Saturday & Sunday 2-3 November
Saturday & Sunday 9-10 November
Invigorate your senses. Walk through the gates of the historic 1811 Wildekrans Country House and step into a world of wonderment. As one of nine homesteads participating in Elgin Open Gardens this year, this diverse landscape is guaranteed to enchant.
JOANNA LEE MILLER @joannaleemiller
Joanna is a South African fine artist who trained at the Florence Academy of Art in Italy. Her expressive paintings of landscapes and people explore how our connection with nature can help us deeper understand ourselves. She paints exclusively in oils, creating her landscapes en plein air. “Being in nature, where wild things grow, creates the space to truly connect with who we are,” Joanna says. “It is deeply personal, exciting, full of possibility, but also strongly grounded in authenticity. It is how I want to be, and natural environments that create this feeling are where I want to be.”
For more information, email: joannamiller19@gmail.com
Situated at the foot of the Houw Hoek mountain range, the gardens at Wildekrans Country House are home to abundant birdlife and tumbling natural beauty. Here you can wander next to streams and water ponds, heirloom roses heady in scent, shaded lawns, olive groves, fruit trees and contemporary sculptures.
Alison Green and Barry Gould have been avid art collectors for more than thirty years. Wildekrans Country House boasts a contemporary collection that includes Bruce Arnott, Deborah Bell, George Pemba, Wilma Cruise, Guy du Toit, Robert Hodgins, William Kentridge and Hylton Nel.
Every year, Alison and Barry invite younger artists to exhibit on the estate during the charity garden show. For 2024, they have specifically selected Joanna Lee Miller and Caryn McArthy, whose works sync magically with the wild surrounds.
CARYN MCARTHY @cabbages_and_kings_flowers After 30 years of magazine design in Cape Town, Caryn dabbled in floristry for a year, surrounded by fragrant blooms and foliage. Intoxicated by the scents and stems she dealt with daily, she wanted to capture the transience of her floral arrangements. It was then she realised her long-held desire to express herself through oils on canvas. “It was the love of flowers that gave me the courage to put my fears to one side and just paint,” she says. For more information, email: caryn@cabbagesandkings.co.za Where Wild Things Grow is an exhibition of Joanna and Caryn’s fynbos-and floral-inspired works. To enhance the theme of natural beauty, Alison and the artists are transforming the time-worn barn at Wildekrans into an Alice in Wonderland world of whimsy. Expect fresh flowers, flowers, flowers and more flowers – against walls the colour of a magician’s cape.
The Wildekrans County House gardens and art exhibition will be open to everyone for walk-in visits. Country-inspired refreshments will be on sale. These gardens are open to the public only two weekends a year, so be sure to diarise your visit!
To book a walkabout, an art tour of the collection, an overnight stay or a special visit, email info@wildekrans.co.za
Times
9.30am – 4.00 pm (last entry)
Cost
Free / Donations to The Bot River Education Fund.
Venue
Wildekrans County House, Elgin
