Johnman Gardens

Arrival point ‘Johnman Cottage’ at 19 Herte Street, Stellenbosch (thereafter walk through two large historic gardens off Herte Street).
There are two extensive gardens, each approx. 4000m², situated in the historic core of Stellenbosch: (1) the original established garden of ‘Camido’, the Victorian home of Dorothy and Charles Johnman (now a Music Centre), and (2) the ‘Secret Garden’ hidden behind the street front of 19th Century houses and stretching to Market Street, currently a fascinating and inspiring project undergoing restoration.

Gardens that reflect a life and productive cultivation through three centuries, 19th to 21st. The two gardens together present variety, profusion and contrast, from well-treed copses with winding paths, opening into surprise spaces, or ‘rooms’ that charm with colour and texture, as well as open areas of ancient fruit and olive trees and clumps of bamboo. The most prominent feature of both gardens’ identity is their lifeblood, the historic arteries of irrigation channels (leiwater) that distribute water from the Millstream into the furthest reaches of the garden. A legacy of historical and educational significance; a miracle of survival.

You are invited to visit ‘a whimsical adventure’ Art Exhibition at the Johnman Cottage