Designer David Davidson with a model of the exhibit for the Chelsea Flower Show in London.

STAFF REPORTER

KIRSTENBOSCH has unveiled its botanical masterpiece set to compete at the annual Royal Horticultural Society Chelsea Flower Show in London.

The entry marks Kirstenbosch’s 36th year of exhibiting at the show, which takes place from May 24 to 27.

The team was nearly forced to pull out of the show, due to a lack of sponsorship.

But the Western Cape provincial government and the SA Gold Exchange stepped in as sponsors.

This year’s theme is Botanical Landscapes, and is inspired by two of the eight World Heritage Sites in South Africa.

Designers David Davidson and Raymond Hudson have used the sharply contrasting habitats of the Cape Floral Kingdom in the Western Cape and the arid, mountainous desert of the Northern Cape’s Richtersveld region for inspiration in their exhibit.

Exceedingly rich in species diversity, each provides a dramatic setting and some of the richest reservoirs of plant life on earth. Both these World Heritage Sites are also biodiversity hotspots – of which there are only 25 worldwide – featuring an incredibly high diversity of species.

The Cape Floral Kingdom part of the display includes numerous protea species as well as cultivars and new hybrids, leucadendrons (cone bushes), leucospermums, Pagoda plants (Mimetes) serrurias (blushing bride) and brunias.

The Richtersveld section features the Pachypodium namaquanum, or “halfmens”. Other species include the giant bastard quiver tree (Aloe pilansii), Aloe rammosissima, Argyroderma and Conophytum species (stone plants), euphorbias and bulbous plants.

“Given South Africa’s diverse culture and history and its spectacular natural resources and wildlife, it is not surprising that it is home to eight World Heritage Sites.

“Of these, the two sites chosen are the most divergent of the three natural sites, offering a fascinating mix of plant life and a window on South Africa’s diversity,” said Davidson.

esther.lewis@inl.co.za