The Company’s Garden is the oldest garden in South Africa. This heritage site is Cape Town’s green lung, an oasis right in the centre of the city.
We spent a Sunday morning exploring the garden, visiting the South African Museum and the South African National Gallery. This is a lovely spot in the city to take in the culture and history of our city.
My high school is located in the Company’s Garden, and as I walked the tree-lined paths, I thought back to my days as a teenager. How lucky was I that I was able to spend almost every day of those 5 years surrounded by nature, culture and history?
The History of the Company’s Garden
The Company’s Garden was originally created in the 1650s by the region’s first European settlers as a refreshment station for the trade route. It provided fertile ground to grow fresh produce to replenish ships rounding the Cape.
The VOC Vegetable Garden
The garden is home to the South African Museum, the Cape Town Holocaust Centre, and the South African National Gallery. The gallery houses an impressive permanent collection of South African, African, British, French, Dutch and Flemish art.
History and Culture
Nature
Features in the Garden
- The oldest cultivated pear tree in South Africa (circa 1652)
- A rose garden was designed in 1929
- An aviary
- Botanically and historically valuable trees
- Local buskers and arts and crafts along the avenue
- Lawns and benches
- The VOC Vegetable Garden
- A herb and succulent garden
- Historic statues
- Iziko South African Museum and Iziko National Gallery
- Various species of birds and animals
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