Julia Smith
When nine-year-old Tracy Stone (née Crankshaw) walked onto the then Grahamstown City Hall stage to receive second prize for her first ever flower arrangement, little did the young girl know this event would begin the path that would lead her one day to creating magnificent flower-filled nuptial celebrations.
These events have been taking place since 2019 at Stonehaven Wedding Venue on Schafli Road outside East London, where Tracy has lived with her husband, Brad, for the past 20 years.
Flowers are all-important to Tracy, who from an early age was right beside her mom, Cilla Crankshaw, when she was arranging flowers.
“I love organising functions. But it was my love of flowers and arranging them that spurred me on to start a wedding venue.
“If I could do flowers every weekend I wouldn’t consider it work,” the former geography teacher said.
Tracy hosts up to 42 weddings a year where flowers are vital components in expressing the bridal couple’s wedding theme.
“Weddings have changed in the 30 years since Brad and I were married,” Tracy said.
Their ceremony was held in the St Andrew’s School chapel with the reception taking place in the dining hall.
At that time, her parents were on the teaching staff at the exclusive Makhanda school.
Then four years ago, what started as a bride-to-be’s special request to use the Stonehaven gardens as a backdrop for her wedding, inspired Tracy to build on the idea, eventually making it a sought-after destination wedding venue.
Tracy had realised that the three tunnels on the farm in which she grew tomatoes for the market were no longer a viable proposition as they were thirsty plants requiring constant watering.
Tracy, a mom of three, knows that most important to the wedding ambience is a beautiful garden, which can set the scene for romance, adding gentleness and harmony.
“I feel that flowers from inside the venue should flow outside into the garden,” she said.
And that’s where she started to plan for her new enterprise.
An important lesson of a formal landscaping course is knowing how to create a flower arrangement.
“My garden was my priority as I knew how long it would take to establish. I started with a small layout.”
However, Brad, her master builder husband whose task it was to create the buildings the venue would need, chided her decision to opt for such a small garden patch saying: “If you want to start a business like this start big.” And so, she did.
After creating a backbone of trees and shrubs the garden grew from there.
“The main elements already established, I then started adding flowers that would bloom in different seasons.”
At the moment, swathes of purple salvia blooms, orange crocosmia and honey suckle are featuring in wait for gardenia, the May bush, Chinese jasmine and others to burst into pretty white fragrant blooms.
A pergola adding a third dimension is covered with drapes of white flowering bougainvillea.
“My favourite places in the garden are the areas where I have placed benches from where one can appreciate different vistas and the quietness of the surroundings,” Tracy said.
“I love these corners where I enjoy my morning coffee, I am up close with flowers before they shed the overnight dew and can watch the ducks with their antics on the dam.”
Tracy has also grown plants she can include in her arrangements such as plantings of dainty white flowering abelia along the driveway.
Among her favourite plants are hydrangeas, butterfly bushes, the obedience plant, salvia, cosmos, aloes and conifers.
Some beds are in shades of white, silver and variegated strappy foliage and creepers which make a feminine garden such as the one near the bride’s dressing room.
A pathway around there is magically scattered by nature with fallen white hibiscus blooms.
Tracy is mindful of what each season has to offer and has planted accordingly.
“I have tried to use different shades of green foliage plants to ensure there is always something of interest in the garden — furry grey-leafed helichrysum beside lime green abelia ...”
Pretty falling star flowers of crocosmia stand out against a red-leafed acalypha.
“My garden has become my safe place and sanctuary. I walk and pray in my garden every morning.
“The beauty of the flowers reminds me of how each one of us is so intricately and beautifully made by our Father in heaven.”
Clothing a garden in flowers and attractive greenery can be costly.
“I always collect slips from gardens of family and friends. It’s a habit to keep secateurs and a small spade in the car. This has helped me achieve the garden I have today.
“I love to have interesting features here and there. Fountains and the sounds of running water are so soothing.
“Benches and beautiful pots provide focal points leading the eye to interesting corners.”
Features which are significant to the weddings taking place and are unique to Stonehaven are the Wall of Locks, which are symbolic of the union of the couple — each couple receives a lock to fasten to the “wall”.
Another is a huge bell “tower” housing an enormous bell which is rung to announce the end of the wedding ceremony after the couple have taken their vows and emerge from the chapel as Mr and Mrs.
• In the Garden is written by feature writer, garden enthusiast and former teacher Julia Smith, who has returned home to live in Chintsa East. The column looks to inform both novice and accomplished gardeners on how to make the most of their green patches.
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