10 minute read
Babylonstoren’s Best
Babel chefs in the Kitchen Garden Babylonstoren’s Best
It’s not every day you have the pleasure of sitting with the one and only Gundula Deutschländer, the Master Gardener behind the exquisite and iconic gardens of Babylonstoren. Outside & In was thrilled to chat to Gundula about her winter gardening advice, favourite spots onsite Babylonstoren, tools and tricks of the trade and highlights of her long and fulfilling career in the industry. Needless to say, we were all ears...
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Q: Tell us a little about the journey that led you to Babylonstoren... What was your 'aha moment' when you knew a life in botany was your calling?
I remember going on a multi-day hike crossing the Cederberg, from north to south, as an art student at Stellenbosch University. It was raining most of the time, with such poor visibility that you’d almost walk bang into one of those huge decrepit cedar trees looming out of the mist. One morning, the sun broke through the clouds, its rays refracting rainbows in the drops dangling from the bushes. This diamond-spangled wilderness was just the place to be! Despite the long hard slog to get there, everything else just paled in comparison. Just a few weeks ago, we had our first decent shower of rain after a long, dry summer, and again, it triggered that memory of that moment and being in awe of nature.
After completing my degree, I travelled abroad, working as a gardener for several years. Brantwood, the estate of Victorian genius, John Ruskin, exposed me to the historical context of gardening and how to work with integrity within the fabric of the landscape, honing the skills of a craftsperson. It was all about creating a living laboratory.
Working for Eleni Martinez, an Antique Dealer in Greece, gave me the opportunity to juggle different garden spaces that depended on the suspense of the design. Her garden, situated between olive groves, leads down the garden path to various places of contemplation and great drama, all very stylishly done. On returning to South Africa, I then worked with a landscaping company, where the support of a team added a much-appreciated social layer to the creative process. Gardening is very much about creating a safe space that is reliant on collaboration and trust.
Q: So having all of this space to explore and create on the iconic farm must be so exciting... What are some of your favourite places in the Babylonstoren gardens to visit, and which are the places that make you feel the most joy?
Currently, it has to be the jewel boxes surrounding our mature persimmon trees, which we have four of, anchoring the four corners of our orchard. I planted tall bay hedges around each and have pruned windows into these to allow glimpses of the colouring leaves. I know of few trees that have such a magnificent range of autumn colours - from a metallic purple to a fiery coral gleam - reminiscent of the glow of stained-glass windows.
Q: We imagine the work you do is quite seasonal onsite, so tell us a little about what winter looks like in the gardens? What is the general planting or harvesting routine, and what prep work needs to be done for the seasons to come?
Winter at Babylonstoren brings many unexpected joys. With our focus on food production, we don’t include ornamental blooms unless they are edible or ripen to produce edible fruit, however, flowers bring great joy. During the winter dormancy period, we prune our deciduous trees, pairing it down to the structural skeleton ready for the blossoming eruption in August. The plums are particularly precocious in their white blossoming, while snow dusts our mountain tops. That’s definitely one of my favourite times
at Babylonstoren. We usually have much to do before the cold sets in: pruning, sowing seeds and planting herbs and bulbs. I do a lot of cutting back of herbaceous shrubs and herbs (for example, sage, santolina, artemisia and melissa) to take advantage of the temperate weather and sprinkling of rain, to allow time for protective growth to form before the cold sets in. Pruning often exposes soil that gives us the opportunity to feed the plants with compost and dress the soil with mulch.
Q: How many different plant species can one expect to find whilst roaming the Babylonstoren gardens and how big is the team that works with you?
Impossible to keep track of! We keep adding new plant species and expanding varieties, particularly in Babylonstoren's botanist Ernst van Jaarsveld's growing indigenous collections. Our team consists of 47 gardeners, florists, harvesters, washers, and drivers as well as 7 students. We appreciate immensely the support from our loyal volunteers that come to help twice a week, and it’s fun because we attract a wide range of people interested in the various aspects of gardening.
Q: Is there anything new or exciting we can expect to come to fruition in the gardens for the year ahead?
We like to keep things under wraps until the day of the launch as it allows us the element of surprise. However, I’d encourage visitors to come along in early winter, to view the rock exhibition in our Puff Adder, we’ve got a surprise that promises to be multisensory. I’m very excited about it!
Gundula in the Spice House
Q: Tell us a bit more about why you believe in the art of teatime and how these herbs are explored in the gardens at Babylonstoren? What might you consider to be your signature blend?
A decent cup of tea can really allow your day to shift gears. We don’t all have the time to pause for teatime, but there are various ways to enjoy a cup of tea, especially when we have such an array of herbs to select from as we do at Babylonstoren. In the main garden, I originally used herbs to heal the poor soils earmarked for use as the garden. The herbs also attract various pollinators throughout the seasons and function as companions for our fruit and vegetables.
