My latest flower 'must have' is the old fashioned zinnia!! I planted a whole packet of seeds in my garden this spring & the little seedlings did splendidly until the snails discovered them & devoured all but a handful of plants. Mine were the dwarf variety but on an outing to broaden my horizons one weekend in April I came across these gorgeous specimens at De Malle Meul in Philadelphia...
Philadelphia is a sweet little dorp (tl: village) in the Swartland barely 20 minutes from the bustle that is Cape Town. I had heard of it but never exactly known the reason one would visit as it hasn't been as widely marketed as it's more famous sister in that region, Darling. We decided to park the car under the row of blue gums framing the main square & explore on foot. The first thing that struck me was the silence - not deathly quiet but rather the very welcome absence of traffic noise - all you could hear were the sparrows, the occasional dog barking & children playing in the street....bliss!
De Malle Meul used to be the home of the artist Pieter van der Westhuizen & today houses a galleryof his work as well as being a venue for weddings and hosting shows & events. The beautiful zinnias were in aid of their Afri-Spaans evening the following day and the owner kindly humoured the weird person obsessed with photographing her flower arrangements...Also liked the corrugated iron cladding on some parts of the building too...but thought I'd better make myself scarce...
There are two parts to Philadelphia - the older, more aesthetically pleasing part anchored by the obligatory NG Kerk which initially looks out of all proportion to the tiny town until one remembers that it serves the wider farming community as Philadelphia is surrounded by the wheatfields of the Swartland.
As well as the above attractions the town also boasts a variety of small shops & local artists & potters studios, some very picturesque houses & a primary school.
We were quite amused to discover that shoplifting doesn't seem to occur here...one unattended dress shop displayed the notice below (casually placed on a bench in the middle of the shop) & roughly translated as 'Please do try things on - call me at Magic Minerals if you need any help'...fabulous!
And some detailing on die Blikhuisie (tl: The Tin House)...
After you've had your fill of wandering around there are lashings of ginger beer to be had at the shop and a decent lunch is served under the pepper trees at the Pepper Tree restaurant. All in all a good day out....
Comments