A book for Lowvelders about one of its most iconic attractions. In Genesis of a Garden Elise Buitendag, the very first botanist to do plant surveys of the area which would become the Lowveld National Botanical Garden, recounts the first 12 years of the garden.
It is one of Mpumalanga’s most important tourist attractions and part of the Lowveld’s heritage.
What used to be veld is now a beautiful area dominated by rocky river scenery and the large variety plants indigenous to the Lowveld.
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Genesis of a Garden takes the reader on a fascinating journey from the initial planning stages of botanical surveys and planning to its opening. The book is seasoned with anecdotal accounts which offers a personal insight into the lives and eccentricities of the extraordinary people who embraced the challenge of creating an indigenous garden in very difficult terrain.
Buitendag was the first person to work in the untamed bush that would one day become one of the most beautiful botanical gardens in South Africa, and it would be a tragedy indeed if its colourful pioneers and their achievements remained unrecorded.
Genesis of a Garden is beautifully illustrated with her own extraordinary artworks and archival photographs. This book is a must for any history buff, art and plant lover as well as out-and-out Lowvelders.
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Typesetting will be happening very soon, but as it is self-published, they are still looking for subscriptions.
Subscribers will be mentioned in the back of the book and there is still an opportunity for corporate sponsorship, which would imply a marketing opportunity.
This is a limited opportunity which closes early in January. The book will be launched with an exhibition of her artworks on the first weekend of March.
If you wish to subscribe to this wonderful project, contact Sally Blair on 083-272-4623 or blair@mweb.co.za.
