Our dear friend Katherine Barlow – who I have written about once before here (and whom I might add has the most amazing taste) has opened the most stunning nursery in Plettenberg Bay. With a bit of luck we might get one here in Cape Town soon (hint hint), but for now, if you are visiting Plett for a weekend get-away, I reckon swing past Katherine’a farm for the day for some much needed ‘Dirt Therapy’!
Don’t you just love the name? Their website is launching very soon and can be found here.
When I had a look at the pics Kath posts on her Instagram account I wanted to pin all of them straight onto my Pinterest gardening board for inspiration. Everything in this magnificent space Kath has created is at the top of my shopping list – from the blue and white oriental pots (which I adore) to the baskets and skull heads. The list goes on!
Katherine grew up in Cape Town on a busy street with a small garden. Her interest in all things green grew from the many hours spent in her aunt’s garden in Kenilworth – Stellenberg. (see book)
As a child she also spent many happy holidays on her Grandfather’s farm in the Crags – hence her move to Plett five years ago.
Katherine moved to Plett from a beautiful game farm in the North West Province – she has a strong affiliation with all things “Africa” and this can be seen quite plainly in some of the selection of items in the shop. Porcupine quills and seed pods have been collected on her many trips to the bush over the years – from the banks of the Zambezi to her brother’s farm in the Karoo.
Dirt Therapy came about when the “empty nest syndrome” hit her hard after her two boys left for boarding school in Grahamstown last year. A trip to the Chelsea flower show in May cemented her decision. This cottage on her smallholding was a dark wooden cabin with a green roof hidden by Pine forest and Port Jackson. Trees were felled, the cottage re designed and repainted and Dirt Therapy was born.
What you see here today is a culmination of passion – Katherine’s love of trees, plants, interiors, dogs, people and wide open spaces.
Be sure to make a turn.
