South Africa is booming with magnificent botanical gardens that are home to numerous plants and wildlife, making them prime attractions for gardeners. Here are a few botanical gardens you should visit in the country.
Kirstenbosch Gardens, Cape Town
Kirstenbosch Gardens is a wonderful experience for every garden lover. Located at the bottom of the table mountain it is a must-see for anyone visiting Cape Town. Visitors can see more than 9,000 of Southern Africa’s 22,000 plant species here. This botanical garden offers many beautiful experiences. Kirstenbosch is one of the first botanical gardens in the world created to protect a country’s fauna and flora, placing great importance on the growth of indigenous plants in Southern Africa. For those who enjoy hiking, various trails lead along and up Table Mountain.
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KwaZulu-Natal Botanical Garden, Pietermaritzburg
KwaZulu-Natal National Botanical Garden is a garden with charm, offering visitors an experience of nature’s authenticity with their striking Plane Tree Avenue. The garden grows, displays and conserves plant collections from the grasslands of the east coast of South Africa. The initial creation of this garden was to grow trees for distribution and as a collection point for indigenous, rare and beautiful plants. Many of the plant species found in this historic garden attest to their Victorian past. There is a section of the garden which is planted specifically to attract birds, hence why the garden is rich in bird life, with over 151 species recorded.
Karoo Desert Botanical Garden
Established in 1921, this desert garden is home to the largest collection of succulents in Africa. This garden cultivates and displays a wide variety of arid and semi-arid plants. The garden is booming in pollinators, which causes the garden to give visitors a spectacular display of flowers year after year. If you are interested in succulent plants, the dry period of the year December to February are the best months to spot succulent plants in their true habitat.
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Pretoria Botanical Garden, Gauteng
The Pretoria Botanical Garden, located in east Tshwane, originally formed part of the University of Pretoria’s experimental farm project. It is a birdwatcher’s paradise with over 198 bird species on display including species such as hawks, falcons and eagles. The garden does its best to protect the abundance of indigenous fauna and flora. It is the perfect safe spot for hikers as there is an array of cycads, aloes, tree species and succulents to see and explore.
Lowveld Botanical Garden, Mpumalanga
The garden is a must-see for its plant species and the largest collection of cycads in Africa. The natural vegetation of this garden is the savanna. The character of the garden is shaped by the two main rivers that cut across it, so there is an endless supply of water. During the summer rainy period, the garden is a haven for walkers and tourists. Its lushness and the refreshing sound of the two rivers lure visitors.
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Originally published in Garden&Home Magazine.
