Bedford 
Country Gardens

SA's gardening calendar favourite. Explore open gardens in Bedford & surrounds, Eastern Cape.

Bedford, South Africa.
Where Country Charm Meets Vibrant Living

Tucked against the breathtaking Kaggaberg mountain, Bedford is a gem of the Eastern Cape, a place where life is lived with heart, humour, and a deep love for the land. Famous for our Bedford Country Gardens (held every October/November), weโ€™re known for fun-loving farmers, fabulous hospitality, and landscapes that stretch as far as the eye can see.

Here, historic charm meets wide-open spaces. Rolling grasslands and dramatic valleys - Mankazana, Cowie, and Baviaans River - are home to Angoras, Merinos, beef cattle, goats, and game.

Twenty Three Years of Springs Worth Celebrating in 2026

Now in its twenty-third year, the Bedford Country Gardens event has quietly become one of South Africa’s most beloved rural gatherings – and the 2026 edition promises to be the finest yet. Every spring, this historic Eastern Cape village trades its usual stillness for something altogether more colourful, as private gardens fling open their gates and Bedford does what it does best: welcome strangers like old friends.

This year’s event unfolds over two long weekends – 30 October to 1 Nov and 6 to 8 November 2026 – with approximately 16 private gardens open daily from 08:00 to 17:00. Four distinct routes wind through the area, each with its own character: the Town Route, Mountain Route, Cowie Valley Route and Heading West Route. If you’re weaving through heritage rose gardens on a village street or standing in a farm garden with the mountains at your back, each route offers a completely different version of Bedford’s remarkable landscape.

Entry is R30 per garden per person, payable in cash at the garden you’re visiting. For inquiries or tickets, contact Stacey Leigh Shaw directly on 083 874 7816.

Accommodation in Bedford can be booked in advance at www.bedford.co.za or hello@bedford.co.za and given how popular the festival has become, booking early is strongly advised.

The event has always been more than a garden tour, and 2026 is no exception. Highlights include Ernst Pringle’s Butterfly Talks, flower shopping at Floradella Flower Farm, and guided visits to the South African Heritage Rosarium and local Mill. Hope Street invites a leisurely browse through boutique shops, while Bedford’s restaurants and cafรฉs offer the kind of unhurried, flavourful meals that make you forget you had anywhere else to be.

For gardeners and garden club members, the event is a living reference book – planting combinations, heritage varieties, design ideas and the generous knowledge of passionate garden owners around every corner. For photographers, artists, nature lovers and anyone in need of a proper slow-travel escape, Bedford in spring is difficult to improve upon.

Full programme to be released in the beginning of October 2026.

What's happening in Bedford?

Bedford โ€“ The Heartbeat of the Countryside.

Stay in Bedford
Where Comfort Meets Country Charm

Stay a Night, Love it for Life.

Would love to be part of the action?

We are on Instagram
๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ด๐—ต ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—Ÿ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜€: ๐—ช๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ธ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ง๐˜„๐—ผ

๐—” ๐—ฐ๐—น๐—ผ๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—น๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—ธ ๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฌ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฒ ๐—•๐—ฒ๐—ฑ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ฑ ๐—–๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ป๐˜๐—ฟ๐˜† ๐—š๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜€, ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ด๐—ต ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฒ๐˜†๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐˜ƒ๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ถ๐˜๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜€.

As the 2026 Bedford Country Gardens draws to a close, we are looking back through the lens of weekend two. Roses in every colour, quiet lawns in the shade, mountains, celebrity breakfast with James Barry Slabbert, Friday Soirรฉe at the Rosarium and the first glimpse of a gardenerโ€™s day have all been captured by the people who were there.

Thank you to everyone who visited, shared their photos and made the weekend memorable. We hope these images bring back good memories and inspire you to add the Bedford Country Gardens to your list for next year.

๐—ฃ๐—ต๐—ผ๐˜๐—ผ & ๐˜ƒ๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ผ ๐—ฐ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐˜๐˜€:
Shelley Hall - @salt_and_light_company 
Georgie Hounsfield - @georgies_preloved_collection 
James Barry Slabbert @jamesbarryslabbert 
Jacques Mรผller - @jacquesmullerdesign 
Jane Marais @jane_cumming 
Various Open Gardens

๐—™๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป, contact Stacey Leigh Shaw on 083 874 7816 or hello@bedford.co.za. Visit www.bedford.co.za.

Social Media by @isuzusa 

@maasstromgarden 
@glenavonfarm 
@caverscountryhouse 
@dukeofbedfordsa 
@the_busy_country_gardener 
@rosariumsouthafrica 

#bedfordcountrygardens #isuzu #bedford #bedfordeasterncape #opengardenssa

๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ด๐—ต ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—Ÿ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜€: ๐—ช๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ธ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ง๐˜„๐—ผ

๐—” ๐—ฐ๐—น๐—ผ๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—น๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—ธ ๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฌ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฒ ๐—•๐—ฒ๐—ฑ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ฑ ๐—–๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ป๐˜๐—ฟ๐˜† ๐—š๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜€, ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ด๐—ต ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฒ๐˜†๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐˜ƒ๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ถ๐˜๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜€.

As the 2026 Bedford Country Gardens draws to a close, we are looking back through the lens of weekend two. Roses in every colour, quiet lawns in the shade, mountains, celebrity breakfast with James Barry Slabbert, Friday Soirรฉe at the Rosarium and the first glimpse of a gardenerโ€™s day have all been captured by the people who were there.

Thank you to everyone who visited, shared their photos and made the weekend memorable. We hope these images bring back good memories and inspire you to add the Bedford Country Gardens to your list for next year.

