THE OLD VICTORIAN HOTHOUSE
In its heyday in the late 1800s Joubert Park was the green jewel at the heart of the rough mining camp, boasting a bandstand, a fountain and a clock set into a bed of flowers. Plants and seeds were brought in from across South Africa to populate the park, and an impressive conservatory, known as the Hothouse, bloomed with exotic imports. The park may have faded over the years, but it still offers breathing space for the occupants of the high-density apartment blocks of Hillbrow, and the precinct buzzes with life. In the northwest of the park the ghost of the old conservatory still glimmers in the sun. It’s fitting that it has been repurposed as a food garden, and there are plans to house bees in its airy spaces.
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Wolmarans Street, Hillbrow. www.greenhouse.org.za