Johannesburg Botanical Garden

Last updated
Johannesburg Botanical Garden
South-Africa Johannesburg Botanical Garden-005.jpg
The Rose Garden in the Johannesburg Botanical Garden
Johannesburg Botanical Garden
Type Botanical garden
Location Johannesburg, South Africa
Coordinates 26°9′9″S28°0′10″E / 26.15250°S 28.00278°E / -26.15250; 28.00278
Area81 hectares (200 acres)
Elevation1605m
Created1968
Operated byJohannesburg City Parks
Open6am - 6pm
Camp sitesno
Hiking trailsno
Plants20,000 trees
2,500 succulents
Collections5,532
Parkingyes
Website JHB City Parks
Map of the Park

The Johannesburg Botanical Garden is located in the suburb of Emmarentia in Johannesburg, South Africa. The gardens grew out of a large rose garden that was established in 1964 (becoming known locally as the "Rose Garden") and subsequently expanded from 1969 to cover an area of around 125 hectares (1.25 km2). [1] It is administered by Johannesburg City Parks. The Emmarentia Dam is situated immediately to the east of the garden and shares its extensive acreage. One of the main attractions is the Rose Garden with over 10 000 roses. [2]

Contents

History

The Johannesburg Botanical Garden lies on land that once made up the Braamfontein farm, one of many large farms that make what is now Johannesburg and its suburbs. [3] The farm has its origin back as far as 1853. [4] The land was bought in 1886 by Lourens Geldenhuys for its mining rights as it was hoped that the Confidence Reef would extend into his farm but it did not. [3] Land remained as a farm and by 1891 it was divided between his son's Frans and Louw where the brothers had already built two farm houses. [3]

After the Second Boer War, in which Louw Geldenhuys and his brother had taken part of as members of the Krugersdorp Commando, he decided to help some landless and unemployed Boers war veterans. [3] He used them to construct a stone and earth dam from blocks of stone from the Melville Koppies behind the farm and cost £12,000. [3] [5] The dam was built over the Westdene spruit which is a tributary of the larger Braamfontein Spruit. [6] The dam was then named after his wife Emmarentia Margaretha Botha. [3]

Louw died in 1929 and his wife Emmarentia would begin to sell parts of the farm that became the suburbs Greenside in 1931, and Emmarentia on 28 April 1937, named after her and in 1941, Emmarentia Extension. [3] [7] In 1933, 13 hectares of the farm were donated to the City of Johannesburg for parks and recreation, and after further pieces of land were acquired, became the Jan van Riebeeck Park (1952), Emmarentia Dam (1939), West Park Cemetery (1942) the Marks Park Sports Club (1951) and the Johannesburg Botanical Garden (1968). [5] [8]

The Johannesburg Council had been approached with the suggestions for a botanical garden since the 1920s. [4] Eventually on 19 November 1968, the director of parks and recreation for the city presented a report to council with suggestion for a botanical garden. [4] The council would agree and the botanical park would be developed on land in the Jan van Riebeeck Park with 81ha set aside. [4]

Collections

The garden is organized by theme and purpose of use and consists of

Restaurant

Cafe that serves light meals.

Chapel garden

This garden is used an outdoor chapel for weddings of all denominations. [4]

Shakespeare garden

With a circular amphitheatre, this Shakespeare Garden contains the different types of herbs mention in Shakespearean work with quotes attached to the labels. [4] Shakespearean events can be held there.

Rose garden

Water feature fountain at the lower end of the rose garden in the Johannesburg Botanical Gardens Jhb Botanical Gardens Fountain.jpg
Water feature fountain at the lower end of the rose garden in the Johannesburg Botanical Gardens

Prior to the creation of the Botanical Gardens, the park had a rose garden that was laid out in 1964 by curator Patric Chambers. [4] The garden consists of seven sloping terraces of about 10,000 roses. New roses are planted in a bed each year. [4] The garden has water features and fountains.

Hedge garden

This garden has 58 different types of hedges.

Succulent garden

Portion of the Succulent Garden South-Africa Johannesburg Botanical Garden-003.jpg
Portion of the Succulent Garden

This garden was opened in 2006 and designed with a desert outlook with more than 85 different species of succulents. [4] There are also six glasshouses with South African and international succulents but are only open by appointment. [4]

Arboretum

This area has both indigenous and exotic trees from around the world and includes Californian Redwoods, silver birches and English oaks though the park and arboretum itself has over 20 000 indigenous trees. [4]

Herb garden

This garden contains herbs used in food preparation, cosmetics and oils as well as a section for plants used as muti, for African traditional medicine.

