MBOMBELA – Very few know the Lowveld National Botanical Gardens better that the renowned botanical artist and botanist, Elise Buitendag. She was there, already documenting the initial indigenous plants on the site, two months in advance of the start of the planning and making of this magnificent garden.
Buitendag recently recollected the formative years of the garden in a well-illustrated book, Genesis of a Garden 1969 to 1981. The publication coincides with the 50th anniversary of the garden. That was shortly after she, as a young botanist previously working at the Pretoria National Botanical Gardens, moved to the Lowveld with her husband, an entomologist then recently appointed at the Citrus Research Institute.
With the focus on the origins and the basis on which the garden was initially established, Buitendag recently took members of Mpumalanga Heritage on a historic walk through the garden.
Back in 1969 her task was to record naturally-occurring plant species in the 154-hectare area that would become the Lowveld National Botanical Gardens. Spanning the three sides of the Y formed by the junction of the Nels and Crocodile Rivers, this entire area was still wild and undeveloped, except for a two-track road leading to a landing where a footpath snaked down to the river.
A young Elise in the garden.
She writes:
“I was alone, a young woman in uncharted territory. Secateur in hand, I walked and clambered and cut my way through the thickets. Over the months, as I became familiar with the great variety of species, my senses adjusted to what l’d previously perceived as undefined ‘bush’. The brain learns pattern recognition in a wonderful way and, in time, a myriad of individual components came into focus. Any unusual plant would immediately stand out. In a slow, seasonal rhythm, each plays its part and contributes to the organic whole.”
Building of terraces.
To purchase the book contact: breytenbachsaartjie@gmail.com. To join Mpumalanga Heritage, contact Linda Grimbeek at KLCBT at linda@klcbt.co.za.
