The Sunday Tribune Garden & Leisure Show

The Royal Showgrounds in Pietermaritzburg will once again play host to the annual Sunday Tribune Garden & Leisure Show. This is the 36th year the show is being held, and with over 24 000 visitors (at least 5000 of whom are from beyond the borders of KZN, this event has grown into a horticultural happening of note.

The Garden and Leisure Show is the largest horticultural event of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere and has even been nicknamed "South Africa’s Chelsea". With an inspiring line up, this year's show promises not to disappoint.

The theme in 2011 is Circles.

Inspirational show gardens are the focus, and visitors will be treated to the latest landscaping techniques, innovative design features, and displays of indigenous and exotic plants.  The show also incorporates a garden equipment and accessories component.

Some of the magnificent gardens on display include displays by the parks departments of Durban (EThekwini), Pietermaritzburg (Msunduzi), Nelspruit (Mbombela), Pretoria (Tshwane), Bloemfontein (Mangaung), Cape Town, Kempton Park (Ekhuruleni), Krugersdorp (Mogale) and Kimberley (Sol Plaatje).

All designer gardens are subject to the scrutiny of the invited Chelsea Flower Show-mentored judges, whose brief it is to adjudicate displays in accordance with the best of international criteria; this process being complemented with an invitation to the public to vote for their favourite garden.

In addition to horticulture, the show has for much of its history hosted the Illovo Floral Cake Icing display and 2011 will be no exception.  This is indisputably the largest and most prestigious expo of icing expertise in the country and in its own right is a major attraction.  

To complement a comprehensive display of products and services, Mayfords will be hosting In Tune with Nature, a one and a half hour light classical concert, arranged by Richard Cock with soloists from the KZN Opera School and Christopher Duigan on piano.  This event will be compéred by Tanya Visser, the Editor of The Gardener and Die Tuinier and will take place on Saturday morning 1 October.

Only 45 minutes from greater Durban, and a leisurely four and a half hour drive from Gauteng, the show is conveniently located in KZN’s capital, just one kilometre from the N3 in the heart of the scenic midlands.

Visit http://royalshow.co.za/gardenshow/ for further information.