Meet Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens' Garden Centre's new owners, reopens 1 October

Pippa Hudson interviews Jimmy Symonds, one of the new owners of the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens' Garden Centre.

Listen below.

In March of this year, it was announced that Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens' Garden Centre had closed due to the retirement of its owner of 20 years, Trish Hutton-Squire.

However, recent news reveals that the shop is set to reopen next month under new ownership.

Jimmy Symmonds and Cara Harris, known for their work with the popular Happy by Nature Nursery on Kloof Nek Road, take over the Garden Centre from 1 October.

"We're going to carry on Trish's beautiful work and focus on indigenous plants."

- Jimmy Symonds, one of the new owners

Symonds explains that they have a particular passion for beneficial plants, focusing on those that offer value for medicine, food, and the environment.

At Happy by Nature, they focus on three core pillars:

Good: Ethical, locally sourced, fairly priced, and purposeful.
Green: Sustainable, indigenous, organically grown, and environmentally friendly.
Beautiful: Artistic, creative, collaborative, and inspired.

Symmonds expresses their commitment to carrying these values into their work at Kirstenbosch, aiming to integrate these principles into everything they do there.

"We have an overarching goal of getting nature back at the centre of our healthcare system."

- Jimmy Symonds, one of the new owners

Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the interview.