The sleepy hollow of Bedford tried to forget the drought as it transformed itself into a spectacular and vibrant display of gardens, scarecrows and people last weekend.
The sleepy hollow of Bedford tried to forget the drought as it transformed itself into a spectacular and vibrant display of gardens, scarecrows and people last weekend.
Many people were worried that the lack of water in the region would threaten the festival but in a short two weeks the festival took form and "was just as beautiful as the years before," said Gerhild Scholzl, a Port Alfred resident who has been attending the festival for the last five years.
The first stop on entering Bedford from the R360 had to be The Village Farm Stall with its tempting array of tasty treats, salad rolls, quiches, pies and many more delicious items. "The Padstal always has the most amazing goodies and is definitely a place to refuel before you start or end your day," said Sarah Pickering a Rhodes photojournalism student who attended the festival.
Bedford’s very first strawberry farmer, Dave Robbins, rushed in and out The Padstal and surrounding food places delivering his first harvest of local strawberries. If you happen to visit Die Kleine Maasstrom, the farm he co-owns with Franz Mulder, before lunch you would be lucky enough to pick up a kilogram of strawberries for only R30. Die Kleine Maasstrom also hosted The Tafel, a trattoria and deli that stayed open all weekend "we have over thirty cheeses, it’s amazing," said Robbins. On display were Franz’s artworks that would appeal to wildlife enthusiasts as the large oil paintings showed off the natural beauty of Kudu, Zebra and Wild dogs.
The entire town and surrounding farms opened up for public viewing while 20 gardens remained open from 8am until 6pm the entire weekend. One of the highlights for those particularly interested in the gardens was definitely Charlotte and George van der Watt’s farm, Maasstrom.
"The Maasstrom Garden is stunning, I’ve never seen anything quite like it before", said Scholzl. The creator, Charlotte started the garden from scratch 20 years ago. "The drought has made it difficult and have had to water a lot of it by hand," she said. The Bedford Festival is not a competition so there is no prize for the best garden. "I garden just for pleasure, every garden has its own personality and the Maasstrom garden is mine," said Charlotte.
Creatively designed scarecrows attract visitors and ward off birds in some of the most unlikely places such as the petrol station, the pharmacy, side streets, shops and houses. The scarecrows were dressed as brides, petrol attendants and some unusual characters that are quite difficult to describe.
The scarecrow, Tilly Rhipsalis, the Andrea Ginn scarecrow was just one of the many interesting creations on display. "Her clothes were made from Tillandsia Bromeliads and her hair was Rhipsalis Cuctus and that is how she got her name," said Marion Hendry a consultant at Andrea Ginn properties.
The festival is a lot of fun and it also benefits the local community by creating at least 30 temporary jobs.
