Residents of Durbanville and surrounds can join the City of Cape Town’s horticultural team for volunteer winter pruning at the Durbanville Rose Garden until this Friday, 17 July.
The public invitation follows the City’s winter rose pruning workshop last Saturday, where residents and gardening enthusiasts learned practical techniques for pruning and maintaining healthy roses at one of the City’s most iconic public gardens.
Established in 1979, the 3.5 ha Durbanville Rose Garden contains approximately 4 500 rose bushes.
Healthy growth
Winter pruning helps prepare the roses for healthy growth and flowering during the rose season, which typically runs from October to May, according to a media release.
Held during the winter dormancy period, the workshop highlighted the importance of seasonal pruning in supporting healthy growth and flowering during the rose season.
Through practical demonstrations and interactive sessions, participants learned pruning techniques, soil preparation, fertilisation, seasonal maintenance and responsible pest management that can be applied in home gardens.
Range of topics
The programme featured presentations by the City’s horticultural specialists and industry experts on a range of topics, including rose selection, pruning techniques for different growth types, preparing and improving soil, seasonal rose care, garden care products and responsible pest management.
A hands-on pruning session gave participants the opportunity to practise the techniques under expert guidance.
“The garden is a valued community asset and a popular destination for visitors, while also serving as an important public green space maintained by the City’s recreation and parks department,” said Francine Higham, Mayco member for community services and health.
“The Durbanville Rose Garden is a much-loved community space, and this is a practical opportunity for residents to learn from our horticultural team while helping us care for it.
“Winter pruning is an important undertaking, and I encourage residents to join the volunteer programme until 17 July, between 09:00 and 15:00 daily. Volunteers are welcome to simply walk in and register at the facility to participate.
“Along with the winter rose pruning workshop, this forms part of the recreation and parks department’s ongoing commitment to promoting environmental awareness, sharing horticultural knowledge and encouraging communities to appreciate and care for Cape Town’s public green spaces,” Higham said.
- Contact Unati Matiwane, facility officer, at Unati.Matiwane@capetown.gov.za for more information.
You must be logged in to post a comment.