๐—ฃ๐—ต๐—ผ๐˜๐—ผ & ๐˜ƒ๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ผ ๐—ฐ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐˜๐˜€:
Shelley Hall - @salt_and_light_company
Georgie Hounsfield - @georgies_preloved_collection
James Barry Slabbert @jamesbarryslabbert
Jacques Mรผller - @jacquesmullerdesign
Jane Marais @jane_cumming
Various Open Gardens

๐—™๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป, contact Stacey Leigh Shaw on 083 874 7816 or hello@bedford.co.za. Visit www.bedford.co.za.

Social Media by @isuzusa

@maasstromgarden
@glenavonfarm
@caverscountryhouse
@dukeofbedfordsa
@the_busy_country_gardener
@rosariumsouthafrica

#bedfordcountrygardens #isuzu #bedford #bedfordeasterncape #opengardenssa
...

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๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฃ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—ข๐—ฎ๐—ธ ๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐—›๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ฑ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฆ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐˜€๐—ผ๐—ป

๐—ฃ๐—น๐—ฎ๐—ป๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿต๐Ÿฐ๐Ÿฑ, ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐˜€๐˜๐—ถ๐—น๐—น ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐—š๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐—š๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ด๐—ผ๐—ฟ.

At Glen Gregor, one tree carries a story from the Second World War. A pin oak was ๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ฎ๐—ป๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿต๐Ÿฐ๐Ÿฑ in memory of Hugh Mapham, uncle of Lochart Ainslie, who died in the war. Now around ๐Ÿด๐Ÿญ ๐˜†๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜€ ๐—ผ๐—น๐—ฑ, it has watched generations of visitors pass beneath its branches, and it is a living memorial to a life cut short.

Thank you to everyone who visited Glen Gregor and the other gardens across the Bedford Country Gardens. We hope to welcome you back to the Cowie Valley Route next year.

Image Credit: Melanie Logan

๐—™๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป, contact Stacey Leigh Shaw on 083 874 7816 or hello@bedford.co.za. 

Visit www.bedford.co.za.

Social Media by @isuzusa 

#bedfordcountrygardens #isuzu #bedford #bedfordeasterncape #opengardenssa

๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฃ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—ข๐—ฎ๐—ธ ๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐—›๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ฑ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฆ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐˜€๐—ผ๐—ป

๐—ฃ๐—น๐—ฎ๐—ป๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿต๐Ÿฐ๐Ÿฑ, ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐˜€๐˜๐—ถ๐—น๐—น ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐—š๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐—š๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ด๐—ผ๐—ฟ.

At Glen Gregor, one tree carries a story from the Second World War. A pin oak was ๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ฎ๐—ป๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿต๐Ÿฐ๐Ÿฑ in memory of Hugh Mapham, uncle of Lochart Ainslie, who died in the war. Now around ๐Ÿด๐Ÿญ ๐˜†๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜€ ๐—ผ๐—น๐—ฑ, it has watched generations of visitors pass beneath its branches, and it is a living memorial to a life cut short.

Thank you to everyone who visited Glen Gregor and the other gardens across the Bedford Country Gardens. We hope to welcome you back to the Cowie Valley Route next year.

Image Credit: Melanie Logan

๐—™๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป, contact Stacey Leigh Shaw on 083 874 7816 or hello@bedford.co.za.

Visit www.bedford.co.za.

Social Media by @isuzusa

#bedfordcountrygardens #isuzu #bedford #bedfordeasterncape #opengardenssa
...

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๐—–๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฒ ๐—ช๐—ถ๐˜๐—ต ๐—จ๐˜€. ๐—Ÿ๐—ฒ๐˜โ€™๐˜€ ๐—ง๐—ฎ๐—ธ๐—ฒ ๐—ฎ ๐—–๐—น๐—ผ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—Ÿ๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—ธ.

๐—–๐—น๐—ผ๐˜€๐—ฒ-๐˜‚๐—ฝ๐˜€ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—ฏ๐—น๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—บ๐˜€ ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ฏ๐˜‚๐˜๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ณ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ข๐—ฟ๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฑ๐˜€.

Step in closer and see what the garden is hiding. Roses open petal by petal, and butterflies settle on the blooms, pausing just long enough to be seen.

The Orchards is open today, 6 to 8 November, on the Heading West Route. R30 per person per garden, cash at the gate.

๐—™๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป, contact Stacey Leigh Shaw on 083 874 7816 or hello@bedford.co.za. Visit www.bedford.co.za.

Reel credit: @jacquesmullerdesign 

Social Media by @isuzusa 

#bedfordcountrygardens #isuzu #bedford #bedfordeasterncape #opengardenssa

๐—–๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฒ ๐—ช๐—ถ๐˜๐—ต ๐—จ๐˜€. ๐—Ÿ๐—ฒ๐˜โ€™๐˜€ ๐—ง๐—ฎ๐—ธ๐—ฒ ๐—ฎ ๐—–๐—น๐—ผ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—Ÿ๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—ธ.

๐—–๐—น๐—ผ๐˜€๐—ฒ-๐˜‚๐—ฝ๐˜€ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—ฏ๐—น๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—บ๐˜€ ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ฏ๐˜‚๐˜๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ณ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ข๐—ฟ๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฑ๐˜€.

Step in closer and see what the garden is hiding. Roses open petal by petal, and butterflies settle on the blooms, pausing just long enough to be seen.

The Orchards is open today, 6 to 8 November, on the Heading West Route. R30 per person per garden, cash at the gate.

๐—™๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป, contact Stacey Leigh Shaw on 083 874 7816 or hello@bedford.co.za. Visit www.bedford.co.za.

Reel credit: @jacquesmullerdesign

Social Media by @isuzusa

#bedfordcountrygardens #isuzu #bedford #bedfordeasterncape #opengardenssa
...

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