop stocks four signature ranges - Dark Honey, Rose Garden, White Wisteria, and a pure, natural range incorporating camphor essential oil and powdered camphor leaf.

These reference estate features such as white wisteria, which grows abundantly in the centuries-old Octagonal Garden, and giant camphor trees in front of the manor house, which were declared national monuments in 1942.

And afterwards, a walk in the rose garden was simply heavenly.