The Biodiversity Showcase Garden revisited

Spring has sprung in the Biodiversity Garden at Green Point Park. Parts of the garden are awash with colour, such as the 'Hybrids and cultivars' display seen below.

I like the way the 'Invasive plants' display has turned out, with the rare and endangered Strawberry Spiderhead crowded out by statuesque invasives.

This is what the same planting looked like in December 2010. Notice how the coastal thicket in the background has effectively screened the lawn display - the thicket is now about 2m high.

The 'Shade Dome' is still looking stark and err... where is the shade? The fast-growing Forest Pea (Dipogon lignosus) which raced to the top and looked so promising last year, is now bare at the base, and looking untidy with a lot of dead material on the frame. The Wild Grape (Rhoicissus digitata) is the trust-worthy long-term solution, but growing very slowly. Too much competition, perhaps. I've asked the area around the base of the climbers to be cleared.

The Hedge display is looking good enough. The Confetti Bush (Coleonema album) and Grewia robusta are thriving, but unfortunately it's too wet for the grey Beach Sage (Salvia africana-lutea) which has died back in places. We will replace it with Rhus glauca (Blue Kuni-bush) which also has greyish leaves. 

One of the challenges of gardening in the Biodiversity Garden is the heavy clay soil and high water table. In fact the Green Point Park area used to be a seasonal wetland, and sailing regattas were held here! Clay soil dredged from the harbour (now the V&A Waterfront) was brought in to create sportfields and recreational amenities in the 1900s.

A life ring has been installed right in the framed view of the fish - what a pity. I understand safety comes first but aesthetically it's plain awful.

The frolicking fish don't mind at all...

Kids in the Garden

Wendy Hitchcock has been appointed by the City to develop educational activities for the Biodiversity Garden. It is wonderful to see how someone with her special skills and experience is making the Garden come alive for children and linking it to the curriculum.


The Department of Education has clamped down on school outings - apparently because some teachers opted for going on multiple excursions and didn't bother to teach. Nowaday kids aren't allowed to go on an outing unless it includes exercises to develop literacy and numeracy skills. Fair enough.

Wendy has developed worksheets and activities for different age groups, and is currently testing them on various trial groups. Here are some pics which she sent me:

"Pretend you are a litle seed, in the ground...waiting to germinate...

Then the rain comes, and you come alive, growing up to the light...!"

Grinding ochre - like the Khoikhoi used to:

Wendy writes: The cobra/rinkhals is definitely the most popular animal and the security guy has a really hard time keeping them from standing on the plants because they all want to crowd around the snake. I am getting better at crowd control.

I was shocked to see a child writing that spiders eat plants!!!! This garden is really important for these city kids to learn the basics.

Go for it Wendy - good work!