'What's happening to Kirstenbosch Garden is a tragedy'

CapeTalk's John Maytham talks to Mark Reid on the Afternoon Drive.

The beloved Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden is regarded not only as the botanical gem of Cape Town, but as a national treasure.

In May, it made the New York Times' list of the Top 10 Gardens in the World, coming in at Number 9.

However, there's a growing feeling amongst listeners phoning in to CapeTalk that the Garden is not in top shape, a sentiment echoed by Everard Read's Mark Reid after a recent visit. Reid has worked closely with conservation bodies and botanical institutions across the country.

John Maytham cites an interview with Werner Voigt in January, where the curator acknowledged that Kirstenbosch had fallen short of the standards it is known for and forecast a noticeable transformation by August or September.

Reid's feeling though, is that it is in the process of becoming a park, albeit a beautiful one, rather than a botanical garden to be seen as the treasure house of the unique Cape floral kingdom.

"I would like to walk around with the head gardener there and interrogate the Garden now, because over 50% of the labels represent plants that are long dead and there are dominant species of plants that have been allowed to grow unhindered and smother less robust species."

Mark Reid, Director - Everard Read

"Kirstenbosch really was a staggering example of management of a floral area, but the reality now is different - the fynbos plants are ephemeral, that is annual or biennial, or weak perennials which every decade or so have to be replaced because there's no fire regime doing it for them. So it's a high-maintenance type of garden."

Mark Reid, Director - Everard Read

Reid also laments the state of the succulent house, where he found three quarters of the plants dead and others have taken over the space left by them.

'Many of the most wonderful and old plants are dying', he says.

The glass barriers meant to stop people from leaning over are also largly broken or missing, Reid adds.

"As I walked through all Kirstenbosch, this is not a seasonal thing - it's a systemic die-off of what was once the greatest botanical garden people could wish to see and it's an absolute tragedy."

Mark Reid, Director - Everard Read

Maytham has committed to getting the management of Kirstenbosch Garden back on air to respond to these complaints.

For more detail, listen to the interview audio at the top of the article

'What's happening to Kirstenbosch Garden is a tragedy' - Mark Reid

Everard Reid's Mark Reid laments the state of Cape Town's world-famous Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden.