Beautiful Kirstenbosch in Cape Town

We visited one of the most famous botanic gardens in Cape Town, Kirstenbosch which is situated on the slopes of Table Mountain. These gardens occupy over 500 hectares of slopes and mountainside.  Kirstenbosch was the world's first national garden devoted to indigenous plants. These gardens are magnificent with cycads and clivias due to the temperate climate and are sheltered from the strong summer winds by the mountains.

Way back in the early 17th century when the first settlers arrived, these lower slopes were cultivated to produce food for Cape Town and the locals. Large areas of land were used for forestation and farming and then along came Cecil Rhodes who bought large areas of land on these western slopes. He wanted to preserve it as a national heritage. This was somewhere around late 19th century. After Rhodes died the land was taken over by the Government and given to the peoples of South Africa.

The name Kirstenbosch appears on maps first drawn up in the 18th century as many Kirstens lived there.

Nowhere on the continent of Africa do you find the Cape Flora--or anywhere else in the world. This is what makes Kirstenbosch so unique in the diversity of plants. I noted on the brochures there are over 9,000 species of Flora and 70 percent are endemic.

About 40 hectares are devoted to "The Garden" which is a sort of organic in shape as it has evolved over time and no "design" was developed as a landscape plan.

Kirstenbosch has a rich diversity of indigenous plants and well worth visiting but only after you have been atop Table Mountain. If you require any information on Proteas, Erica, or Cape Flora, or more about South Africa, the Cape or whatever, please drop me a line here. I'd love to chat about it as it really is a lovely place.