A guide to Garden Day: South Africa’s biggest garden party

How to celebrate, flower crowns, recipe ideas & events

Last updated: 1 October 2024 

Garden Day, happening 20 October this year (it's been an annual celebration since 2016), is all about celebrating the joys that nature brings us, whether it's plants on your patio or pots on a window sill.

How you do it is totally up to you: Lunch on a patio, plant swap, tea under your favourite tree… Just don’t forget to wear your flower crown, the official symbol of Garden Day. Find everything you need to know in our guide. 

Garden Day is celebrated on 20 October. Image: Garden Day 

JOIN THE 2024 CELEBRATIONS 

Gardens connect us to the natural world and inspire us to care for the ground and what grows from it. 

So the aim of Garden Day is to get everyone to appreciate their own plant paradise and share it with friends and neighbours, whether you have a big lawn, a few pot plants on your stoep or just like being out in nature. 

Garden Day, which started in 2016, has attracted many friends and supporters through the years, including media personality Suzelle DIY and comedian Schalk Bezuidenhout. 

“Garden Day is a reminder of how lucky we are to have a garden or a little pocket of nature to ourselves,” says Dr. Anesu Mbizvo, 2024 Friend of Garden Day and the founder of Johannesburg's first black and female-run yoga studio.

The 2024 Friends of Garden Day. Image: Garden Day

HOST A TEA PARTY, BRAAI, PICNIC…   

So what does Garden Day look like? There’s plenty of ways to celebrate at home with friends and family. 

You could channel your inner Duke and Duchess at a garden tea party; invite family over for a classic backyard braai; or host a plant swap. These are great ways to celebrate even if you have a balcony, patio, or even a small row of pot plants along your window sill. 

If your garden is big enough, you can set out some games like giant jenga or a sack race for the kids. No garden? No problem. Join a friend that does, picnic in the park or hang out at Kirstenbosch. 

Garden Day is the perfect excuse to unwind and spend the day outdoors. Image: Garden Day

FREE TOOLKIT TO DOWNLOAD    

If you need some inspiration, there’s a handy toolkit to help you plan your celebrations on the Garden Day website. 

You’ll find customisable invites if you’re hosting a Garden Day party, and recipes inspired by fruits of the garden, like a vanilla peach fuzz cake and poppy seed cake topped with beetroot icing. 

The tool kit also includes things to do with kids. There’s crafts materials like a step-by-step guide on how to make your own flower crown and a colouring book. 

The toolkit includes instructions on how to make a flower crown. Image: Garden Day

LISTEN TO THIS GARDEN TRACK 

Inspired by the “unique sounds of gardens”, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Loki Rothman has turned the outdoors into an orchestra. Think leaves rustling in the wind, stones dropping on the ground and soil being raked. 

It's the ideal song to add to your Garden Day playlist or use the track for your own Garden Day Reel. Watch the story behind the song.  

And make sure to join in on the celebrations by posting your pics on social media with #GardenDaySA. 

Share your garden party pics on social with #GardenDaySA. Image: Garden Day

GARDEN DAY EVENTS IN CAPE TOWN 

If you’d prefer to go out, there’s a range of Garden Day events happening across Cape Town. 

You can make your own flower crown using fynbos and greenery from Babylonstoren’s garden. It’s a guided workshop and seasonal juice is served upon arrival (R200pp). 

There’s also an edible flower experience offered by Veld and Sea. It starts with a craft class before you forage for flowers and attend a talk in the Glasshouse. Snacks like floral shortbread and botanical drinks will be served. Tickets start from R700. 

See more info, including where to book for the events, on Garden Day’s website.  

Pets get involved in Garden Day too (even donkeys and sheep). Image: Garden Day

MORE ABOUT GARDEN DAY

Find more info: Garden Day website
Contact on: 074 288 1487 | @gardendaysa

By Khadeeja Adams

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