Latest news with #Grootbos
IOL News
4 days ago
- Business
- IOL News
South Africa's Fynbos wins gold at UK flower competition as Kirstenbosch maintains strategic absence
The beautiful display of Fynbos that won gold. Image: Supplied For the sixth consecutive year, Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden did not exhibit at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. The South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), which manages the iconic garden, confirmed that its decision to step away from the world-renowned event was made in 2019 and remains in place. According to Nontsikelelo Mpulo, Director of Marketing, Communication and Commercialisation at SANBI, the decision was based on a combination of practical and strategic considerations. 'The Chelsea Flower Show was a costly exercise for the organisation with no clear return on investment,' said Mpulo. 'Our displays featured indigenous flowers and materials that were often confiscated at the UK border and not permitted for use. Additionally, our sponsors withdrew their support.' The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic further affected SANBI's financial stability, and revenue has yet to return to pre-pandemic levels. While a return to Chelsea has not been ruled out, Mpulo said the organisation is exploring local alternatives, including plans to establish a Biodiversity Expo in the Western Cape and Gauteng. 'It has been some time since Kirstenbosch participated in the show. The questions you pose have periodically come to the organisation, and our position remains the same,' she added. Despite its absence from Chelsea, Kirstenbosch continues to be celebrated internationally. It has been named one of the top ten gardens in the world by The New York Times, received the 2024 TripAdvisor Travellers' Choice Best of the Best award, and was voted Best Botanical Garden in Africa by the World Luxury Travel Awards in 2023. South Africa won big Image: Supplied Kirstenbosch also became the first South African botanical garden to receive Level IV accreditation from the ArbNet Arboretum Accreditation Programme and The Morton Arboretum in the USA — an honour currently shared by just 46 gardens worldwide. While Kirstenbosch was not at Chelsea, South Africa was proudly represented by designer Leon Kluge and horticulturist Tristan Woudberg, whose spectacular fynbos exhibit won a gold medal at the 2025 show. The display captured the beauty and diversity of the Cape Floristic Region through two towering mountain slopes divided by a ravine, designed to evoke a secret Cape waterfall in springtime and constructed with over 25,000 stems of fynbos blooms. Grootbos Private Nature Reserve was one of several sponsors supporting Kluge's display, alongside Hazendal Wine Estate, the Rupert Nature Foundation and Southern Sun. Michael Lutzeyer, owner of Grootbos, expressed his pride in the team's achievement. Chelsea Flowers in Stanford will be open to the public in spring from 10-24 September 2025 Image: Supplied 'I am delighted and proud of Leon Kluge's fynbos display which received international recognition and a gold-award at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, confirming what we at Grootbos have always known — the Cape Floristic Region is one of the most beautiful and unique regions of the world and fynbos itself is the star of the show. "Grootbos was one of the proud sponsors of the exhibit which celebrates the beauty of fynbos — thank you and well done to the whole team who worked so hard. Grootbos Private Nature Reserve and the Grootbos Foundation have protected and conserved this landscape for 25 years and the RHS Chelsea Flower Show has confirmed that the world (and even the fox) believes this biodiversity hotspot is worth protecting.' To ensure South Africans can also experience the magic of Chelsea, Grootbos and the Grootbos Foundation will sponsor a full-scale replica of the winning display in the village of Stanford. Titled Chelsea Flowers in Stanford, the exhibition will run from 10 to 24 September 2025 and coincide with the region's spring bloom.
News24
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- News24
SA garden wins gold at Chelsea Flower Show
For the second year in a row, a Leon Kluge-designed garden representing South Africa's beauty has won a gold medal at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in London. Kluge and his team won for their entry inspired by the meeting of two oceans - the Atlantic and the Indian - and all the flora in between. The well-respected horticulturalist took to Instagram on Tuesday cradling the team's award. 'Well, it's gold again for South Africa here at the Chelsea Flower show,' a beaming Kluge said at their stand at the prestigious event. 'It was a bit nerve-wracking this morning not knowing what [medal] was going to wait for us at the stand. We are very relieved and very excited about the gold, putting South Africa's flora right at the top of the world stage.' View this post on Instagram A post shared by Cape Flora SA (@capeflorasa) He thanked their sponsors, Hazendal Wine Estate and Grootbos Private Nature Reserve and Cape Flora South Africa as we as all the messages of support from back home. Much preparation went into preparing this year's garden at what is known as the 'Olympics' of the flower world, with at least 25 000 stems of beautiful flowers and fynbos being cut ahead of their display. The end result was beautiful hues of yellows, purples and pinks showcasing South Africa's unique biodiversity. This is the second gold for South Africa after it stole the show at last year's event, when the same team won gold with a perfect score for a garden inspired by the windswept slopes of the Cape mountains. The team was also awarded 'Best Exhibit in the Pavilion' and the 'Best New Design' in 2024. South Africa's Babylonstoren also had a Karoo Succulent Garden displayed at the show this year for the first time. READ | Babylonstoren flies a piece of the Karoo to London to wow at Chelsea Flower Show The team worked in partnership with its sister estate, The Newt in Somerset in the UK, to bring a little piece of the Karoo to the world. The Newt in Somerset has been the headline sponsor of the event for the past four years, and the succulent garden served as a showstopper for the attending visitors. Babylonstoren's master botanist Dr Ernst van Jaarsveld told News24 that Karoo succulents could teach many things to the world, and was well-suited to represent South Africa's resilience. The RHS Chelsea Flower Show is open from Tuesday to Saturday this May.