In the Healing Garden, I’ve had the opportunity to really focus on the healing properties that herbs provide for our human bodies. It’s a bit like having an apothecary in its original form, before things were placed in capsules and syrups. Rosy-cheer is my signature tea - a charming combination of roselle and rose pelargonium. I love it for its intense hue and delicate taste, but also its remarkable ability to wash away anger and frustrations. We sometimes have stock in our online store, so keep an eye out for it.
For winter, I recommend a herbal blend to keep a cold at bay: thyme and sage remain the classic antiviral, antiseptic combination, but I’d usually spice it up by adding myrtle berries and violets, which sooth the throat and ease a nagging cough.
Q: What are your top tips for home gardeners in winter?
Top tips will vary depending on where your garden is situated:
• For most parts of the country, you need to pull a blanket of compost and mulch over your garden to protect it from the cold and prevent weeds from taking advantage of bare patches.
• For those starting a new garden or area, it’s vital to do some soil preparation, so with very hard soil you should break the top surface and sow some green manure, which will grow profusely if you're in a winter rainfall area. The top roots of various grains, such as barley, help break open the soil and in conjunction with legumes like lupins and serradella, which release nitrogen, a cover crop can spare you much backbreaking labour and enrich the soil before planting for the following season. I like adjusting my mixes every winter, sowing in linseed, poppies, cornflowers or calendula - each not only attractive to hungry bees but useful in various ways. Green manure can be either dug in at the end of the season, or cut and left to form a protective mulch.
• Winter is really the best time for planting deciduous fruit trees. When they are dormant, they don’t mind being moved to a more appropriate spot.
• I also love a good pruning, getting my secateurs in to trim a tree into shape and etch a skeleton of good proportions.
• Our SA soil is often old and tired, so where old growth is removed and the soil is exposed, use this opportunity to feed the soil with a sprinkling of organic fertiliser, compost and mulch.
• Watch the advancing line of the shadows in your garden, As the sun takes a lower arc across our southern skies, shadows lengthen and we can take note of which plants are happy with seasonal light adjustments and can cope with deep shade. Prune the branches of trees where the shade becomes too deep.
Q: What are some tools in the garden you just can’t live without?
I use my secateurs like an extension of my hand, but also love a good wooden-handled fork. We try not to disturb our soil too much, however, I’m always curious to see what’s going on down there, so whenever I need to dig, I always grab a fork - it’s less invasive than a spade and better for reading the texture of the soil.
Q: What’s the best advice you’ve received through your many years in the trade?
Patrice Terrevale, the architect who started the gardens at Babylonstoren with me, once said, 'There is much freedom in formality.' This was in reference to the grid pattern that has formed the fundamental weft of our garden, within which the various approaches of our gardeners can feel at ease to play, and nature peeks through with scattered surprises. Despite these quirky elements, the garden keeps its rhythm and harmony, and because of this structure, the seasonal twists and turns are so pleasurable.
Q: Do you have a favourite dish, using foraged flavours from the garden?
I love my greens, which make me feel as strong as Pop-eye, so that would be leaf amaranth in summer, lightly steamed, or dandelion greens in winter. For the most nourishing dish, nettle risotto with some peas and broad bean tips takes comfort food to the next level.
Q: If you had the chance to salvage 5 treasures from the outdoors to create a capsule garden, what would they be?
Small spaces are much more challenging than large areas, however all gardening is reliant on soil, light and water. An interesting garden emerges from our engagement with our challenges, whether poor soil, intense sunlight or deep shade, or a lack of water. Gardens only come alive when we can create an oasis for wildlife to enjoy the safety and abundance within this small space. Gundula Deutschländer
Master Gardener Babylonstoren
www.babylonstoren.com
@babylonstoren
IF I HAD TO PICK 5 TREASURES TO CREATE A CAPSULE GARDEN, THEY WOULD BE:
1. A borrowed view, be it a distant mountain vista, a neighbouring tree or even a tree on the street.
2. Cow manure, which is pure magic for enriching and enlivening soil quality.
3. A shallow rock basin, filled with water for a bird bath or where bees and other insects can drink.
4. A transplanted old wild olive - it’s my son’s birth tree and a plant which has been an anchor throughout the years both here and abroad. Tenacious trees that carry on forever, they are great for climbing in and harbour festive birds when the berries ripen.
5. A mint pelargonium cutting taken from the one growing high up in the mountains where my father’s ashes are strewn. He passed in his sleep with a sprig between his fingers, and I find its velvety surface and scent a great source of comfort.
