Our Karoo desert garden turns 100!

The Karoo Desert National Botanical Garden in Worcester, Western Cape, celebrates its centenary this year – and late winter into spring is the best time of year to visit. Maja Palm spent some time there.

One minute you are on the busy N1, and the next you find yourself in South

Africa’s second oldest botanical garden – and the only succulent botanical garden in the southern hemisphere. You inhale the fresh, sweet air of the veld and gaze at the snow-capped Hex River Mountains, then move closer to the flame-orange daisies that add a hint of warmth to counter the sharp nip in the air.

If you’ve never visited the Karoo Desert National Botanical Garden on the outskirts of Worcester, late winter and spring are certainly the best months to visit it. You will see almost every succulent species that occurs in southern Africa, collected over the years by the garden’s curators on trips to Angola, Namibia, the Richtersveld, Namaqualand, Eastern Cape and Karoo. Succulent experts such as Ernst van Jaarsveld also come here to add to their collections.

“Spring is the most popular time at the garden,” says curator Ricardo

Riddles, “because vygies, gazanias, pelargoniums and ursinias turn the shale koppies purple, red, pink, white, yellow and orange.” (Coincidentally, Ricardo’s grandmother Petronella, who inspired his love of the veld and plants from a very young age, also turns 100 this year.) But each season brings its own charm to the garden.

“Winter is my favourite time here,” says Carin Jacobs, who has worked at the botanical garden for 13 years and also keeps its Facebook page interesting. “That’s when the aloes and quiver trees bloom, while the blue mountains are capped with brightwhite snow and fog hangs in the valley.”

It gets hot in summer, but that’s the time to spot the small sunbirds among the red flowers on the Karoo boer-bean and weeping boer-bean. When autumn arrives, the bulbs – Boophone disticha,

ABOVE The traditional Nama hut – known as a matjieshuis ,or |aru oms, as the Namas call it – is displayed in the Heritage Garden. OPPOSITE, FROM LEFT A collection of Haworthias; Chinese lantern, or klapperbos (Nymania capensis), which attracts insects and birds to a garden; a malachite sunbird (Nectarinia famosa) on a maiden’s quiver tree (Aloidendron ramosissimum); Asphodelaceae House, one of three plant collection houses that are only accessible to visitors on a guided tour.