One of the must-see gardens in the world is right here in South Africa according to the New York Times’ panel of horticultural experts!
Global (15 May 2025) — Recently, The New York Times put horticultural experts to task to compile a list of must-see gardens from around the world, and a South African favourite made the cut!
The New York Times Style Magazine team were curious to learn which gardens were worth flying across the world for. With a panel of six renowned and experienced horticultural experts to lean on (including Royal Horticultural Society gold medalist Juliet Sargeant and architecture professor at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, Toshiko Mori) the curation of the ’25 Gardens You Must See’ list came to be, and bucket lists everywhere have taken inspiration since.
The panelists nominated 10 must-see gardens each before the final list was built. Importantly, the gardens have not been displayed in a kind of ranking order.
Excitingly for South Africa, it was the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden that nestled into the list beautifully. A space rich with natural heritage, historic moments and views that’ll make you wonder whether you haven’t accidentally teleported to a time long before mankind interfered with nature, if you haven’t already gone exploring at Kirstenbosch, this is certainly your sign to do so.
Per the New York Times:
“While native gardening has only recently become mainstream in the United States, the concept is nothing new in South Africa. Case in point: this botanical garden in the Western Cape province, the first of its kind in the world dedicated entirely to indigenous flora, which was established over a century ago in 1913. Located eight miles outside the city center and set against the backdrop of Table Mountain’s eastern slope, the 1,305-acre public space showcases more than 7,000 species, with high priority given to the singular fynbos biome, which is found almost exclusively in the country’s Western Cape region and includes stiff, structured proteas, shaggy, flowering ericas and tufted, reedlike plants called restios.
There’s also a robust collection of spiky cycads, a type of seed plant some believe predates the dinosaurs, and visitors might also spot local fauna, including brilliantly colored sunbirds — which resemble hummingbirds — owls and wildcats. The Tree Canopy Walkway, a curved, steel-and-timber treetop bridge inspired by a snake’s skeleton, winds 65 feet above it all, offering mountain vistas and sweeping forest views.”
Other gardens on the list include Australia’s Royal Botanic Garden Sydney, the Saihoji Kokedera Temple and Moss Gardenin Kyoto, Japan, Giardino di Ninfa in Cisterna di Latina, Italy and the Classical Gardens of Suzhou, in China to name a few.
You can find the full list, here.
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