Creighton Open Gardens 2024

And just like that, the 2024 Creighton Open Gardens is all over! Although this year was far less prep than last year (click here to see what my garden looked like in the lead up to and over the weekend of the 2023 year), there was still a lot that I got done and it was wonderful seeing how well i had planned (as much as one can haha) the timing of everything. My roses were in full bloom, my ranunculus were sadly all over, and my ‘Pinks’ (the mini dianthus pictured in the top photo) were almoooost over, but still made a stunning show for the weekend.

Something else that happened for the weekend was the launch of our new homemade ice-cream!

What a fun way to test out an idea I’ve had for a while. It was so well received (we sold over 100 tubs of ice cream!) that we have continued and are now stocking a few stores around KZN (The Lemon Tree in Underbugr & Aziko in Balito).

We started with Granadilla (lovingly picked by my boys from our very own Granadilla vine!) and Strawberry (homegrown by the lovely Kim Hodson just up the road in Underbush). It’s made with homemade condensed milk (this is the key to it’s delicious flavor) and is 100% natural! The only added sugar is during the condensed milk making, we use cream from the local milk processing plant in our town, and the milk is from our own cows. The only added flavouring is REAL fruit…it’s udderly delicious!

Since we started FatCow Creamery 3 months ago, things have really taken off. I”ve introduced 2 new flavord (Vanilla & Chocolate) and now sell 1 litre tubs which have been VERY well received. It’s all very exciting…so watch this space!

New Garden Beds:

Behind our house is the, what we call, Owl Shed (where we got married back in 2012!) and now that it has been fenced off from the cows, I decided I needed to create a bit of a feature. One of the other local garden fundis was selling ‘slipped’ Iceberg roses for R25 a pop…what a steal, how could I resist. I bought 25 and added a Petria to either side for balance and a bit of purple colour, and the beds are doing so well! It’ not so easy to get into their wth my mower and hose pipe, but the extra walking is great exercise.

Our guineapigs helped to keep my lawn neat & tidy (wow can they graze!!!) and the Arum Lilies in the Food Forest really stole the show. The forest setting of the stream and the lillies was so very beautiful. My amazing husband organized new wooden coops for the ducks, guinepigs (and the newly added Black & Lavender Orpington chickens from my husband’s cousin who lives just down the road and ho actually incubates my duck eggs for me!).

Creighton Open Gardens - October 2024

The Saturday was over cast and cool, which was the perfect weather for visitors to tour the gardens (it wasn’t the perfect weather to sell ice-cream cream…but the novelty certainly won over people and we sold the majority of our stock!). It was a really lovely weekend, and I loved sharing my passion for gardening with fellow flower enthusiasts.

Here are the photos from the weekend:

The view of our Food Forest from the top Pasture (looking down at our main house)

If you’d like to have a peek into how things looked last year (and in the year leading up to the first ever Creighton Open Gardens) then click here to read my first post.

Thanks for reading!

Roxy

x

Art & Soul Creative Retreat 17th - 18th November 2018 in Creighton, KZN

Hosting retreats has been something on my heart for years and years, and when Farmboy and I got married here on the farm all those years ago, I just knew that the farm would make the perfect place. After all the renovations we just completed at Bedford (click here to see our beautiful self catering guesthouse), it has become the perfect setting to finally make my dreams of hosting retreats come true.

Here are some photos of Bedford…

And now onto the exciting news! I’m hosting my first every retreats with Durban based artist Terry Angelos, whom I met last year while attending one her art therapy workshops. I then bumped into her at our local Creighton Aloe Festival and I mentioned that we had just completed renovations at Bedford and then the topic of hosting a retreat came up.

The rest as they say, is history!

The 2Day1Night retreat is happening from Saturday 17th November to Sunday 18th November and will be here on Bedford Farm in Creighton. We still have a couple of spaces open if you’d like to book your spot!

Here’s a little more of what’s on offer during the 2 day 1 night stay:

Saturday
Arrive anytime during the morning from 9am
🌿11am - art session / introduction and techniques for relaxing through art & art journaling
🌿1pm - lunch & free time
🌿3pm - art session - aloes and country botanicals
🌿5.60/6pm gin sundowners (I’ll be serving my famous Lavender & Grapefruit Gin Cocktail!)
🌿7.30/8pm - Dinner

Sunday
🌿9am - 10am picnic brunch
🌿10am - 12pm “Pleinair” painting - country landscapes
🌿12pm - free time. You are welcome to explore the area, find a lovely lunch spot on your way home or chill at the farmhouse till you are ready to leave.
Depart farmhouse by 3pm.

If you’re looking for a break away from reality and the opportunity to be creative in a beautiful countryside setting, this retreat is just for you.

Cost: R1850pp including all meals, accommodation and art supplies.

Rooms are sharing (private rooms are available at R200 extra) and there is also the option of spending the Friday night here (an extra R350pp) if you’d like to extend your stay.

Message or comment below with your email address or email terry directly to book your spot today: terryangelosart@gmail.com

Terry and I are so excited to host this retreat, and I’m sure it will be the first of many to come!

Bedford farm - our new home (what was a guesthouse is now where we call home!)

PLEASE NOTE THE GUESTHOUSE IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE TO BOOK! WE HAVE SINCE MADE BEDFORD OUR HOME.

