The Durban Botanic Gardens lie between the City of Durban and the suburb of Berea on the hill behind. The Gardens were started in 1849 and, like the Gardens in Cape Town, were intended to provide food and medicinal plants for the settlement. Today the Gardens hold important collections, including the Cycads and Palms, and undertake research and conservation in addition to providing relaxation for the local people. The Gardens should be a stop on everyone’s tourist trail – and the Café has marvellous cream teas!
The Cycad Collection is wonderful – I could have photographed for hours, and then returned day after day for more!
The lake draws people – when I visited there were wedding parties, picnics, birds and their young – and beautiful lotus flowers.
The trees in the Gardens are amazing. This banyan tree was walking and growing and spreading.
The amphitheatre is in a corner of the Gardens – you can easily miss it.
The palms are planted around the Gardens, and in Avenues.
I loved being in these Gardens – do not miss them if you are in Durban!
A great photos Candy, of a great garden!
It was amazing – the colours and variety, and the sound of the birds…
Fantastic!
Thank you. I just loved being there! There were three other Botanic Gardens which I visited in South Africa and which I hope you will also enjoy when I post.
My daughter lived in a flat opposite these gardens about 20 years ago and I loved walking in them each morning when I visited her. The cycads are amazing and I loved the ibis wandering around too. I think there was an orchid house there then too, but I don’t recall the amphitheatre.
Well I never! Yes, there is an orchid house. The cycads are astonishing plants, and there is another extraordinary collection at Kirstenbosch.
Kirstenbosch is my favourite. Spent many a weekend afternoon strolling around the grounds.