Flower Season in the Western Cape: Jaw-Dropping Hotspots, Botanical Gardens & Events

The flower season in the Western Cape is springing up, and we’re ready for it. Discover the best places to see the wildflowers in and around Cape Town: hotspots, national parks, botanical gardens, and events. Get your family, friends, and camera ready!

Hopefield

Hopefield is a quiet rural town decorated by fynbos, boasting a beautiful Fynbos Park and a Private Nature Reserve. It also produces world-famous fynbos honey—one of the small town’s biggest providers of job opportunities to the locals.

Special event: Hopefield Fynbos Show

Plant species representing Renosterveld, Wetland, Sandveld and Rietveld are sourced from the veld and displayed showing the diverse and beautiful flora decorating the West Coast throughout the year. The Hopefield Fynbos Show takes place at the Fiona Kotze hall.

Cost: R15. Book through Quicket

When: Thu 29 Aug – Sun 1 Sept | 9am – 2pm
Where: Koperfontein Rd, Hopefield

West Coast National Park

The focal point of the West Coast National Park’s spring flower bloom can be found between Langebaan and Yzerfontein. Here, the Langebaan Lagoon’s cerulean waters and the surrounding fynbos’ bright flowers create an unforgettable landscape.

The park offers walking trails, bird-watching areas, picnic and braai areas, and a safe spot on the Tsaarsbank to see the whales in August and September. Explore mountain biking and cycling routes, or try kayaking and kiteboarding. Visitors may also spot molluscs, crustaceans and juvenile fish in the Langebaan Lagoon.

Cost: Various, from R55 – R247. See the full breakdown of prices and book here

When: April – August: 7am – 6pm | September – Mar: 7am – 7pm
Where: West Coast National Park lies inside the Cape West Coast Biosphere Reserve, on the R27 coastal road between Yzerfontein and the Langebaan Lagoon.

Constantia

While Constantia is primarily known for its wine farms, beautiful wildflowers grace its mountain slopes and untamed stretches of bush.

Special event: Fynbos and Fragrance Walk

Guided by Follow Your Nose’s founder, Justin Williams, participants start this event with a cup of home-brewed fynbos tea. They then learn about the art of perfumery through an educational introduction to plants and perfume before walking through the flourishing fynbos.

During lockdown in 2020, Justin began building a scent library – initially a collection of a few indigenous scent materials, which has since grown to dozens of interesting essential oils, absolutes, extracts, tinctures and isolates. He is now one of a small handful of perfumers in South Africa using local materials to create fragrances.

Cost: R650. Book through Quicket

When: Sat 10 Aug | 10am – 12.30pm
Where: Welgelegen Rd, Constantia, Cape Town

Darling

This quirky country town, known for its art galleries and the Evita se Perron theatre (a project of South African comedic celebrity Pieter Dirk Uys), is surrounded by picturesque fields of wildflowers. Inviting wineries, breweries, restaurants, and museums add appeal while the fascinating !Khwa ttu San Culture & Education Centre is just outside town.

Special event: The Darling Wildflower Show

The Darling Wildflower Show invites everyone to a one-stop flower-viewing event showcasing the natural habitats of the Darling region (Renosterveld, Sandveld, Strandveld, and Vlei and Wetland).

Highlights of the event include a landscaped wildflower exhibition and species table, an outdoor market area, vintage cars and tractor rides, guided wildflower walks, award-winning wine cellars, craft beer stalls, and more. Darling Tourism runs a shuttle bus service around the village during the festival weekend.

Cost: R80 (adults) | R60 (students and pensioners) | free for children under 12. Book through Quicket

When: Fri 20 – Sun 22 September | 9am – 5pm
Where: Darling Sports Club | Jakaranda St, Darling

Fernkloof Nature Reserve

The Fernkloof Nature Reserve spreads over 1800 hectares, over the Kleinrivier Mountains and vast plains from river to sea. The Hermanus Botanical Society plays an essential role in protecting and promoting the Fernkloof Nature Reserve area. The society holds monthly botany talks, excursions to coastal and mountain viewing spots, and access to the enthralling herbarium.

Cost: Free

When: Daily: 9am – 1pm
Where: Fir Ave, Fernkloof Dr, Hermanus

Special event: Hermanus Flower Festival: A Celebration of Fynbos

The Hermanus Botanical Society presents its annual flower show over Heritage Weekend.

