Established in 1849, the Durban Botanic Gardens remains the oldest surviving botanic garden in Africa. One hundred years ago, the Garden was transferred to city ownership and to mark the occasion of becoming a Proudly City Garden, a Centenary Festival will be taking place over the weekend of the 13/14 July.
The Durban Botanic Gardens first began on the banks of the Umgeni River in 1849 and moved to its present location in 1851 as an agricultural research station for the trial of economics.
The most successful of these turned out to be sugar and resulted in the development of the sugar industry in KwaZulu-Natal.
The Durban Botanic Gardens is one of the finest sub-tropical botanic gardens in the world and curates major collections such as cycads, palms, and orchids.
Saturday 13 July will see the Winter Garden Programme take place. Catering for young and old, the programme will include various talks, walks and workshops featuring Permaculture for Kids, Floral Art, Science in the Park, Orchid Workshops, and Cycad Identification & Conservation.
There will also be Guided Birding and Botanical Walks with notable botanical and horticultural personalities such as Dr Hugh Glen and Geoff Nichols to name a few.
The diverse programme will run from 9am and end at 4pm.
For more information, please contact the Information Office on 031 322 4201 or send an email to dbginfo@durban.gov.za.
To find out more about the Gardens and about the Johnny Clegg concert on Sunday, 14 July, click here.