The Company's Garden is the oldest garden in South Africa, a

park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

and heritage site located in central

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

. The garden was originally created in the 1650s by the region's first European settlers and provided fertile ground to grow fresh produce to replenish ships rounding the Cape. It is watered from the

Molteno Dam Molteno Dam is a small but historic dam, on the lower slopes of Table Mountain in Western Cape, South Africa. Still in service, it was established in 1877 and is now located in the suburb of Oranjezicht, Cape Town. Background and construction ...

, which uses water from the springs on the lower slopes of Table Mountain.

History

The

Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...

established the garden in Cape Town for the purpose of providing fresh vegetables to the settlement as well as passing ships. Master gardener and free burgher Hendrik Boom prepared the first ground for sowing of seed on 29 April 1652. The settlers sowed different kinds of seeds and kept record thereof each day. Through trial and error they managed to compile a calendar which they used for the sowing and harvesting throughout the year. At first they grew salad herbs, peas, large beans, radish, beet, spinach, wheat, cabbage, asparagus and turnips among others. They caught fish, trapped wild animals and traded with the

Khoisan Khoisan , or (), according to the contemporary Khoekhoegowab orthography, is a catch-all term for those indigenous peoples of Southern Africa who do not speak one of the Bantu languages, combining the (formerly "Khoikhoi") and the or ( in t ...

for cattle and sheep with copper and tobacco. By 1653 the garden allowed the settlers to become self sustainable throughout the year. As the settlement grew, additional farming land was prepared at Rondebosch in 1656. By 1658 nearly every garden plant of Europe and India was already cultivated in the garden, though potatoes and maize were not yet introduced.Precis of the Archives of the Cape of Good Hope, January 1656 – December 1658, Riebeeck's Journal &c, H.C.V Leibrandt, Part II, Cape Town 1897. Before 1680 the Company's Garden was mainly used to produce vegetables, until

Simon van der Stel Simon van der Stel (14 October 1639 – 24 June 1712) was the last commander and first Governor of the Dutch Cape Colony, the settlement at the Cape of Good Hope. Background Simon was the son of Adriaan van der Steland Maria Lievens ...

laid out the ground afresh for the purpose of beautifying the garden. During the 17th century the garden was made famous by writers of various nationalities, claiming that visitors who had seen the most celebrated gardens of Europe and India were agreed that nowhere else in the world was so great a variety of trees and shrubs of vegetables and flowers to be met with together. The garden superintendent and

Botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

Hendrik Bernard Oldenland compiled a herbarium which was sent to the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

after his sudden death. In 1770 the 'Catalogue of Plants' was found in possession of Professor Burmann of

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

.History of South Africa (1486–1691), G.M. Theal, London 1888

Features in the park

* The oldest cultivated pear tree in South Africa (circa 1652) * A rose garden designed and built in 1929 * A well stocked fish pond * Dellville Wood Memorial Garden, which commemorates the

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Battle of Delville Wood in France, in which a predominantly South African force of more than 3,000 soldiers was reduced to 755 survivors by German forces * An aviary * Restaurant �
The Company's Garden Restaurant
* Botanically and historically valuable trees * Local arts and crafts along the avenue * Lawns and benches * A herb and succulent garden * Historic statues *

Iziko South African Museum The Iziko South African Museum is a South African national museum located in Cape Town. The museum was founded in 1825, the first in the country. It has been on its present site in the Company's Garden since 1897. The museum houses important A ...

and Iziko National Gallery * Various wild, feral and semi-domesticated species of birds and animals, including the African turtle dove, laughing dove, rock dove,

Egyptian goose The Egyptian goose (''Alopochen aegyptiaca'') is a member of the duck, goose, and swan family Anatidae. It is native to Africa south of the Sahara and the Nile Valley. Egyptian geese were considered sacred by the Ancient Egyptians, and appeared ...

and squirrels.

Monuments

Nearby places of interest

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

and

Tuynhuys De Tuynhuys (Garden House) is the Cape Town office of the president of South Africa. The building The building has in various guises been associated with the seat of the highest political authority in the land for almost two and a half cent ...

are adjacent to the park * National Library of South Africa * St George's Cathedral * Slave Lodge *

Centre for the Book The Centre for the Book is a building situated next to the Company's Gardens in Cape Town. The building is run for the state by an independent organization of the same name, to promote literacy, reading, publishing and for conferences, symposi ...

Gardens Shul The Gardens Shul, formally, the Cape Town Hebrew Congregation, founded in 1841, located in the Cape Town Botanical Gardens, in the Gardens neighborhood of Cape Town, is the oldest Jewish congregation in South Africa. The rabbi is Rabbi Feldma ...

South African Jewish Museum South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz' ...

Cape Town Holocaust Centre The Cape Town Holocaust & Genocide Centre began as Africa's first Holocaust centre founded in 1999. The Centre works towards creating a more caring and just society in which human rights and diversity are respected and valued. Through exhibitions ...

* Hiddingh Campus,

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...

Mount Nelson Hotel Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...

Events

*The Company's Garden hosts the annual

Cape Town Festival A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. Th ...

. * Cape Peninsula University of Technology usually has the annual walking/city tour that concludes at the garden.

References

External links

Cape Town FestivalSA Jewish MuseumCape Town Parks
* {{Cape Town, natural Parks in Cape Town History of Cape Town Historic sites in South Africa South African heritage sites Tourist attractions in Cape Town