Johannesburg Botanical Garden Herbarium and Library

Herbarium

The herbarium houses 5,532 indigenous and exotic pressed plant specimens. [4] Close by are the seed rooms that house seeds collected from parks in the City Johannesburg and are shared around the world. [4]

Library

The library has 1,421 books, and 1,414 journals and pamphlets covering subjects such as taxonomy, biodiversity, morphology, plant anatomy, plant geography, ethnobotany and landscaping. [4]

Other areas

Monuments and memorials

The 1988 Huguenot Memorial Johannesburg Botanical Garden Huguenot Memorial (front).jpg
The 1988 Huguenot Memorial

A monument commemorating the 300th anniversary of the Huguenots in South Africa is located at the top of the rose garden.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melville, Johannesburg</span> Place in Gauteng, South Africa

Melville is a bohemian suburb of Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa. It is the location of many restaurants and taverns, which are mostly frequented by students from the nearby University of Johannesburg, located in Auckland Park, and the University of the Witwatersrand, located in Braamfontein. It is one of the city's most popular tourist destinations. The suburb is to the west of the Johannesburg CBD. It is located in Region B of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality.

Auckland Park is a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa. It lies on a gentle slope, and is in close proximity to the suburbs of Melville, Brixton, Westdene and Richmond. Auckland Park is one of the few suburbs close to the Johannesburg city centre that has remained largely unaffected by the recent migration of Johannesburg residents to the city's northern suburbs. Auckland Park is home to a mix of nationalities and cultures, and the suburb is well known as the location of the South African Broadcasting Corporation headquarters.

Craighall is a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa and is bordered by Hyde Park, Dunkeld and Parkhurst. It sits in between the busy arterial routes of Jan Smuts Avenue and Winnie Mandela Drive and is located in Region B of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality.

Rivonia is a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa in the Sandton area. It is located in Region E of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality. Rivonia is one of the most affluent residential and business suburbs of Johannesburg, and regarded as the hub of upstart and established I.T. companies. The main retail thoroughfare in the area, Rivonia Boulevard, is the location of several shopping complexes as well as many other shops and restaurants. The area known as Rivonia includes the original township of Edenburg, Edenburg Extension 1, and 19 smaller extensions designated 'Rivonia Extension ...', numbered from 0 to 25. There is no designated township called Rivonia. The post code for Rivonia is 2128.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johannesburg Zoo</span> Zoo in South Africa

The Johannesburg Zoo or Joburg Zoo is a 55-hectare (140-acre) zoo in Johannesburg, South Africa. The zoo is dedicated to the accommodation, enrichment, husbandry, and medical care of wild animals, and houses about 2000 individuals of 320 species. Established in 1904, it has traditionally been owned and operated by the Johannesburg City Council. However, it has been turned into a corporation and registered as a Section 21 non-profit organisation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jukskei River</span> River in Gauteng, South Africa

The Jukskei River is one of the largest rivers in Johannesburg, South Africa. It is the southernmost river in the Crocodile River basin.

Braamfontein is a central suburb of Johannesburg, in South Africa, seat of the Constitutional Court of South Africa and some of South Africa's major corporations such as Liberty Holdings Limited, JD Group, Sappi, and Bidvest Bank and Hollard. Situated due north of the city centre, Braamfontein is the fourth-largest office node in the city of Johannesburg containing many multi-storied buildings representing various architectural styles including Art Deco and Brutalist. Numerous office buildings have and are in the process of being converted to residential apartments. The offices of the Johannesburg City Council and the University of the Witwatersrand are situated in Braamfontein. The Nelson Mandela Bridge is a landmark that connects Braamfontein to the city centre, traversing South Africa's most extensive passenger train marshalling yard. Jan Smuts Avenue and Empire Road are two major road thoroughfares that run through the suburb.

Parkhurst is a small, dense northern suburb of Johannesburg, Gauteng, of about 2000 households and 4000 residents. Forming part of the northern suburbs, Parkhurst is roughly bounded by Parktown North to the east, the Braamfontein Spruit to the west, Craighall to the north, and Greenside to the south.