A few months ago, our family wrapped up renovations on one of the beautiful, original sandstone houses here on our farm. The farmhouse is called Bedford, as Farmboy and I got married on the property, making use of the beautiful old sandstone building opposite it for our ceremony, and the calf  shed for our reception (click here if you'd like to have a look at photos from our Vintage Farm-style Wedding).

With the renovations complete (for now!), I went about setting up the house on AirBnb and we welcomed our first set of guests over the Aloe Festival weekend. Since then we have had a number of guests stay at Bedford, and I thought it was about time I shared the space with my readers and followers here on the blog...

We have set up the house to be self-catering (we have provided anything and everything you could possibly need to make, serve and enjoy all your meals). The house has 5 bedrooms, and sleeps 10. There are 3 double rooms with queen sized beds, and two double rooms with twin beds. There are 2 bathrooms, one full bathroom inside with a shower, bath and toilet, and an outside loo for the more adventurous. Part of our plan in the future is to build on two more bathrooms inside.

There are also two wonderful fire places for those chilly afternoons and evenings...one in the main bedrooms, and the other in the cosy lounge. There is also a large dining room area for eating meals (or playing board games!) and a wonderful verandah with lots of comfortable seating overlooking our dam and the garden.

Bedford is also pet friendly, and we have already welcomed a number of guests and their pups:

"What a wonderful experience, wonderful for dogs and humans alike. A nice relaxing weekend with all the joys of country lounging and warmth. Worth a visit even if you don't have hounds!" CJ from Durban

The verandah and outside area

The Lounge & Dining Area

The Bedrooms

The Kitchen

The Inside Bathroom

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Winter afternoons on the Farm - Life on a Dairy Farm in Creighton, South Africa

Winter has been especially mild this year (although as I type this I've been told we are in for one last cold spell before Spring officially arrives).

My good friend Storm (you might remember her as my stylist and florist friend from Korea whom I worked with on numerous styled shoots over the past few years...see posts below) came to spend a few days with us on the farm. It's been a good time to have friends stay with us as the countdown to Baby Hutton is well underway (at the time of writing this I have 4 official weeks to go!).

While Storm was here we spent a most wonderful afternoon chasing the last sun rays and showing her around the farm. Here are some photographs of our afternoon adventure...the golden afternoon light of Winter is always my favorite time of the year to shoot.

For any photographers interested...all images below were taken with my Nikon D750 & 50m 1.4 lens, with a few gentle edits done in Lightroom.

Enjoy

x

Thank you to Storm for taking this family photo below:

Creighton Steam Train Ride through the Aloes

The little village of Creighton, the place I now call home, is home to so much more than dairy cows and wide open spaces. It's got two wonderful attractions that bring thousands of visitors every July.

June and July mark the start of Aloe season, and with that, our town hosts the Creighton Aloe Festival, a weekend of activities for the whole family; from hot air balloon rides to market stalls, pony rides and great food.

And, throughout the month of July, the Creighton Steam Train is up and running and visitors hop aboard for a journey through the valley of Aloes.

The train leaves the Creighton Railway Station and makes the 3 hour round trip from Creighton to Riverside, along the Ngogwaan River.

Farmboy and I, along with some friends (all armed with a delicious picnic lunch) boarded the train at 10am after stuffing our faces with bacon & egg rolls and cups of hot chocolate on the station platform. The train starts its journey by making its way through the neighboring farms (the best part was catching a glimpse of our own farm from the carriage window) before it winds its way down to the river.

Depending on the train schedule, there are either 1 or 2 stops along the way. Our train just stopped once, and we all piled off in search of the perfect picnic spot.

Farmboy also had his drone with him and will be putting together an awesome video of our trip. 

Here is the video he made last year documenting the route the train takes.

This year we were able to actually go on the train so keep a look out for that video soon.

We stopped for just over an hour, long enough to soak up the sunshine and enjoy our picnic amongst the aloes.

It was a really enjoyable morning, and I hope we are able to go again next year.

How to book:

Contact glynnis@toocee.co.za or rayna1@telkomsa.net to make your booking.

Price per person:

Children age 3 to 12 apply. Children under 3yrs are free.

Coaches:  Adults // Children

• Sisonke Coach:  R280  // R230
• Casual Lounge coach:  // R230 // R200
• Sitter & Family Coach:   // R200  // R170
• Vintage coach:  R180 // R150
• Caboose Coach:  R180 // R150

Farm Holiday in South Africa

Farmboy and I have been at home on holiday here in South Africa for a week now, first spending some time in Joburg, the Drakensburg and have finally touched down on the family dairy farm in Creighton, KZN.

Here are a few snaps of the drive from Joburg, as well as my first morning waking up to the cows and chickens, and wide open spaces that make this place such a wonderful retreat from Korean life.

Celebrating Two Years of Marriage #farmboyandcitygirl

Today marks Farmboy and my two year wedding anniversary. And to celebrate I'm going to go a little wedding crazy and post a whole bunch of photographs from our special day in September 2012.

We were married on Farmboys family dairy farm in Creighton, KZN South Africa in a large stone barn, and then had our reception in the cow shed. It was the most perfect day. Here are a few of my favourite photographs taken by our photographer Jacki Bruniquel. 

You can read about our wedding (including all the small details like our hand made wooden tables, stationery, sourced vintage cutlery, my hair and makeup and everything else by clicking here).  

{Golden Hour}

A few photographs with my new camera of our drive to the farm last weekend. With this kind of late afternoon wintery light, how can one resist not pulling over and snapping away...