Gardens in South Africa

Durbanville Rose Garden

This beautiful and award-winning rose garden is an iconic part of the Durbanville area. It serves as a global rose nursery for young roses and is one of only three trial rose gardens in the Southern Hemisphere. The garden is immensely popular for wedding photographs in the summer months.

Upper Liesbeek River Garden

The Upper Liesbeek River Garden is in Bishopscourt Village alongside the river. It is a delightful environment and well-worth a visit. It's was created and currently maintained by the Bishopscourt Residents Association.

Outeniqua Nature Reserve

Located close to the Garden Route town of George and easily accessible from Mossel Bay, Knysna and Oudtshoorn, the Outeniqua Nature Reserve is about a five-hour drive from Cape Town. Spanning 38 000 hectares, the reserve encompasses the mountain ranges that fall between the coast and the semi-arid Klein Karoo. The primary attraction here is the opportunity to traverse the five mountain passes that fall within the reserve and explore the area’s rich diversity on the walking and hiking trails. The name Outeniqua is believed to mean “those who bear honey” and is ascribed to the San and Khoi people who once inhabited the mountains. Their rock paintings are found throughout the reserve, depicting animals, hunters and honeycombs. The rugged mountains have long posed a barrier into the Klein Karoo and early settlers in the late 1600s used to follow herds of elephants to find easier ways through the area. The first pass, the Cradock Pass, was built in 1813 but was too steep for many to climb with ox-wagons. The Montagu Pass built in the mid-1800s eventually proved a safer and quicker option. This is a popular walking and hiking destination. Unfortunately, there is no overnight accommodation.

Johannesburg Botanical Garden

Attractive mix of natural and botanical gardens with famed reservoir.

Delaire Graaf Estate

To encourage biodiversity, over 350 indigenous plants and other imported, non-invasive species nestle amongst art, sculpture, rippling water features and reflective pools that work in harmony to create the ultimate tranquil garden setting. Just as our greenhouses and dynamic gardens give us fresh organic produce year-round for our kitchens, the spectacular floral gardens play their unique role-radiant, layered colour greets guests from the very first moment and continues across every facet, planted to bloom 365 days a year.

NIROX Sculpture Park

Captivating sculpture park and secluded nature reserve on a riverbank.

Boschendal

Futuristic working farm home to inspiring vineyards and glorious gardens.

Johnman Music Centre & Garden

Historic Old Cape gardens with charming millstream.

Norval Foundation Sculpture Garden

Imaginative sculpture garden that cleverly combines art with nature.

Johannesdal

Luxury private estate and stunning gardens with sensational vistas.

Obesa Nursery & Garden

Vast nursery and inspiring garden of towering Cacti and succulents.

Schoongezicht Garden at Rustenberg Wines

Residential garden with panoramic mountain views and a labyrinth.

Rocherpan Nature Reserve

Rocherpan is a coastal nature reserve teeming with birds and colourful wildflowers. The reserve, which lies 25km north of Velddrif on the Cape West Coast, consists largely of a seasonal vlei that is usually dry between March and June. Rocherpan was established as a nature reserve (930 hectares in size) in 1966, and the adjacent section of the Atlantic Ocean was declared a marine reserve in 1988 (150 hectares in size). Rocherpan had a fortuitous start when farmer Pierre Rocher arrived in this area in 1839 looking for improved summer grazing for his livestock. Rocher and his workers closed off the mouth of Papkuils River, forcing it to flow behind the dunes that separate the sandveld from the sea. This inadvertently created a perfect habitat for waterbirds, and the local species have thrived ever since. Along the coast, you’ll see the rare and endangered black oystercatcher, the kelp gull and the Cape shoveller.

Fresh Woods

Romantic gardens and iconic rose collection in glorious surroundings.

Old Nectar Gardens

Home to the van der Spuy family since 1941, the iconic Old Nectar manor house, located just 5km from the heart of Stellenbosch, combines Cape Dutch 18th and 19th-century atmosphere with 21st-century comfort. Nestled between the large 200-year-old oak trees, the Manor House is complemented by five newly renovated, fully furnished self-catering villas, ensuring a unique stay at Old Nectar. The gardens at Old Nectar are something to behold. The highlights include some of the following: a round rose garden, a pergola garden, a waterfall garden and an indigenous garden. The Front Garden extends from the manor house downslope to the pergola. Terraced lawns with flanking paths and borders of azaleas and other flowering shrubs lead to a rectangular Victorian-tiled ornamental pond overlooked by two sentinel Lombardy poplars (Populus sempervirens) and a Copper Beech (Fagus sylvatica) at one end and a mature camellia (Camellia japonica) at the other end. Self-catered picnics welcome

South Hill Vineyards

Exclusive boutique wine farm situated in the Elgin Valley, Western Cape, South Africa. Enjoy superb wines, an art gallery & sculpture garden featuring local artists; farm-style breakfasts, country platters and tapas lunches 7 days a week between; luxury self-catering Guest House & Pumphouse Cottage and a venue which specialises in hosting beautiful weddings & functions.

Goukamma Nature Reserve

Goukamma Nature Reserve and Marine Protected Area, situated on the Garden Route between Sedgefield and Knysna, has a diverse array of fascinating habitats and an abundance of smaller wildlife, birds and fish. It is also a World Heritage Site. The reserve covers 2 500 hectares of dense coastal forest, including milkwood, yellowwood and candlewood trees. It protects the charming vervet monkey, bushbuck and bushpig, as well as porcupine, mongoose, honey badger and grysbok. This is a popular choice for keen birders, as the Goukamma River and estuary and the Groenvlei Lake provide a welcoming habitat for more than 220 bird species, including the rare African black oystercatcher. There are two indigenous and four alien species of fish found in the Groenvlei Lake. Visitors enjoy the sight of the magnificent southern right whales between June and November. Bottle-nosed and humpback dolphins play in the waves throughout the year. A great time to visit is in September/October when the first spring rains create splashes of bright spring flowers amid the fynbos. This is a year-round destination, as it falls between the Cape’s summer and winter rainfall seasons.

Almenkerk Wine Estate

We’d love to welcome you to our estate in the beautiful cool-climate Elgin Valley. Come for a tasting and enjoy the spectacular views across the valley and vineyards whilst we share our story and wines with you! You are welcome to picnic on our landscaped lawns and enjoy our fresh cool-climate air. We are more than happy for you to bring your own picnic, as long as you buy some of our wine to enjoy it with. Or, why not have a fun game of boule on our purpose-built court? We also have a jungle gym to keep younger children amused.

The Company's Garden

The Company’s Garden is situated in Queen Victoria Street, at the top of Adderley Street, and adjacent to the South African Parliament. It takes its name from the Dutch East India Company, who first started the garden in 1652 to provide their ships with food. The Company’s Garden is abutted by numerous important landmarks, including the lodge house for slaves who built large parts of the historic city, the present day Houses of Parliament, the Iziko South African Museum and Planetarium, St George's Cathedral (which is the seat of the Anglican church in South Africa), the National Library of South Africa, the South African National Gallery, the Great Synagogue and Holocaust Centre as well as Tuynhuys, which is used by the President on state occasions.