Joe Lamp’l was the host of two national TV shows, GardenSMART and Fresh from the Garden; I followed him on his garden podcast. When Earthbound Expedition announced that he would lead a garden and wine tour to South Africa in 2024. I signed up immediately. Pam Norum learned about this trip from my email to fellow Master Gardeners and decided to join me. We arrived in Cape Town a day before the program started and met the rest of the 30+ people in the group; most are avid gardeners from all over the USA except one enthusiastic fan, Lisa, who came all the from Australia to join us.
We visited a variety of styles of gardens in and near Cape Town. The first one was the Kirstenbosch Botanic Garden, a 528-hectare estate nestled at the foot of Table Mountain that displays plants from many South African regions. It highlights a spectacular collection of “Proteas” – 92% of these species occur only in the Cape Floristic Region. Most of the Protea I have ever seen were in expensive, exotic flower arrangements. In Kirstenbosch, I walked among many in brilliant colors and different cultivars. The garden encompassed many endemic plants, and their biodiversity and density are well recognized in the Cape Floristic Kingdom. Even the bird of paradise, commonly known with orange flowers, has a rare and unique cultivar with yellow flowers, which is named Nelson Mandela to honor the great man. I only wish that we could have spent more time in this magnificent garden.
Table Mountains is the iconic sign of Cape Town. Its distinct cloud cover, the Tablecloth, nurtures lush vegetation and biodiversity by capturing rain and replenishing Cape Town’s water reservoirs. We took the 1929-built cable car with a revolving platform to the top, offering breathtaking views—the mountain’s flat top results from sandstone layers exposed by wind and water erosion. The waterfront of Cape Town was vibrant, full of restaurants, shops, and entertainers.
Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela spent 18 years as a prisoner, is now a World Heritage museum. Our tour guide was a former prisoner; he showed us pictures of the hard labor and poor conditions the prisoners had endured during the apartheid. He also told stories of how fellow prisoners helped Mandela sneak out his manuscripts to the outside world. Our group met a special guest, Christo Brand, who was Mandela’s prison guard and a lifelong friend. His book ‘Mandela: My Prisoner, My Friend’ tells many very interesting and personal stories about Mandela and him.
Stellenberg is a private garden originally established as a Dutch homestead in 1697. We were very honored that the current owner, Sandy, personally led us through her gardens. She spent the past 50 years designing, modifying, and building up the gardens. She told us the history, the design, and the reason for every tree, flower, and vegetable she planted over the years. She is such an inspiration to all gardeners. I have many plants she used in her gardens, but mine were never looked so good.
On our way out of Cape Town, we stopped at Vergelegen, Babylonstoren and Boschendal gardens. They are wine estates established in 18 centuries as Dutch Farms. Over the years this region became famous for its wines and fruit productions. I don’t drink but according to the wine connoisseurs in our group, all have great wines. The fresh foods served from farm to table style were definitely pleasing both the eyes and the taste buds. We stopped at the town of Stellenbosch and I heard my name called out and turned around and saw Dan and Jim (the sons) and Javier (grandson) of my old next door neighbor and dear friend Janet Kelty. What’s the chance of being at the same place and same time with people you knew from back home? Such a happy encounter and we decided that Janet must had arranged it in heaven.
The conclusion of the 10 day South Africa program ended in Pilanesberg National Park, a protected game reserve about 200 km from Johannesburg. The reserve opened to the public in 1979 and covers 550 sq km. It has a vast road network of over 200 km for game drives. We had our first Boma (outdoor BBQ South African style) in the park. In additional to beef, chicken and lamb, we got to taste Impala and kudu. Some of our group returned to the USA and the rest of us continued onto the Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe and game drives in Botswana. For 10 days, we bonded with fellow travelers over shared interests in gardening and wildlife, friendships we promised to continue in our FB group.
