BENVIE GARDENS - Spring seems to have arrived early this year with the Yellow billed Kites arriving on the 12 August 2023. The clivias will be in flower from the first weekend of September and the early azaleas are already coming out. The owners have decided to open the Benvie garden from 9 September 2023 through to the 8 October 2023, because of the early spring.Benvie is one of the Midlands’ showpiece gardens and should not be missed. Located in the beautiful Karkloof, it was the brainchild of John Geekie, a Scot from Dundee who came to South Africa in 1856, and bought the property in 1883. He was a man who loved trees, and bought the land with the express purpose of creating an arboretum and spent the rest of his life realising his dream. The house lies at the head of the garden which stretches out in front of it. A walk through the trees accompanied by the birdsong of the myriad birds that have made Benvie their home, is an uplifting experience.
The south-east orientation of the garden in a high rainfall mistbelt was ideal for Geekie’s idea of an arboretum. Seedlings were brought by ship from all over the world, transported from Durban to Merrievale by train and then taken by ox-wagon to Benvie. Conifers were bought from Inverness; hydrangeas, magnolias and other flowering trees from a nursery in Atlanta, Georgia, cedars from Japan and a , Ginkgo biloba from China, and grass tress from Australia. He also had a reciprocal arrangement with fellow gardeners in Durban and Maritzburg and he collected camellias and rhododendrons from the Durban Botanical Gardens.
The garden took five years to lay out. Paths were cut, ponds were dug and each tree was allocated a specific space to allow it to grow to its full potential. But this is no garden frozen in time as its 70 acres are constantly worked on – trees that have come to the end of their lives are replaced either with the same or similar variety. Tribute must be paid to John Geekie’s family, who, through the generations have devotedly cared for this magnificent garden, and continue to do so.
The garden will open from 9.00am to 4.00pm daily and the entrance fee remains at R50.00 per person for adults and children under 12 are free. Picnics are welcome.
Directions: From Howick, take the Karkloof Road. Pass the Ambers and drive 33 km from Howick (21km on tar). At the 33 km mark turn right on the York/Hanover Road. Travel a further 3 km, down the hill, and you will find the Benvie sign on your left.
Author credit: Jackie Kalley
