Ivor Markman
To the uninitiated the name Bedford conjures up little more than the image of a country village stuck deep inland, somewhere between the fringe of the Karoo heartland and Frontier Country; a place that's hot in summer and icy cold in winter.
For those who know better, images of beautiful lush gardens will spring to mind.
On a farm in the lonely isolated Cowie Valley, 16km from Bedford, is a B&B called Cavers, but to the passing motorist this is meaningless because the road on which Cavers is located only leads to a neighbour’s farm.
So unless you had heard about it you wouldn’t have the slightest idea of its existence, which is a pity as it boasts one of the most magnificent gardens in South Africa.
In 2003 Cavers Country Guest House’s owner, Rozanne Ross, decided it was time to rectify the situation and to not only put her establishment on the map, but also the village of Bedford.
She had been tending her particular garden for 16 years and many of the other gardens were established generations ago.
The one at Cavers is a fourth-generation showpiece and boasts masses of colourful flowers and also, amongst others, a beautiful, l50 year-old oak tree.
Cavers consists of three main buildings.
Firstly, an ivy-covered, double-storied, gabled building with a swimming pool for the exclusive use of guests, secondly, a thatched guest cottage and finally a residential home for the Ross family.
White is an ever present colour in the garden and on the building and does much to show up and complement the coloured flowers in the flower beds, specially the blue blossoms.
Wherever you walk in the extensive garden you will be greeted by ever changing views – floral archways, stone walls, urns with flowers, there is just so much to enjoy.
With magnificent gardens such as this it’s not surprising Ross believed the town’s gardens should be used as a means of bringing not only the local community together but also of introducing Bedford to South Africa.
The concept was forwarded to then head of Bedford Tourism, Kim van Niekerk, who ran with the idea.
In 2004 the Garden Festival was held for the first time and proved so successful a decision was taken to run with it again . . . and again . . . and again . . .
For three days in October each year visitors pour into Bedford to visit some of the beautiful private gardens which are opened to the public.
Cavers Country Guest House
GPS: 32°38’34” S 26°09’23” E
MAGNIFICENT FACADE: The main gabled front facade at Cavers Bed and Breakfast.
GUEST'S POOL: Guests staying at the B&B have a magnificent pool in which to cool off and refresh themselves after a hot and dusty day in the country.
BORDER FLOWER BEDS: The predominant colours in the beds surrounding the front lawn of Cavers B&B are white and blue interspersed with a bit of bright colour here and there.
GUEST BUNGALOW: This charming thatched bungalow is surrounded by predominantly white flowers.
GARDEN FESTIVAL PROPOSER: Roze Ross, the brains behind the first Bedford Garden Festival in 2004.
BABY HADEDAH: A hadedah chick sits with it's mother in a nest in a tree at Cavers.
ARCHED PATHWAY: The pathway leading from the car-park to the B&B passes through a beautiful arched entrance and around one of the lawns.
EXPANSIVE LAWN: The lawn in front of the Ross' family home is expansive and surrounded by a huge variety of trees and white and blue flowers.
SPLASH OF COLOUR: This bright red bougainvillea, a native to South America, makes it an excellent decorative plant while it's drought resistance makes it ideally suited for the Bedford climate.
GARDEN OF EDEN: The garden at Cavers must surely rank amongst the most beautiful in South Africa.
COLOUR COORDINATED: Rows of blue and white flowers edge the flower bed in front of the main building at Cavers Bed and Breakfast establishment.
FESTIVAL ORIGINATOR: Roze Ross, owner of Cavers Country Guest Hose and the person responsible for the concept of the Bedford Garden Festival.
THE GARDENERS: In their spare time staff are allowed to propagate their own plants which they then sell during the Garden Festival. They are allowed to keep all the funds they raise.
Cavers share some of their history with us.
The Rev. William Ross came out to South Africa with Dr. David Livingstone as a missionary in 1840. An ordained minister from the town of Errol (near Perth) in Scotland, his missionary work took him to Mafeking and the Bechuana tribes where he died 23 years later in 1863, aged 61.
His son, William Daniel, purchased the farm Cavers from his father-in-law, William Ainslie, and the original stone house which was built in 1850.
The name Cavers originated from the family-owned farm near Jedburgh in Scotland which is still in existence to this day.
William Daniel was shot and killed in the mountains just north of Cavers in 1901 during the Anglo-Boer war.
His wife, Georgina, ran the farm with her second son, Colin Keith, who had to leave school (St. Andrews) at age 16. Kenneth Ross, the current owner, is the fourth generation Ross to farm Cavers.
The Guest House was opened in 1994 and, apart from minor alterations, the originality of the homestead has been maintained.
Guests and friends from more than 25 countries world-wide have been accommodated there since then.