BABYLONSTOREN is one of the best preserved werfs (farm yards) in the Cape Dutch tradition. Not only the manor house from 1777, but pioneer structures all the way back to the founding of the farm in 1690. The property is situated in the Drakenstein valley between Franschhoek and Paarl and offers a Farm Hotel, Restaurant and fully functional garden.
The garden is at the heart of the farm. It was inspired by the Company’s Gardens of the Cape, where for centuries ships would replenish with sweet water, vegetables and fruit at the halfway station between Europe and Asia. It also hales back to the mythical garden of Babylon. Spanning eight acres, the Babylonstoren garden is formal in structure. Every one of over 300 varieties of plants in the garden is edible and it is grown as biologically as we can. Fruit and vegetable are harvested year round for use in our restaurant. The garden is divided into fifteen clusters spanning vegetable areas, berries, bees, indigenous plants, ducks and chickens and includes a prickly pear maze. Gravity feeds water into waterways from a stream into the garden as it was done for 300 years.
Whatever the season, there is always something happening in this garden. Guests are invited to join in the harvesting, pruning, planting or picking of the many fruit, herbs, nuts, spices and vegetables. Walks span over three kilometres in the garden and the gardeners would love to give guests a guided tour every day at 10h00.