Emmarentia is a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa.

Greenside, is a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa. Greenside borders on the suburbs Emmarentia, Parkview, Parkhurst and Victory Park.

Randpark Ridge is an upmarket suburb of Randburg, South Africa. It is located in Region B of the City of Johannesburg. It fell into the town of Randburg during the apartheid era. Developed in the early 1980s and still relatively new, Randpark Ridge is bordered by several other suburbs including Weltevreden Park, Sundowner, Boskruin, Bromhof, Honeydew and Fairland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo</span> Government entity responsible for Johannesburgs greenspaces

Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo (JCPZ) is a not-for-gain company established under Section 21 of the South African Companies Act and wholly owned by the City of Johannesburg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emmarentia Dam</span> Dam in Johannesburg, Gauteng

Emmarentia Dam is a dam in Emmarentia, Johannesburg, South Africa. There are several dams that make up Emmarentia Dam, despite its allusion to the singular, with two small dams found upstream in the Johannesburg Botanical Gardens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zoo Lake</span> Lake in Gauteng, South Africa

Zoo Lake is a popular lake and public park in Johannesburg, South Africa. It is part of the Hermann Eckstein Park and is opposite the Johannesburg Zoo. The Zoo Lake consists of two dams, an upper feeder dam, and a larger lower dam, both constructed in natural marshland watered by the Parktown Spruit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Braamfontein Spruit</span> River in Gauteng, South Africa

The Braamfontein Spruit is the longest stream in Johannesburg, South Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westpark Cemetery</span> Cemetery in Johannesburg, South Africa

Westpark Cemetery is a large cemetery in Johannesburg, South Africa, and is the resting place of some of the country's well-known citizens. It is a non-denomination designated burial ground, and thus has Christian, Jewish, Muslim and Chinese burial areas. The Jewish section contains a Holocaust Memorial, erected in 1959.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Wilds (Johannesburg)</span> Inner city park in Johannesburg, South Africa

The Wilds is an inner city park and nature reserve in the suburb of Houghton, in the city of Johannesburg, South Africa. The park consists of 16 hectares of indigenous vegetation on the sides of two rocky koppies or hills with views of the city of Johannesburg and its suburbs. Through the 1990s the park gained a reputation for being highly dangerous and crime ridden, however, it has since become "rejuvenated" due to the efforts of volunteers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westdene, Johannesburg</span> Place in Gauteng, South Africa

Westdene is a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa. Westdene lies between the historic suburb of Sophiatown and Melville with the Melville Koppies nature reserve to the north of the suburb. Westdene derives its name from its location, literally meaning west-valley. 'West' since it is located west from the city centre and with 'dene' derived from the Old English denu, meaning valley.

Victory Park is a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa, around 8 km northwest of City Hall.

The M20 is a short metropolitan route in the Greater Johannesburg metropolitan area, South Africa. It connects Randburg in the western part of Johannesburg with Edenvale in the east.

References

  1. ↑ "Conservation > Johannesburg Botanic Garden". Welcome to Johannesburg City Parks via the WayBackMashine. Archived from the original on 2008-01-16. Retrieved 2008-09-28.
  2. ↑ Davie, Lucille (2002-07-05). "Joburg's bulbous treasure". City of Johannesburg. Archived from the original on 2008-07-24. Retrieved 2008-09-29.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Davie, Lucille (15 July 2012). "Joburg's only dry suburb". Johannesburg City Council. Archived from the original on 5 January 2013. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 "The Johannesburg Botanical Garden". Johannesburg City Parks. Archived from the original on 11 May 2016. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  5. 1 2 "The Origins of Emmarentia Dam". The Heritage Portal. 3 December 2013. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  6. ↑ "Water, water... everywhere". Johannesburg City Council. Archived from the original on 5 January 2013. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  7. ↑ Raper, Peter E.; Moller, Lucie A.; du Plessis, Theodorus L. (2014). Dictionary of Southern African Place Names. Jonathan Ball Publishers. p. 1412. ISBN   9781868425501.
  8. ↑ "Peaceful haven of remembrance". City of Johannesburg. 31 October 2011. Archived from the original on 5 January 2013. Retrieved 18 October 2015.