Cost: Free

When: Sat 21 – Tue 24 Sept | 9am – 4pm
Where: Fernkloof Nature Reserve, Fir Ave, Fernkloof Dr, Hermanus

Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens

Known as one of the best botanical gardens in the world, it’s hard to believe that these majestic gardens were once overgrown farms, housing a ruined homestead, hordes of pigs and alien-plant plantations (in 1913).

Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden fringes the eastern slopes of Cape Town’s Table Mountain, beckoning friends, families, and lovers to enjoy picnics and walks. The facilities, which include a marquee lawn and several restaurants, are also used for weddings and live events.

Free tours are also available.

Cost: Various prices; R40 – R220. Book through Webtickets

When: Daily: 8am – 7pm
Where: Rhodes Drive, Newlands, Cape Town

Clanwilliam

During the spring months, this town becomes an ocean of colour with a variety of flowers, fruits, vineyards, and plantations. Because the surrounding areas are so vast, it would take forever to see all the flowers that Clanwilliam and the Cederberg offer. The Clanwilliam Wild Flower Society has replanted natural flora on previously disturbed land.

Special event: Clanwilliam Wild Flower Show

The Flower Show is a well-known landscape exhibition boasting over 360 species under one roof. It is nearly impossible to view the vast array of unique and beautiful flowers in the area without going to great lengths. Here, visitors can admire many different species of flowers from close-up.

Cost: TBC. Tickets are available at the door.

Where: Flower Church, 41 Main Road, Clanwilliam
When: Fri 23 Aug – Sun 1 Sep | Times TBC

Karoo Desert National Botanical Garden (in Worcester)

Worcester’s Karoo Desert National Botanical Garden, at the foot of the Hex River Mountain range, displays an array of arid and semi-arid plants, over 154 hectares. The majority of the Karoo Desert contains natural vegetation, with a cultivated section is merely 11 hectares.

With three hiking trails to choose from, the Shale Trail, the Grysbokkie Trail, and the Heuweltjie Trail, people can easily make their way to get a close-up view of all the flowers in bloom. Be sure to see the ‘vygies’ during the flower season.

Cost: Various; R15 – R55. See full price breakdown here

When: Daily 7am – 6pm
Where: Roux Rd, Panorama, Worcester

Blaauwberg Nature Reserve

The Blaauwberg Nature Reserve sits on Blouberg Hill and stretches out down to the soft sandy coastline, offering beautiful views of Robben Island (a UNESCO-listed World Heritage Site) and Table Mountain.

Cost: Various; free – R28. See the full price breakdown and more info here.

Special Event: Botanical Walk

In October, join the Blaauwberg Nature Reserve Botanical Walk to see a variety of flora and learn how these plants coexist, are pollinated, defend themselves, and thrive in the unique Cape Flats Dune Strandveld. The leaders will also point out specific plants that flower at different times of the year.

Where: Eerste Steen Resort, Otto du Plessis Dr, Bloubergstrand
When: May – Oct: 8am – 5pm | Nov – Apr: 8am – 7pm

Harold Porter National Botanical Gardens

Renowned for its waterfalls and amber pools, Harold Porter is a flora-rich National Botanical Garden surrounded by mountain slopes, forest-swathed gorges, flatlands and marshes, and beachside dunes.

The Harold Porter Gardens boast a rich ecosystem and an impressive variety of flowers. See the South African national flower, the king protea, and other fynbos families like ericas and restios, as well as irises, daisies, and orchids.

In addition, many different critters, large and small, can be spotted – each playing a role in the ecology.

Cost: Various; R20 – R95

When: Mon – Fri: 8am – 4.30pm | Sat – Sun: 8am – 5pm
Where: Cnr Clarence Drive & Broadwith Rd, Betty’s Bay

Elgin

Nine spectacular botanical gardens decorate the Elgin area: Freshwoods, Stone Kitchen, Lavenham, Keurbos and Sonop, Auldearn, Houw Hoek Outspan, Wildekrans Country House, and the Elgin Vintners Country House. Plants are for sale at the Keurbos and Fresh Woods gardens.

Special event: Elgin Open Gardens

The simple notion of sharing botanical knowledge with friends blossomed into a successful annual event, allowing the public to explore the lavish green gardens during the annual spring bloom. These nine gardens in the Elgin district then grant a portion of the money raised to local charities of their choice.

When: Sat 2 – Sun 3 Nov | 9.30am – 4pm
Where: Throughout Elgin, at the gardens listed above