Garden Day is a chance for people across South Africa to down tools and celebrate their gardens.
The first time I heard about Garden Day was in 2017. I JUMPED at the opportunity to celebrate it, not only because I love gardens and all things green but also because of the genius trademark that the campaign toted: A flower crown!
Flower Crown Fun
There’s nothing nicer than having something creative to do (that is very easy to do) and to have it coincide with a celebration of something you love. So in 2017, I immediately gathered a few friends around and we got into some serious flower crown making. We predominantly used Fynbos and then some flowers from the garden. Fynbos was great because it’s long lasting, and I even transformed my flower crown into a dry-flower Christmas wreath that gave us months of joy.
One, two, skip a few- by 2020 I had become a pro at flower crowns and Garden Day. So I upped the ante and hosted an outdoor flower crown workshop. We incorporated a lot of fresh flowers this time around, making sure to support local flower sellers, and we even had a little photo spot set up so that people could get pretty photos taken. Because what’s nicer than a family photo? One where everyone is wearing flower crowns!
More than flowers
But at the end of the day, Garden Day SA is more than just about the flower crowns. It’s a great motivator to get everyone together and to take a conscious step to setting some time aside and appreciating something that we may take for granted every other day.
In 2020 I think, if anything, being able to connect with people during a pandemic about something beautiful and uplifting like our green spaces was a relief to the soul and incredibly special. And remember, green spaces mean different things for different people. For instance not everyone has a garden. But everyone passes a tree on their way to work, or appreciates a flower on a walk. My ‘green space’ has for a long time been about my indoor plants and what they mean to me. Last year, I also joined Andreas from Plantify on the day to talk about indoor plants for a virtual Garden Day gathering, and it was so great to share more about my passion for plants with other people.
Yes, you can celebrate these spaces any day of the year, but let’s face it, if someone doesn’t jot it down in the calendar, do we ever really get around to it? So having Garden Day SA down as a staple yearly event definitely has given me something to plan towards and look forward to.
This year, Garden Day falls on the 17th of October and I’ll be very close to welcoming a baby into the world, so I haven’t planned anything official. But you can bet that I’ll be wearing my flower crown surrounded by my plants and family taking a moment to really soak it all in and appreciate the greenery. Here’s a Tiktok video for inspiration for a celebration in my greenhouse!
If you’re looking for events to get involved in, take a look over here at these events that are happening in the lead up to and on the day. You can also find the community on Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok and Twitter.
