A garden with a job to do
Dr Charles Johnston set up the first garden in December 1849 near the Umgeni River, and in 1851 it moved to its present site closer to town. Like many colonial gardens linked to Kew, it was meant to test crops that might grow in Natal; sugar cane, still all around Durban, was among its most important trials.
Its greatest curator was John Medley Wood (curator 1882 to 1913), a self-taught botanist who founded the Natal Government Herbarium and prepared some 13,000 specimens.
Wood's cycad: the loneliest plant in the world
In 1895 Medley Wood found a clump of an unknown cycad in the Ongoye (Ngoye) Forest in Zululand. Offsets and stems were brought to the gardens in 1903 and 1907, and the species was named Encephalartos woodii in his honour. No other wild plant has ever been found: every Wood's cycad in the world comes from that one male plant.
The original specimens still grow in the gardens, and the cycad is the gardens' emblem. Look for it in the cycad collection, arranged by region since the 1990s.
What to see
Give yourself two or three hours:
- The cycad collection, including Wood's cycad
- The Ernest Thorp Orchid House (orchids since 1931; the house since 1962), best in spring and autumn
- The Fern Dell and the bromeliad plantings
- Palms and heritage trees: well over a thousand trees in all
- The September indigenous plant fair, run by the Botanical Society of South Africa
Getting there from Cabana Mio
The gardens are 28 km away, about 24 minutes by road. Pair them with uShaka Marine World or the beachfront for a full Durban day, and be home for sunset.
Timeline
- 1849Dr Charles Johnston lays out the first garden near the Umgeni River.
- 1851The gardens move to their present site on the lower Berea.
- 1882John Medley Wood becomes curator and founds the Natal Government Herbarium.
- 1895Wood finds the cycad later named Encephalartos woodii in the Ongoye Forest.
- 1913The municipality takes over the gardens.
- 1962The orchid collection moves into the Ernest Thorp Orchid House.
Questions
Is it really the oldest botanic garden in Africa?
It is generally described as Africa's oldest surviving botanic garden, founded in 1849.
What is special about Wood's cycad?
Only one wild plant was ever found, in 1895. It is extinct in the wild; every specimen alive descends from that single plant, and the originals grow in these gardens.
How long should we allow?
Two to three hours is comfortable. It is 28 km from Cabana Mio, about 24 minutes by road.
Sources: Durban Botanic Gardens: general history · Durban Botanic Gardens (Wikipedia). Facts checked October 2026; confirm dates with the organisers.
