CONGRATULATIONS to South Africa: A New Botanical Garden is Born!

Now here's something you don't see every day! A new botanical garden is being born.

The Nieuwoudtville National Botanical Garden, in the Northern Cape of South Africa, will open to the public in January of 2008. And this is no ordinary public garden. It is the 9th National Botanical garden in the country and is comprised of 6300 hectares (that's a whopping 15,567 acres....nearly 24.5 square miles!).

The property, a former farm, is internationally significant for its amazing bulb diversity (a full 40% of its flora), in addition to sections of renosterveld fynbos and succulent karoo habitats--unique to South Africa.

Over 1350 species of plants have already been found on the property, at least 6% endemic. The garden will be used for research and education, and welcomes ecotourism.

Kirstenbosch has a baby sister!

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