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    Indigenous Open Gardens

    Indigenous Open Gardens

    The Gardens

    Garden No 1

    Garden 1 – the Garden of Janet Hesketh, Unit 1, Cliffview, 58 Buckingham Road, Kloof

    Janet has developed the garden from scratch and planted a wide range of species and also allowed local species to emerge naturally. The garden is very sunny so expect a winter colour burst and lots of birds!

    Parking: Verge Parking is available on Buckingham Road.

    Access: There is a short but steep tarred section from the complex entry gate to Garden 1 – once in the garden the top part of the garden is level. There are a number of short paths leading to Garden 2 – these are rough paths on a slope with steps and require care when using them.

    Also at this garden:

    • BirdLife eThekwini KZN – Come and visit the Birdlife eThekwini KZN stand and find out about this exciting club that serves the eThekwini area. Chat to us about our membership and activities and the wonderful world of birding and bird conservation

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    Garden No 2

    Garden No 2 – the Garden of Barbara and Don Coleman, Unit 6, Cliffview, 58 Buckingham Road, Kloof

    This is a young garden, begun in 2024, designed and developed through collaboration between the owners, friends, experts, and experienced gardeners, while closely observing and responding to the indigenous landscape that surrounds it.
    One of the most wonderful aspects of this garden is that it began as a completely blank canvas – essentially a large, flat, mown lawn – which made implementation far more straightforward.

    The garden draws inspiration from a love of local grasslands, a desire to create small scale biodiversity, and a shared family appreciation for nature. This collective passion made the process both easier and more rewarding.

    Access: Garden 2 can be accessed from Garden 1 or via a short but steep tarred road. Garden 2 is reasonably flat and part of it is wheelchair friendly but getting to the garden is difficult in a wheelchair because of the steep access road.

    Also at this garden:

    • Woodcraft by Dave Knight. Abstract & uniquely conventional pieces crafted from fallen trees

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    Garden No 3

    Garden 3 – the Garden of Allison Gans, Unit 3, Cliffview, 58 Buckingham Road, Kloof

    Allison has provided all the inspiration for this garden based on her love and upbringing in natural environments. The garden is quite shaded so its a great showcase for visitors who want to learn more about gardening in the shade. Allison’s part-time gardener, Thami Khoza has added his creative skills to create an enchanting garden with paths and hidden corners waiting to be explored.

    Access: This garden has numerous short paths – all the paths are fairly easy to walk but not wheelchair friendly as there are numerous steps (most with handrails)

    Also at this garden:

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    Cliffview Common Gardens

    The Cliffview Common Property gardens are extensive and cover very sunny areas and heavily shaded areas including a wetland. The gardens were only effectively developed from approximately 2020. Initially the major task was to eradicate invasive species and over time these were replaced with plectranthus, clivia and ferns. Tree fuchsia, Wild date palms and Red Sunbird Bush. These species have done well under the forest canopy but unfortunately over time so too have the Australian ferns. The complex gardener, Thami has created beautiful walkways through the forest and made bridges over the stream. The floods a few years back changed the watercourse resulting in a swamp area in the one corner where arums thrive.

    Recently a new rockery was developed below unit 3 and this area gets a fair amopunt of sun and hopefully will provide a good show of colour in the winter.

    Access: Access to all parts of the common property is fairly easy on paths – the paths are not wheelchair friendly as there are several steps (most with handrails)

    Also in the Common Gardens:

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    Cliffview Forest and River Walk

    For the more intrepid visitors there is the option of walking a short trail to a nearby waterfall. The trail goes through a typical riverine forest and small gorge. The area is a very good example of the eThekwini Municipality’s Biodiversity Strategy (including D’MOSS) at work. The strategy allows for negotiation on the development of land close to environmentally sensitive areas on the condition that the environmentally sensitive areas are set-aside for conservation in perpetuity. In the case of Cliffview the means to achieve this was via a binding Non User Conservation Servitude (NUCS). The ownership maintenance of the NUCS is the responsibility of the Body Corporate which has combined its efforts with another adjacent NUCS and other bordering residents to rehabilitate and maintain the area (approximately 5ha). The result has been the clearing of all invasive alien species and the creation of a healthy natural corridor between Memorial Park and Krantzkloof Nature Reserve. This well maintained corridor (known as the Ronaldskloofstream Project area) effectively extends and protects the nature reserve by providing an environmentally healthy buffer. The flora of the area is notable with many large macaranga and quinine trees, both Streptocarpus molweniensis and Streptocarpus grandis as well as several specimens of Bachmannia woodii. Fauna include resident porcupines, bushbuck, duiker, genets, bushbabies, caracal, and various species of mongoose include the White-tailed Mongoose.

    The walk to the waterfall is approximately 20 minutes (one way) and involves a steep descent to the Ronaldskloof stream, a flatish section along the stream to the waterfall and a short but steep climb back to Cliffview.

    Whilst the trail is well maintained and signposted, it is rough with many tripping hazards (tree roots) and rocks. Walking the trail requires a modest level of fitness and is not suitable for people with walking difficulties.

