THE IMPORTANCE OF A BOTANICAL GARDEN.
Category General
Botanical Gardens devote their resources to the study and conservation of plants, as well as making the world's plant species diversity known to the public. These gardens also play a central role in meeting human needs and providing well-being.
The range of scientific activities conducted by botanical gardens often includes conservation, propagation, horticulture, seed science, taxonomy, systematics, genetics, biotechnology, education, restoration ecology, public education, and much more.
Additionally, botanical gardens are suitable locations for investigations into pollination ecology, seed dispersal, and other interactions between plants and animals.
Plant conservation genetics provides suitable tools to guide conservation and successful restoration, measure and monitor processes, and ultimately minimize extinction risk of threatened plant species in nature.
In addition to scientific activities such as conservation and research, public education and garden displays are also important aims of botanical gardens in different countries.
ABOUT HAROLD PORTER BOTANICAL GARDENS
Just 100 kilometres from Cape Town, take the beautiful coastal Route 44, between Gordon's Bay and Betty's Bay, to reach a peaceful and secluded garden lying snugly between mountains and sea.
Did you know? The Harold Porter Botanical Garden boasts Red Disa (Disa Uniflora pictured above) in its natural habitat as well as South Africa's national flower, the King Protea (Protea Cynaroides).
The Harold Porter National Botanical Garden lies in the epicentre of the Cape Floral Kingdom a dedication to this natural shrubland vegetation with 10 hectares of cultivated fynbos garden, and a further 190 hectares of natural fynbos to gratify the visitor.
The peaceful garden includes sweeping mountain slopes, deep gorges, and four vegetation types that occur naturally in the Overberg - afro montane forests, wetlands, coastal dunes and fynbos.
Harold Porter is a magical display of proteas, ericas and leucadendrons set amidst meandering nature trails that take one up mountains, down gorges and through gardens in which some 60 various bird species, including the Cape Sugarbird and the Orange Breasted Sunbird, come to play.
Cape Leopard are rare but have been sighted, as have the nocturnal porcupines and genets, whilst mongooses, otters, dassies and baboon are more frequently seen.
Educational storyboards about the plant and animal life are dotted throughout the garden making it easy for the visitor to take a self-guided tour along the paths, although organised guided tours are available.
Nature trails meander up into both Disa and Leopard's Kloof, whilst the Khoi-San indigenous garden displays a host of local useful and medicinal plants and the important role these play within indigenous groups of people in South Africa. There's a wonderful indigenous plants nursery, picnic areas for drinking in the surrounds, and sunset concerts in summer.
This garden experiences a mild Mediterranean-type climate, with cool wet winters and warm dry summers; no frost and daily temperatures vary from 8 - 28'C in winter and 12 - 35'C in summer. The driest months are Jan - Mar exposing the gardens to the southeast winds and the fire hazards are at their greatest. Many Fynbos plants contain oils and resins that make them extremely flammable. Fires are important in the seed dispersal and regeneration of Fynbos, however too frequent or too widely spaced and fierce fires can be disastrous. Visitors need to be extremely careful not to contribute to the fire hazard.
South Africa has 9 Botanical Gardens administered by SANBI with 3 National Herbaria that have plant reference collections.
Meridian Realty has an office a few metres from the Harold Porter Gardens so if you fall in love with the area why not pop over to see us and find out more about what Bettys Bay has to offer - and maybe look at a few houses to cement your dream of living in this amazing paradise.
Author: Meridian Realty
