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Ninth National Botanical Garden Announced |
Little known Nieuwoudtville in the Northern Cape now has a reason to preen its feathers. It's the new home of South Africa's ninth national botanical garden. Declared by the Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Marthinus van Schalkwyk, on August 28, the new public garden is the first one to be announced in the last 25 years. It covers 6 300 ha of land on the farm Glenlyon, on the Bokkeveld Plateau - world-renowned for its incredible diversity of bulbous plants.
 The World’s Bulb Capital
Some 40% of the new Nieuwoudtville National Botanical Garden consists of bulbs, which create spectacular displays in autumn and spring each year. Due to the incredible diversity and density of these bulbs, Nieuwoudtville is of international significance and is often referred to as the 'bulb capital of the world'. It also boasts large natural patches of renosterveld fynbos and succulent Karoo vegetation. Some 1 350 plant species have so far been recorded on the Bokkeveld Plateau, including 80 range-restricted or endemic species (6% of the flora). Almost a third of the endemic species are threatened with extinction.
Conservation, Sustainability and a Tourism Boost
The new national botanical garden will provide an important conservation area to be used by the SA National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) to boost nature-based tourism – in line with its mission to promote the sustainable use, conservation, appreciation and enjoyment of South Africa’s rich biodiversity.
Open to Public in January 2008
The Nieuwoudtville National Botanical Garden opens to the public in January 2008 and will serve as a centre for biodiversity research in the Succulent Karoo region and Bokkeveld Plateau. The plan is for each of South Africa’s 9 provinces to support a national botanical garden.
Other National Botanical Gardens:
- Kirstenbosch, Cape Town: arguably the most famous, supporting a diverse fynbos flora and natural forest.
- Harold Porter National Botanical Garden, near Hermanus, Cape Province: cultivated fynbos garden and pristine natural fynbos.
- Karoo Desert National Botanical Garden, near Worcester, Cape Province: the only truly succulent garden in the southern hemisphere.
- Lowveld National Botanical Garden, near Nelspruit, Mpumalanga: boasts rugged, rocky river scenery.
- Free State National Botanical Garden: over 400 species of plants, mainly from the Free State, Northern Cape and Lesotho.
- KwaZulu-Natal National Botanical Garden : specialises in plants from the country's eastern region and rare and endangered species from elsewhere.
- Pretoria National Botanical Garden : supports subtropical and temperate plants.
- Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden, Johannesburg: supports over 600 naturally occurring plant species.
Image of Niewoudtville Botanical Garden, and SANBI logo, courtesy & copyright of SANBI
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