    The trail can be accessed from Garden 2

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    Garden No 4

    Garden 4 – the Garden of Danna Flack, Shambala, 10 Impangele Road, Kloof

    This is a very well established multi-award winning garden which was last on show in 2021. Danna has put her personal stamp on this garden which has evolved over many years. There is an extensive indigenous section near the entrance and a mixed species garden in the west facing section of the property. The garden is peppered with statues collected from as far afield as Vietnam, Italy, USA, Kenya and Zimbabwe. There is also a Spirit House from Thailand and a locally manufactured Gazebo. Local sculptors, Dylan Lewis and Owen Llewellyn Davis are also on display.

    Four water features with running water add to the serenity of the garden. Large rocks have been placed throughout the garden and are particularly at home with indigenous planting especially in the swimming pool area.

    Parking: There is verge parking available on Impangele Road

    Access: There is a 50m steep tarred road (lined with indigenous plants) descent to the garden. The garden itself is fairly easy to walk around but it is not wheelchair friendly.

    Also at this Garden:

    • Grasslands Nursery – Indigenous plant sales
    • Botanical Society Coastal Branch – Information table and books for sale
    • Robyn Ansell Art – Fine Art Prints, Greeting Cards and Gift Tags all with a nature (birds) theme

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    Garden No 5

    Garden 5 – the Garden of Grace and Andrew McKay, 17 Surrey Lane, Kloof

    Andrew is an amateur botanist whose passion is to discover interesting species in the wild. He even has one named after him, Cotyledon mckayi . The garden is totally indigenous and packed with interesting and unusual succulents.

    Gardening in Kloof is less about growing and more about managing an explosion of life. With our high rainfall, the plants take care of the growing part themselves; the real work for Andrew was figuring out the layout and the framework for the garden.

    Andrew’s philosophy has been to garden strictly by the aspect of the sun. He has tried to create zones based on how much light a spot gets. For the sun-exposed areas, he has focused on succulents. Because we get so much rain, he had to spend a lot of time creating fast-draining areas to keep them happy. Andrew’s favourite parts are the retaining walls; He uses them as vertical space to grow the kind of cliff-dwelling plants you’d see in the wild, which love that sharp drainage.

    If you enjoy plant variety and uncommon species, then this is a must visit garden.

    Parking: Verge parking is available on Surrey Road – do take care when approaching the garden as Surrey road is quite narrow with poor visibility around corners.

    Access: there is a short paved descent to the main garden. The garden is easily walked but not suitable for wheelchairs.

    Also at this garden:

    • Ben Botha Plant Nursery – succulent and aloe specialist – plants for sale
    • Pat McKrill – well known herpetologist will be on hand to engage and help visitors learn more about our local reptiles.
    • Butterflying SA (SATURDAY ONLY) – Eco Rocks and butterfly attracting plants for sale – Eco-Rocks are faux rocks that inside have compartments suitable to shelter different types of invertebrates and small vertebrates

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    Garden No 6

    Garden 6 – the garden of Glenda and Neil Patterson, 11 Valerie Road Gillitts

    Neil and Glenda moved to Gillitts and built their home there in 1993. At the time, the valley was a former plantation, dominated by gum, wattle and pine, with only pockets of grass.

    As novice gardeners, they had little idea what they were doing and planted whatever was donated to them. Only later did they learn that much of it was exotic species, along with large areas of lawn—putting them on track to create a “green desert”.

    Over time, they began to ask questions and learn. As true “bush” people who loved being in nature and wild places, they drew increasing inspiration from those landscapes. It was only natural that their passion for creating their own “nature reserve” at home took shape and began to be reflected in the garden.

    This is a medium sized garden and showcases how much you can pack-in and create a mix of natural and formal garden by carefully selecting your plant species.

    Parking: Verge parking is available on Valerie Drive

    Access: there is a steep tarred road leading down to the garden. After that the garden near the house is accessible by wheelchair but the rest is not. Paths through the garden are relatively easy to walk on but do note there are some steps.

    Also at this garden:

    • Primates Africa – information on cohabiting with Vervet Monkeys and other primates
    • LepSoc Africa / ButterflyGear – butterfly expert Steve Woodhall will be on hand to answer your questions on butterflies and there will be butterfly books and posters for sale.
    • Tutus Loco Bee Hotels – Tutus Loco contributes to the conservation of solitary bees through marketing bee hotels that mimic their natural breeding sites.

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    Garden 7

    Garden 7 – the Garden of Izolda and Tanya Visser, 6 Controversy Drive, Assagay

    A regular and ever popular feature of our annual show since 2019! We continue to showcase this stunning garden because Tanya’s passion for gardening turns all visitors into enthusiastic gardeners! Tanya also puts an enormous effort into her garden each year and there is always something new to discover and enjoy. Her latest addition is a small dam featured in the photo above.

    Parking: There will be two entry points to this garden – the main entrance gate on Controversy Road and the “Paddock Parking” with entrance before the main gate. There is limited parking on Controversy Road – please take care not to park so that the road becomes too narrow – it is important to keep two-way flow at all times. Additional parking will be arranged at the neighbours “Paddock” – there will be parking attendants to guide you on the day.

    Access: The entire garden is easy to walk through. People in wheelchairs must be dropped off at the Main Gate entrance – from there most of the garden is accessible by wheelchair

    Also at this garden:

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    Indigenous Open Gardens

    The Gardens