Company’s Garden in Cape Town to Become a Greener Heart in City Centre.

Historical gardens of the Dutch East India Company caters for over 700,000 visitors annually.

The City of Cape Town’s Company Garden, known as the “green heart”, is being primed for upgrades of over R1 million. The oldest public garden in South Africa provides an oasis in the central business district for an estimated 700 000 visitors each year.

“All the upgrades will be done in line with approved development and design guidelines which have been formulated over the past few years,” said Councillor Grant Haskin, Mayoral Committee Member for Amenities and Sport, Wednesday.

“These include the restoration of the Bothy, the old farm labourers’ quarters used in the 1850s by the Botanical Gardens Committee as a meeting venue, into a cafe, coffee shop or take-ways kiosk.”

Besides the abundant vegetation, the garden offers features such as ponds, an aviary, a sundial, and the historic Victorian restrooms.

Sections within the Paddock area, where the majority of events take place, will be enhanced with the introduction of paved surfaces, street furniture and litter bins.

The old Director’s House will be developed into a mixed use facility or possibly as a restaurant. During the previous financial year, expenditure was focused on improved security.

Projects include installing bollard lighting throughout the gardens to improve visibility for the newly installed security cameras, increased security guards, as well as appointing a social worker to deal with homeless people in the vicinity.

“To complement these investments, the Central City Improvement District has helped with graffiti removal and the cleansing of the area especially at events together with the non-profit NGO, Straatwerk,” said Councillor Haskin.

A BBC film crew will be filming the garden as part of a series on historical gardens of the world. “This will place the Company’s Garden on the international stage and raise its profile as one of the most extraordinary gardens in the world.” he said.

The Company's Garden was laid out by the city’s founding father Jan van Riebeeck on order of the Dutch-East India Trading Company to secure providing colonists with vegetables.

Today the Company's Garden is a large public park, botanical garden and a very popular tourist attraction.

Within or very close to the company gardens there are a number of historically important sites and museums. They include the National Library, The South African National Gallery, The South African Museum, The Centre for the Book, St Georges Cathedral and the South African Cultural Museum.

Discover the South African National Gallery, South African Museum, Slave Lodge, Bertram House on CapeTownMagazine.com.

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