What's on at Babylonstoren in June?

Friday, 29 May, 2026

Babylonstoren

This June, embrace the fullness of winter on the Babylonstoren farm – from fruit-bearing arbour art and heirloom tomatoes to hands-on workshops and restorative farm stays.

With crisp mornings signalling the garden's shift into its winter rhythm, June on the farm brings seasonal abundance – from harvest tables and heirloom tomatoes to the quiet beauty of life on the farm. June carries a generous spirit at Babylonstoren, as the farm honours beloved father figures – those who lead by example, guide and protect, and share their time, energy and hard-earned knowledge with quiet devotion.

Fruit-bearing art

A fine example is Oom Anton Roux, Babylonstoren’s master pomologist, arbour artist and, at 86, the farm’s oldest team member. Over many years, Anton has dedicated thousands of hours to training fruit trees into patterned trellises and enchanting sculptural forms, while passing on his deep understanding of trees to generations of young gardeners.

These miniature trees, with boughs bent into hearts or woven into careful grids, still bear regular-sized fruit – proof that beauty and abundance can be coaxed from the same branch. For the first time, Oom Anton’s arbour art will be displayed in the Puff Adder walkway in June. Visitors can also find his miniature fruit trees at the Farm Shop – a living, fruit-bearing sculpture and a thoughtful gift for tree lovers.

Father's Day on the farm

For those wondering what to give the dad who insists he "doesn’t need anything", Babylonstoren offers many ways to mark Father’s Day beautifully: something excellent to drink, something delicious to eat or something satisfying to tinker with.

Visitors can spend time together on the farm over Sunday lunch at one of Babylonstoren’s farm restaurants, Babel or Greenhouse Restaurant, in the cosy cheer of the Tasting Room, or with an old-fashioned farm feast at Soetmelkvlei.

For those raising the braai bar at home, Babylonstoren’s meat master, Jaco Koegelenberg, recommends the Chianina butcher steak, prized for its remarkable tenderness and farm-reared flavour. It is available in the Farm Shop and online in Cape Town, Johannesburg and surrounds.

Make a booking at Babel Restaurant

For the DIY whisky connoisseur

From gifts for coffee lovers, sweet tooths, garden gurus, bookworms, wine enthusiasts and tool collectors to bespoke and hand-picked hampers, Babylonstoren has something considered for every type of dad.

A standout gift is the age-your-own whisky barrel. Limited to just 50 units, this handcrafted American oak barrel is fitted with a stainless steel tap and filled with 3 litres of double-distilled, single-grain spirit. Charred on the inside, the barrel lends deep, warm notes of vanilla, caramel and soft spice. Enjoy after three to six months, then top up again and again. A gift with gravitas and heirloom potential, it is available online in Cape Town, Johannesburg and surrounds.

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Garden gems and tunnel treasures

In the garden, Babylonstoren’s team is busy with pruning shears, revealing the structural beauty beneath the season’s growth. Meanwhile, the lemon orchards are offering an abundance of immunity-boosting, flavour-brightening fruit.

June can be a trying time for true tomato lovers, but this year Babylonstoren’s tunnels are bringing new colour to winter. Elzé Bresler and her team have, for the first time, been cultivating several varieties of winter heirloom tomatoes. Visitors can look forward to a riot of purple, yellow, orange and green, though not red. Firm, juicy and full of flavour, these tomatoes make it possible to enjoy the farm’s tried-and-tested heirloom cultivars all year round. They are available in the Farm Shop and online.

Happy horsey birthday

At Soetmelksvlei, Cascade the Percheron colt turns one. Born on a dark and stormy night to his pristine white parents, Simson and Delila, Cascade arrived in a jet-black birth coat that is now slowly turning grey. His current salt-and-pepper look is typical of a Percheron of his age.

Less typical, however, is his habit of nodding off mid-stride, mid-graze or wherever sleep happens to find him. This has caused concern among staff and visitors unfamiliar with his generous napping schedule. Thankfully, Cascade is simply a growing boy with a gift for rest and a finely tuned understanding of farm life’s slower rhythms.

Spirited seasonal soirées

Visitors are invited to slip into their cosiest winter finery for the Babylonstoren Seasonal Harvest Dinner on 27 June 2026 – a quarterly celebration of the farm at its finest. Wonderful wines, delectable farm produce and impeccable service come together in a secret location on the farm for an evening that nourishes more than the appetite. This is Babylonstoren at its most intimate and delicious.

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Longer farm stays and more beach days

At Babylonstoren, time stretches beautifully. Until the end of August, guests staying four nights at the Farm Hotel at Babylonstoren pay for three, allowing an extra day to meet the water buffalo, bake sourdough with master baker Peachy, unwind at the Garden Spa or settle into a fireside corner with nowhere else to be.

For a shorter reset, guests can stay two nights and enjoy either dinner at Babel Restaurant or a 30-minute spa treatment on the house. Because two days on the farm can feel like a week away.

Babylonstoren’s seaside sister estate, BLOU in Keurbooms, exclusively available to guests who have stayed at Babylonstoren or The Newt, also offers a complimentary fourth night. More time for whale-watching, dolphin-spotting and crisp, salt-bright days beside the bay.

Guests can also experience both landscapes with the Berg to Beach package – a five-night escape for two, combining two nights at Babylonstoren with three nights at BLOU in Keurbooms. The journey begins with farm-style hospitality beneath the Cape Winelands mountains, then continues to the rugged Garden Route coastline for sea air, stillness and deep rest. Seasonal rates apply.

Workshops in June

“We look at the world once, in childhood. The rest is memory.” – Louise Glück

Much as we appreciate the poet’s sentiment, new places and experiences can reopen our eyes – at any age – almost like a factory reset. Play like a child and you learn like one too, seeing the world again with fresh curiosity.

So, come out to play with us. Learn a new skill or hone an old love. Our carpentry workshops in June are ideal for a father-and-child duo keen to make their own milk stool together – a beautiful bonding experience, with a handsome stool to take home at the end.