Hundreds of mixed-race families were forcibly removed from Constantia in the 1960s and '70s under the apartheid Group Areas Act, but a fifth-generation flower farming family is bringing their rich history to life.
Jaftha's Flower Farm is run by brothers Charles and Malcolm Jaftha, whose family has been farming flowers in the Constantia Valley since the 1800s. Their land, which they have leased from the City of Cape Town since 1985, is blooming with dahlias, arum lilies, freesias, watsonias, snapdragons, and many more.
Charles Jaftha said his father, Moses Jaftha, started growing flowers again in Constantia when he returned in the 1980s to work as a butcher at a farm stall, now Peddlars restaurant. It was the height of apartheid, but with the help of the white owner of the Cape Farmstall, Moses managed to lease land from the council to farm flowers. The family's flower shop opened in 2008.
The Jaftha family "pride and joy" is the dahlia, of which they grow many types. It is what the Jaftha family is known for, said Charles. They grow dahlias from bulbs that have been with the family for more than 60 years.
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